The Chinese enter Paradeplatz – Inside Paradeplatz

Recently, the phrase “A new icon is born” was written on the front wall of the Savoy Hotel on Paradeplatz. It announces: “Opening December 20, 2023.”

Keep, don’t spill, is the motto of the Mandarin luxury hotel chain based in Hong Kong. The new name of the noble house in the heart of the financial center: Mandarin Oriental Savoy.

The loud announcement of the opening before Christmas is connected to the story.

Austrian Johannes Bauer once succeeded in the same coup. As promised, the Savoy Baur En Ville saw the light of day on December 24, 1838.

185 years later, instead of the Austrians, it is the Chinese who are teaching the Swiss how to turn luxury and enjoyment of life into big business in the most famous place in Helvetia.

The Mandarin’s directors were determined to stick to the historically charged schedule.

Hence December 20th.

That it’s all just a show: who cares? You don’t spend the night at the Wunderkasten on the Swiss Bankenplatz until weeks later.

Mandarin Oriental Savoy, Zurich is now accepting reservations from 1^street February 2024.” On the home page Hotel chain.

But luxury awaits the guest – from the lobby to the rooftop.

Asians cleverly draw on French interiors to suit the tastes of the successful wealthy.

They did not want to buy the expensive “hut” for it: why would they?

UBS abandoned sales efforts without achieving anything. No one was willing to pay nearly half a billion for Savoy.

The new UBS is now located in three impressive buildings on Paradeplatz, all of which have a distinct value.

In addition to the hotel, there is the old CS headquarters and the former headquarters of the Basler Bankverein in Zurich.

With a merger in 1998 and takeover deals in 2023, the banking city now survives only from one provider at its heart.

UPS. It overwhelms everything.

But the only place where anything actually happens is the Savoy Mandarin Hotel.

There has been a huge void in the old Bankverein building for many years – major renovation works are pending; No one knows what is coming.

Although the lights are still on at CS headquarters, it is rare for anyone to get lost in the long corridors.

Master in Banking in Zurich on Paradeplatz shows how demolition works. Meanwhile, Asian Mandarins show how new life can be breathed into old things.

Old Europe, old Switzerland.