When the Eurotel Montreux was unveiled by Lake Geneva in 1967, it caused quite a ripple with residents and holidaymakers here on the Swiss Riviera.

This 16-storey triangular tower certainly divided opinion; some hailed it as a cutting-edge example of modernist architecture.

Others decried it as an eyesore that overshadowed the nearby elegant palatial hotels built the previous century after Montreux had morphed from sleepy Swiss village to a premier lakeside resort, with the railway bringing distinguished visitors here from across Europe.

The first guests checked into the Eurotel Montreux in time for the town’s inaugural jazz festival, a sonic celebration that gradually expanded its musical bandwidth and stages its 60th edition in 2026 (July 3 to 18) with Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, John Legend and festival stalwarts Deep Purple among the star performers.

The festival hubs — 2m2c Montreux Music & Convention Centre and the Auditorium Stravinski — are just a few minutes’ stroll by the lake from the Eurotel, which was given a huge makeover by Montreux-based firm Linea Lombardo SA and rebranded Mona Montreux in 2024.

We’re staying at this four-star address on our Globus Best of Switzerland coach tour and quickly fall for the hotel’s retro-chic interiors and sublime setting. All of the 154 guest rooms and suites flaunt heart-fluttering views of Montreux and the alp-backed lake, which is shaped quite like a croissant and borders France and the French-speaking part of Switzerland.

Warm, flaky pastries are among the munchable temptations of the morning buffet at Bel Horizon, a light-filled breakfast space facing the waterfront. During our stay, we also have dinner at Le Safran, the hotel’s restaurant, which has Mediterranean-inspired dishes and a shaded terrace with lake vistas.

While the northern winter sees Swiss fondues served in a heated glass tube on the terrace, we’re here in the summer, when alfresco wining, dining and cocktails are being enjoyed by customers in light, smart-casual attire. Make sure you pack your swimwear.

This was the first hotel in Montreux to have an indoor swimming pool and guests can embrace the on-site wellness facilities, which also include a gym, jacuzzi, sauna and hammam. You can sunbathe and play petanque on the roof terrace, where American singer-songwriter — and jazz festival performer — Ty Dolla Sign shot a music video for his 2015 track titled, $.

It’s 30C on this August afternoon and I can see a few fellow travellers canoeing and stand-up paddle boarding on the lake (hotel guests can rent boards free of charge by Mona’s private jetty). Others are doing as the locals do and breast-stroking in the lake’s bluey-green waters.

It’s my third time in Montreux and I can never resist a stroll on the promenade, which meanders almost 7km between Clarens, a district where Russian duo Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky composed acclaimed concertos, to Chillon, whose medieval castle was immortalised in a 1816 poem by Lord Byron.

Positioned close to its halfway point, and offering direct access to the promenade, the hotel can also supply complimentary mountain bikes. However, I stick to walking, as I know it would be a stop-start ride because there’s so much art to brake and U-turn for, including eclectic contemporary sculptures and life-like statues of legendary musicians steeped in Montreux folklore.

The most famous is Freddie Mercury, who had an apartment in town and recorded albums with Queen at a studio that’s been turned into a museum honouring the band. It’s inside the Montreux Casino, which is about 1km from Mona Montreux, set back from the promenade and dwarfed by the neighbouring Tour D’Ivoire, a 25-storey residential block built in 1962.

That’s almost 30m taller than my hotel but both occasionally vie for my attention on this lakeside stroll. I much prefer the triangular design of Mona Montreux. It’s a genuine modernist icon and an excellent base for this delightful town.

+ Steve McKenna was a guest of Globus. They have not influenced this story, or read it before publication. fact file + A one-night stay at Mona Montreux is included on Globus’ 9-day Best of Switzerland tour, which begins and ends in Zurich and also has overnight stops in St Moritz, Lugano, Zermatt and Lucerne. The tour runs between May and October, costing from $6801 per person (based on double occupancy). See globus.com.au + If staying independently, rooms at Mona Montreux are priced from around CHF157 ($280), but expect to pay more in peak holiday periods (especially during the Montreux Jazz Festival, if you can get a room). See mona-montreux.ch + For more information on visiting Switzerland, see myswitzerland.com