Please rest assured that while our annexe is receiving its makeover, the rooms and suites in our main building as well as our restaurants, bar and Rhine terrace will remain ready to welcome you.
Our reservations team would be very happy to help you if you are looking for any information or would like to make a reservation.
We look forward to welcoming you!
One of the oldest city hotels in Europe – founded in 1681 as an inn for gentlemen, rebuilt in 1844 as a Grand Hotel – receives guests from all over the world. Such a tradition demands commitment – which we live out fully every day. Learn more about the history and people who are part of this tradition: Experience the living past.
Man has always been a traveller. Hospitality characterises our culture. So it is no wonder that it is in inns and hotels in particular that history lives on. The guestbook of the Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois reads like a who's who of world history. Empress Michiko of Japan, James Joyce and Pablo Picasso: were all guests for a while at our hotel.
Download - More about the history
First record of the gentlemen's inn "the Three Kings".
Innkeeper Johann Christoph Im Hof has three figures carved out of wood to represent the three kings and mounts them on the façade of the building.
General Napoleon Bonaparte stopped off at the "Three Kings" while travelling through. He is honoured with a glittering state reception.
Under French rule, kings were out of favour and the hotel was temporarily known as “Zu den drei Bildern" (“At the sign of the three images”) or the "Hotel aux trois magots".
Master tailor Johann Jakob Senn acquired the "Three Kings" hostelry.
Senn had the buildings torn down and commissioned Basel Architect Amadeus Merian to build the new hotel.
On 16 February the new hotel Des Trois Rois opened its doors. A plain classical style distinguishes this well proportioned building.
The southern section of the hotel (Blumenrain 2) was sold to the Kantonalbank and renovated accordingly.
The Kantonalbank moved out and the tourist office took over the front building at the Schifflände.
1941/42 - 1972 - Director Alfred Kienberger moulded the "Drei Könige am Rhein / Hôtel des Trois Rois". He restored it to its international reputation and recognition after the war.
Entrepreneur Dr. h.c. Thomas Straumann acquired the "Three Kings" and the southern section at Blumenrain 2. He spared no expense in restoring the hotel, under the direction of Basel architect Christian Lang, and according to national heritage criteria with sections reconstructed in accordance with the original plans. The extension to include the front building at Blumenrain 2 added a number of rooms, a large ballroom, banqueting and modern conference rooms.
Reopening of the Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois on 20 March.
Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl, 3 stars in the Michelin Guide
Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl, 19 GaultMillau points
Brasserie Les Trois Rois, 14 GaultMillau points
Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl, rank 2
Our employees, from 38 different countries are always here for you – attentively offering a first-class service with devotion and great attention to detail.
Philippe Clarinval, born in Zug (CH) in 1975, has extensive management experience in the international hotel industry. This central Switzerland native began his career in a selection of luxury hotels spread across the US and Asia. He then took over two lively resorts in Switzerland. For seven years, he managed The Omnia Mountain Lodge, in Zermatt, which grew under his leadership to become one of the most distinguished 5-star superior boutique hotels in Switzerland. In 2017, he became the general manager at the Carlton Hotel St. Moritz, which was awarded distinctions, including a prestigious 5-star rating from Forbes. Mr Clarinval is continuing his academic education alongside his career. He obtained an MBA in 2014, and has completed courses at the universities of Cornell (USA), Oxford (UK) and Harvard (USA). He is currently doing a PhD at the University of Liverpool (UK).
After obtaining a commercial diploma, Rudolph Schiesser (*1959) studied at the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne and at Cornell University (Ithaca, New York). During the course of his career he spent three years as general manager of the Hotel Imperial Palace (Annecy, France) and was General Manager of the Hotel Les Trois Rois (Basel) from 1994 to 2007. Mr. Schiesser is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Villa Orselina, the Grand Casino Basel and of the Airport Hotel Basel as well as a member of the Board of Directors of the Badrutt’s Palace Hotel. He is also lessee of the Hotel Touring au Lac (Neuchâtel) and the Hotel Athmos in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
Economist Stefan Meister began his career at Novartis before spending many years as part of the management of the publicly listed pharmaceutical company Celesio (now McKesson). He subsequently became a Member of the Board at Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH in Germany. In 2011, he returned to Switzerland to take up the role of Group COO and Member of the Board at Waypoint Capital (now B-FLEXION), the family office of the Bertarelli family. Serving as the Vice President of the B-FLEXION Group since 2021, he is also the Chairman of the Board for numerous of the globally active company’s affiliates. He was on the Board of Directors at Straumann AG in Basel from 2010 to 2016, and is currently a Member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Leadership and Value in Society at the University of St. Gallen.
After qualifying initially as a pharmaceutical assistant, Ursula Straumann (*1967) went on to complete a commercial traineeship and then, after a period of on-the-job training, obtained a Swiss federal diploma as a management assistant. A flexible all-rounder, she has filled a number of positions in the financial services and medical technology industries. As an assistant to executive management and to the company chairman, she obtained insights into the entire chain of business processes. She has been particularly active in the marketing and communication fields. Ursula Straumann is a member of the Board of Directors of centerVision AG.
After obtaining her commercial degree in real estate, Amy Straumann (*1985) worked at a renowned real estate agency in Gstaad, before she joined the Basel medtech company Medartis AG in 2008. In the course of almost 10 years, she initially held the position of Event Manager. After having spent a year at Medartis Australia & New Zealand, she returned to the headquarter to take on the role of Assistant CSO (Chief Sales Officer), allowing her to gain insight in the field of executive management. After her parental leave, the mother of three joined the organisation of the Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois in 2022 to pursue her career.
Hans Wiedemann (*1953) from Basel, graduated from the Lausanne Hotel School, of which he was a member of the International Advisory Board from 1998 to 2018. After a variety of positions in Switzerland, he spent 13 years working in Australia, lastly as the General Manager of five hotels with 2000 employees. In China he established a hotel with 600 rooms and 1300 employees before returning to Switzerland, not least because of his two children Raphael and Rebecca. For nine years he managed the Le Montreux Palace Hotel. Since 2004, Hans Wiedemann has been working at Badrutt's Palace Hotel, from 2004 to 2018 as Managing Director and from 2014 until today as Delegate of the Board.
Awards: Australian Service Excellence Award 1994 | Hotelier of the Year 2001 | Hotelier of the World 2009 | Lifetime Achievement Awards: PATWA 2013, EHMA 2017, EHL 2019, Hotel Rating Switzerland 2020/2021
Dr. Jürg Greuter (*1956) graduated from the University of Basel Law School, where he also obtained his PhD. He is an attorney-at-law admitted to the bar in Switzerland and a Notary Public in Basel. He began his career as an associate with a law firm in Zurich. During his professional activity, he has served as a Board Member and Legal Counsel to numerous small and mid-sized companies in Switzerland and in France in different sectors such as MedTech, Construction, Tourism, Shipping, and Aviation. Dr. Greuter has been a founding Partner as from 1990 and is of Counsel since 2017 with the law firm Dietrich Greuter Wunder – Attorneys, Notaries and Mediators, (now: Dietrich Wunder Horni Furler), in Basel. Currently, he is a Board Member of – amongst others – CHI CLASSICS BASEL Ltd and centerVision AG.
