An inn called the Drei Könige is recorded on this stretch of the Rhine in 1681, and in 1797 General Napoléon Bonaparte was given a state reception here. The present neoclassical building, by Basel architect Amadeus Merian, opened on February 16, 1844, and its guestbook runs from James Joyce and Pablo Picasso to Empress Michiko of Japan. The Straumann family bought the hotel in 2004 and reopened it in 2006 after a careful heritage restoration. Herzog & de Meuron have since remodelled the listed head building at Blumenrain 2, which reopened in June 2025 with seven rooms and suites, the Japanese-inspired Seijaku wellbeing area and Banks, a European and Asian sharing restaurant; The Council, their cigar lounge, opened in 2024. In the main house, antiques and stucco frame views of the river, and the River Suite Napoleon is finished in gold above the Rhine. Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl holds a three-MICHELIN-star rating for clear, pared-back French cooking, with a terrace over the water, and the Brasserie serves Swiss and French classics. There are 82 rooms and suites.
- Nearest airport
- EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg (BSL), 3 Miles / 5 Kilometres
- Rooms
- 82 rooms and suites
Insider tip Ask the concierge to book the tourist office's two-hour walking tour on the first day; it is an easy way into Basel's history.
Why I choose it A 17th-century Rhine inn turned grand hotel, with a three-star restaurant and new rooms by Herzog & de Meuron.