Our story :: Mirabeau Hotel & Spa

1975

The creation

The Hotel Mirabeau was built by our grandfather Meinrad Julen, who was one of the first hoteliers in Zermatt. With 80 hotel beds as well as a creative kitchenette solution in the rooms, the hotel was fully in-line with the retro design trends of the seventies; not to mention the flashy color clashes and outburst of flowery patterns. Gandpa Meinrad had been inspired by another hotel called Mirabeau that he stayed at – so the name was quickly chosen.

1979

The takeover

Sepp & Rose Julen, newly married and with their first daughter Anna on the way, take over the hotel. Their innovative and entrepreneurial spirits lead them to build a pool and saunas, as well as to bring the “art de vivre” with French cuisine to the mountains.

1987

The first French fine dining experience in Zermatt

The first fine dining restaurant in Zermatt is opened. “Le Corbeau d’Or” serves French “nouvelle cuisine” which is very in vogue at the time. Chef Alain Kuster joins the brigade in 1990 and leads the kitchen team until this day.
The Corbeau d’Or restaurant reached substantial fame as well as a mention in the Michelin guide and 17 points in the Gault Millau guide during its lifetime of 30 years.

2004

The Alpine Residence is born

Our annexed building, at the time called „Alpine Residence” is build. The 17 Junior Suites as well as the Alpine Loft Suite are designed in an alpine, modern style with open bathrooms and natural local natural materials such as old fir and larch wood, granite, woolen felt, linen and loden. Furthermore the building comprises the Josef’s Wine Lounge – named after Sepp (which is a nickname for Josef) Julen, as well as the Alpine hideaway Spa and an underground connecting tunnel to the main building.

2005

It’s a family affair

The two daughters Anna and Marie are following their father’s footsteps and while Marie is still studying Hotel Management at Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, Anna has already graduated and moves with her husband Marcus to Zermatt. She joins the family business, before relocating in 2014 with their beautiful twins Mia & Fynn in order to pursue Marcus’ promising career endeavors in Zurich.

In 2007, all the rooms in the main building are renovated to match the modernity of the new annex building.

2014

Innovations & renovations

After a few years gaining experiences in Paris, London, Bangkok and Zurich, Marie moves to Zermatt, together with her now-husband Francis Reichenbach, a well-traveled hoteliers’ son from Gstaad, whom she met while studying at Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne.

In the following years, the Mirabeau’s culinary offering receives a revamp; the winter garden restaurant is relaunched under “Veranda – alpine casual dining”, and the gourmet restaurant Le Corbeau d’Or closes its doors after 30 years of operation. As a strategical relaunch approach, the young generation with the help of Chef de Cuisine Alain Kuster, open an innovative new all-day dining concept: Marie’s Deli, named after our great-aunt Marie who in the 1960’s owned the first delicatessen shop in Zermatt.

2018

A new Era

All the rooms in the main building are yet again soft-renovated with elegant oak wood flooring, noise-insulated windows and furnishings in a French-inspired boutique hotel design.
In June 2018 Francis and Marie Reichenbach – Julen take over the management of the Mirabeau and renew the hotel logo as well as the hotels’ online and print marketing, the website as well as the realignment of the hotel’s brand positioning. Their new Deli food cart is the newest addition to the comprehensive list of on-going projects; may it be in terms of creative hotel expansion ideas or implementing standards of operational effectiveness – the future of Le Mirabeau is still to be continued…