Can’t afford to buy Audrey Hepburn’s newly listed Lausanne villa? Check into her favourite hotels – and more A-list suites

Religious scrollers of property websites would have hit the jackpot this week, with Audrey Hepburn’s 10,764-square-foot fairytale home just outside of Lausanne, Switzerland hitting the market - for a cool £16.7 million.

If the budget doesn’t quite stretch to that, Audrey fans can still capture a slice of the Hollywood star’s Swiss lifestyle with a stay at Bürgenstock Resort at Lake Lucerne, where she lived from 1954 to 1966 (she even married actor and director Mel Ferrer at the resort’s on-site chapel). 

While you might not be able to stay in Audrey’s exact room - the resort was refurbished in 2007 - these celebrity suites give travellers a chance to walk in the footsteps of history’s most iconic figures. 

The Coco Chanel Suite – Lausanne Palace, Switzerland

Audrey Hepburn wasn’t the only Lausanne fan - legendary fashion designer Coco Chanel came to live in Lausanne after the Second World War and was even buried there despite dying in Paris. Her years in Switzerland were spent in her magnificent home near the Bois de Sauvabelin woods (which David Bowie would later own) and at her suites in Hôtel Beau-Rivage Palace and Lausanne Palace. Visitors can spend a night in the Coco Chanel Suite located on the 5th floor of the Lausanne Palace, where a magnificent balcony offers unobstructed views of Lake Geneva and the snow-capped Alps. The famous Parisian designer who was a hotel client for many years, largely inspired the design of the suite in beautiful shades of sky blue and cream. 

Prices start at CHF 4,390 (approx £3,872) per night.

The Ernest Hemingway Suite – The Ritz, Paris, France

Ernest Hemingway had a deep connection to The Ritz, famously "liberating" the hotel bar during World War II and writing, "When I dream of afterlife in heaven, the action always takes place in the Paris Ritz." The Ernest Hemingway Suite is a tribute to the writer’s love for adventure and literature, with vintage books and travel memorabilia decorating the 851 sq. ft space - there’s even a tree-lined terrace that’s perfect for writing. 

Prices start at EUR 8,800 (Approx. £7,293) per night.

The Zelda Suite – Hôtel Belles Rives, Antibes, France

This charming French Riviera hotel was once a private villa where F. Scott Fitzgerald lived with his wife Zelda, partied with Ernest Hemingway and wrote Tender Is the Night. Now visitors can stay at The Zelda Suite, which offers a twist on the traditional Art Deco style that the Fitzgeralds would have enjoyed during their residence in the 1920s.

Prices available on request. 

The Agatha Christie Room – Pera Palace Hotel, Istanbul, Turkey

Legendary crime novelist Agatha Christie always stayed in Room 411 on her frequent visits to Pera Palace Hotel, and it’s rumoured that she penned Murder on the Orient Express in this very suite. The room still has its original antique furniture, as well as a library with Agatha’s books published in several languages and the replica of the typewriter used by the author. Not a reader? The hotel also has suites dedicated to famous guests Greta Garbo and Jackie O. 

Prices start at EUR 734 (approx £608) per night.  

-ENDS- 

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For media enquiries please contact Alexandra Liste: alexandra.liste@lemongrassmarketing.com / 01865 237 997 

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Editors notes

Capital of the Canton of Vaud and 4th largest city in Switzerland, Lausanne shines through in its dynamism and openness, as well as its sporting, cultural and food offering.

Lausanne Tourisme acts as a point of call for the city at the national and international level, by inviting travellers to discover the charm of the city of Lausanne.