i think that i'm going to get into the hotel business
======
©
Swiss women book into the
man-free hotel
John Follain
WHEN Clare Joy, a British banker who travels to Zurich every
week, heard that a hotel had opened there exclusively for
women, she promptly booked a room. She was tired of walking
into hotel bars in the Swiss financial capital and being asked by
waiters and strangers alike: "Are you expecting someone?"
Joy, 29, from London, typifies the market that the three-star
Lady's First aims to attract - female executives who find that
established hotels treat them differently from their male
counterparts and who often prefer room service to dining alone
in the hotel restaurant.
"The place was a haven," said Joy. "After a hard day you want
peace and quiet, but a hotel restaurant on your own can be
intimidating. Those places are full of men and you're given a
table facing everyone. It feels so exposed."
Men can go no further than the reception area of the hotel near
Lake Zurich. The staff are female and so, assured that they will
meet no men, guests stroll in dressing gowns from their
bedrooms to the top-floor health and beauty centre and relax
with a Turkish bath, Finnish sauna or Chinese massage.
"This is not a home for women running from men, it's simply an
attempt to cater for women and women only," said Yael
Schneider, the manager.
"Men are assumed to have a partner or a wife back home, but if
you are a woman on your own you are treated strangely. People
think you are looking for a man."
The 28-room hotel, set up by a non-profitmaking association of
Zurich businesswomen - and some men - at a cost of £1.6m,
opened last month. Its features were created by a female
interior designer with women in mind. The bathrooms, for
example, are bigger and better-lit than usual for a three-star
hotel. There is a dimmer switch for the lights but no shaver
socket.
Wardrobes in the £120- a-night rooms are designed for dresses
and jackets, while the chocolate and peanuts normally found in
minibars have been replaced by Asian rice snacks and Swiss
sugar-free biscuits. There is also a diet-conscious "cappuccino
plus" breakfast instead of eggs, sausages and sticky pastries.
The hotel was welcomed by travel professionals. Patricia Crimp,
vice-chairman of the Association of Women Travel Executives,
said: "Some might argue that this is a step back for feminism
and equality, but I don't think so."
Joy plans to be a regular guest - although she will make an
exception on her next trip. "My husband is coming, so Lady's
First is out," she said. |
