The ferry from Lausanne to Évian takes forty minutes. You cast off, watch the Swiss shoreline slowly recede, and wonder why you don't make the crossing more often.

On the French side, a palace dating from 1909 awaits. The «Hotel Royal» owes its regal name to British King Edward VII, who had promised to be among its first guests. He died in 1910 without ever having set foot inside. The name stuck.

Familiar Ground

On June 15, the G7 heads of state will arrive for their annual summit. For some of them, the hotel's royal heritage will hold particular appeal. It was here, in 2003, that a French host — President Jacques Chirac — opened the summit (then still the G8, with Russia's Vladimir Putin at the table) on the terrace of the «Hotel Royal».

Évian 2026 will once again give the Alpine spa town its moment on the world stage. News channels across the globe will carry the name into living rooms everywhere. Host and organizer Emmanuel Macron will preside over a gathering that carries no small measure of geopolitical tension — and no shortage of personal friction among its participants.

Heart of the Évian Resort

Several weeks before the summit, finews meets François Dussart, director general of the Évian Resort, at the «Hotel Royal» — the centerpiece of the wider resort complex.

Neither Dussart nor his team appear particularly rattled by the approaching spectacle. That is hardly surprising: Dussart is a seasoned operator who spent nearly two decades running one of the most storied properties on the Swiss side of the lake.

Neo-Baroque ceiling frescoes in the «Salon Royal». (Image: Nicolas Jacquemin, courtesy)

Who Sleeps in the «Suite Royale»?

Why did the G7 come to Évian? According to Dussart, the property has been on the French government's radar for years through the Franco-German industrial dialogues held regularly on site — gatherings that have brought ministers and chancellors to the table depending on the agenda. With France holding the G7 presidency in 2026, the choice was a natural one. The site's security logistics played a role as well.

The «Suite Royale» — dedicated to Edward VII, never occupied by him — stands ready for one of the arriving leaders. Who will sleep there is not Dussart's call. «They play Tetris with our room inventory,» he says with a smile, referring to the G7 secretariat.

Casino and Kids Resort

For Évian, and for the «Hotel Royal» in particular, the summit is a timely opportunity to remind the world of its credentials as a travel destination.

The resort is, after all, one of the more unusual hospitality complexes in Europe: three hotels, an 18-hole golf course with an academy, a thermal spa, two concert halls, a casino, and a 2,000-square-meter kids resort that has few peers in that dimension.

Between the Lake and the Alps

All of this unfolds across roughly 100 hectares between the lake and the Alps, an hour's drive from Geneva — or forty minutes by ferry from Lausanne.

The owner is the Danone group, through its «Société des Eaux Minérales d'Évian» subsidiary — a conglomerate better known for yogurt and mineral water, which uses the resort as a communications platform, a brand ambassador for its prized water (now also available sparkling), and, one may hope, a profitable business unit in its own right.

Resort director general François Dussart. (Image: G. Gardette, courtesy)

Neo-Baroque Frescoes by a Lausanne Painter

The lobby greets visitors with an attractive historical tension. Beneath the vaulted ceiling — covered with neo-Baroque frescoes by Lausanne painter Gustave Jaulmes (1873–1959), delicate pastoral motifs in green, rose, and off-white, completed in 1909 and restored to their original brilliance during the major renovation of 2013 to 2015 — a sculptural ring chandelier of brushed metal hangs in the air.

Below it: royal-blue velvet sofas, armchairs in wood and muted leather, a dark-blue carpet with a graphic pattern. The room breathes. It feels neither like a museum nor like a design hotel. The decision to engage the historical fabric directly, rather than archive it, gives the property its particular charm.

Born of the Spa Craze

The Évian Resort grew out of the water. The Évian springs celebrate their 200th anniversary this year; the hotel followed in 1909 as a logical consequence. Around the turn of the century, the Belle Époque swept Europe with a thermal spa craze that transformed entire regions. Wealthy travelers — initially British, drawn by the reputation of the healing springs — sought places where the cure and comfort coincided. Évian was one of them.

And where guests are housed, entertainment must follow: golf from 1904, a casino, concerts. Layer by layer, what today operates as a resort took shape.

Water as an Economic Force

The thermal operation itself has changed. «It no longer carries the same significance as it did 120 years ago,» Dussart concedes. A loyal clientele still comes for the cure, but thermal bathing has lost much of its cachet as an upper-class indulgence.

