126 years of hospitality in the mountains

1899 – How a woman establishes a hotel

It was a woman, Marie Stern, born in Calcutta in 1866, the daughter of a missionary, who founded the Hotel Beausite Park Hotel Wengen 125 years ago. Her father, Alexander Stern, came from Karlsruhe, and her mother, Maria, born Zäslein, came from a well-to-do family in Basel.

According to the entry in the Oberland land register, ‘Fräulein Marie Stern’ acquired a building plot of 12.60 acres from Johann Gertsch in Wengi for 500 francs in March 1899 and built the ‘Hotel und Pension Stern’ with capital from an advance inheritance and with the help of banks and creditors. As early as 23 July 1898, the Hotel-Revue reported that tourist establishments were springing up like mushrooms in the Bernese Oberland. Five new hotels and guesthouses had opened in Wengen, including the Pension Stern. At the time, Marie Stern placed a personal ad in a Bernese matchmaking agency, as did the baker’s son and archaeologist Jakob Wiedmer from Herzogenbuchsee. Out of 99 applicants, he was the chosen one, and the two married in January 1904. The extremely versatile Jakob Wiedmer was also a writer and published the novel ‘Flut’ in 1905 with the renowned Huber publishing house. The title refers to the increasing numbers of strangers coming to the mountain village of Stägen, which is easily recognisable as Wengen. Although the novel was praised by critics, in particular by Josef Viktor Widman in the ‘Bund’, passages like this illustrate that the other hoteliers could hardly have been pleased:

1905 – Von der Pension Stern zum Parkhotel

In April 1905, the following note appeared in the ‘Kleine Chronik’ section of the Swiss Hotel Review: “The Hotel Beau-Site und Stern in Wengen has been purchased by Mr E. Bühlmann from Beatenberg, who will be running the establishment himself from the end of this month. Mr Bühlmann previously worked at the Grand Hotel Territet and the Grand Hotel National in Wengen, as well as director of the Grand Hotel Harter and Méditerranée in Monte Carlo.“

A few years later, Edwin Bühlmann married the hotelier’s daughter Elisa Huhn, whose parents ran the Berghaus on Monte San Salvatore and other businesses in Lugano. The young couple then ran the modest guesthouse Stern together and changed the name of the hotel to Parkhotel Beau-Site in 1909, so that nothing reminded them of the builder and first owner, Marie [Wiedmer-]Stern.

A family business in transition

During the First World War, Edwin Bühlmann temporarily held a directorship abroad and, as the newspaper “Der Bund” wrote, his wife “managed to fulfil both her duties as a hotelier and as the mother of five children with admirable energy and creativity“.

After the war, in February 1919, in addition to the Parkhotel, Director Bühlmann ‘took over the favourably renowned Hotel de la Paix, formerly the Imperial Palace, in Lugano-Paradiso, which was equipped with all modern comforts, on a lease for a longer period of years.’ The Hotel-Revue reported, noting that both hotels were under his personal management.

Eventually, however, running two hotels proved to be too much of a burden, especially as the Parkhotel had been completely renovated and extended in 1929: the hotel in Lugano had to be sold again. During this time, Edwin Bühlmann fell seriously ill, and after a long period of suffering, he died in December 1936 at the age of 61. Under his management, the hotel had experienced a great upswing, writing an important chapter in its history. It had its own orchestra since the mid-1920s. His widow initially ran the hotel alone again, but was soon supported by her son Edwin Julius, who took over the management of the family business in 1941. Elisa Bühlmann-Huhn died at the end of March 1959, shortly before her 72nd birthday.

The Beausite is integrated into the Parkhotel

In 1933, Edwin Bühlmann’s sister Margrit married Harry Schraemli, hotelier, barkeeper and founder of Swiss cocktail culture. A good 30 years after the renovation in 1929, the neighbouring Hotel Gertsch was taken over, newly renovated and integrated into the Parkhotel operations under the name ‘Beausite’. In 1969, a new indoor swimming pool and sauna were installed in the main building to meet the changing needs of guests. In 1979, the owners Regina and Edwin Bühlmann sold the Parkhotel for health reasons to the local chiropractor Dr Peter Huggler, who already owned two hotels in Wengen. After just three years, however, he had to file for bankruptcy and the previous owner, Edwin Bühlmann, was forced to buy the hotel back from the bankrupt estate. These turbulent times marked a decisive turning point in the history of the hotel. The family business was now transformed into a public limited company with Bühlmann as Chairman of the Board of Directors at the helm, 34 guest rooms and all of the terrace rooms were modernised at a cost of 750,000 francs and the management of the hotel was handed over to Margreth and Jean-Pierre Burkardt-Bühler.

Ongoing renovation and remodelling of the Beausite outbuilding

The ‘Beausite’ building – like the neighbouring main house, Park – was in need of renovation. The Leemanns saw a challenge here, but also an opportunity. They decided to build condominiums in the Beausite that they could sell. The proceeds from these sales were channelled directly into the extensive renovation work on the main building. With tireless commitment and great passion, Margrit and Erich Leemann wrote a new chapter in the history of the Beausite Park Hotel Wengen and turned it into a place that met with enthusiasm among guests and became a popular and successful business.

Generation change and transition to the digital age

The Beausite Park Hotel Wengen had a loyal clientele, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to attract new guests via digital channels and to position itself accordingly in the age of digitalisation. To meet these challenges, Erich Leemann junior decided to return to Wengen in 2014 and run the business together with his parents. The aim was to better align the hotel with changing market conditions and guest needs. The focus was on automating processes, connecting to modern reservation platforms and adapting to changing booking behaviour. The new guests, who often came from urban areas, placed great value on digital services, flexibility and special requirements, for example in terms of food or infrastructure. It was crucial that the hotel met these needs without losing sight of the personal touch and excellent service. Erich Leemann junior made the hotel fit for the future. Together with his parents, he ensured that guests did not have to do without the digital amenities they were used to, even in the mountains. This flexible approach to new technologies and guest needs led to the Beausite Park Hotel Wengen quickly establishing itself online and gaining an outstanding reputation.

2022 – The farewell as a family business

The plan was always to sell the hotel when market positioning allowed. Erich Leemann junior wanted to take on new challenges outside the hotel industry and Margrit Leemann wanted to enjoy her well-earned retirement. It is well known that you should stop at the peak – and that is exactly what the family achieved with the sale to the Montelago Hospitality Group.