Combined with the spa and fitness facilities, the resort nonetheless remains a meaningful economic engine for the town. The resort employs around 1,200 full-time equivalent positions; the Évian bottling plant next door accounts for a similar number.

The bar offers a spaceship-like vantage point over Lake Geneva. (Image: Guillaume de Laubier, courtesy)

Swiss Director Since 2022

François Dussart knows both shores of the lake from personal experience. A dual national based in Lausanne, with a small pied-à-terre in Évian, he crosses Lake Geneva nearly every day. Before taking the helm in Évian in 2022, he spent twelve years running the Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne.

He knows what the comparison entails. «Lausanne and Évian are two entirely different worlds,» he says. «Lausanne has 120,000 inhabitants, Évian has 9,000. The sports federations and large international corporate headquarters simply aren't here.»

Sport and Family at the Core

What Évian offers instead is a decided orientation toward sport and family. The kids resort, the golf course, the thermal spa, the option to drop the children off in the morning and go sailing on the lake in the afternoon.

Competition? Dussart waves the question away. «I don't think we really compete. We complement each other. Both contribute to the strength of the Lake Geneva arc.»

A Draw for Geneva's Financial Community

On price, the hotel sits clearly below Geneva and Zurich, closer to Lausanne and Montreux. That positioning explains a well-balanced guest mix: 60 percent individual travelers, 40 percent groups and conferences. Geneva private banks use the meeting rooms for discreet retreats. The IMD business school is directly across the lake and works with the resort, including within Danone's own executive training program, which is housed in the third hotel, the Vernia.

Major commodities traders occasionally book entire wings. And every summer, Parisian families arrive, stand on the terrace, gaze across the lake — and discover a different kind of luxury from anything the capital offers.

In the thermal tradition: the «Évian Spa» at the «Hotel Royal». (Image: C. Gardette, courtesy)

Warmth Over Ostentation

Before taking the job, Dussart spent a weekend at the hotel incognito. «What struck me was a luxury that is genuinely warm. Not flashy. Something relaxed, generous, real.»

Franck Riboud, son of Danone founder Antoine Riboud, grew up around Évian and left a decisive imprint on the 2013–2015 renovation. He wanted a house where people feel at ease — not one that intimidates them. That DNA has survived.

«Real Growth Among Swiss Guests»

It frustrates Dussart somewhat that Évian remains a blind spot for many Swiss travelers. «The Évian brand is known internationally,» he says. «But too few people know it is also a travel destination.»

Switzerland is the resort's second-largest source market after France, and Dussart is convinced the potential has barely been tapped — particularly in German-speaking Switzerland. «We haven't yet crossed the decisive threshold there. That is where real growth is possible.»

A Summer in Évian

After the G7 summit, Évian will settle into its familiar Alpine summer rhythm. July brings the Amundi Évian Championship — the golf major that began in 1994 as the Évian Masters and has ranked among the five major tournaments in women's golf since 2013.

Amundi, the French asset manager, is the title sponsor. Geneva private banks also use the tournament as a platform to cultivate partnerships and host clients.

Golf Major and Chamber Music

Since 1976, the «Rencontres Musicales d'Évian» have been a fixture of the summer season, transforming the «Grange au Lac» — a 1,000-seat concert hall within the resort — into a world-class venue for classical chamber music.

What lies ahead for Évian? Dussart reports double-digit growth for three consecutive years, and 2026 is already shaping up strongly — despite a fire at the casino that temporarily put it out of commission, and despite the complexity of the G7 month, which will disrupt the regular high season for one week.

The Middle East Factor

One variable no one planned for — and one that is certain to feature in the conversations among the arriving leaders — is the escalation in the Middle East.

Many discerning European travelers, Dussart notes, are gravitating toward closer destinations. «We had an April that was not normal,» he says. «We did not expect that.» Safety, accessibility, familiarity — qualities Évian can offer without qualification.

Briefly, the Center of the World

François Dussart will continue to commute between Switzerland and France by ferry in the weeks ahead. Each crossing will show him a different face of the lake. For thousands of years, it has never repeated itself exactly.

When the jets of the arriving heads of state are reflected in its surface, and the temporary weight of global politics settles over the water, the lake will barely blink. And perhaps Giorgia Meloni of Italy and Sanae Takaichi of Japan will find unexpected inspiration in Évian and its «Hotel Royal.»