Hotel des Alpes (A Murder is Announced)

In the novel A Murder is Announced, Hotel des Alpes is a hotel in Montreux in Switzerland. Charlotte and Letitia Blacklock stayed there during the war. Letitia told Inspector Craddock that Rudi Scherz had told her that he was the son of the proprietor of the hotel and that he had met her when she stayed there.

Craddock subsequently found that Rudi's claim was untrue.

Real world inspiration
Montreux is a municipality in Switzerland on the shores of Lake Geneva. The Hôtel des Alpes in the novel is likely to be based on the actual Hôtel des Alpes-Grand Hôtel in Territet, a town in the municipality of Montreux. This hotel was built in 1854 and later also merged with a next door property the Grand Hotel, built in 1886. The hotel closed in 1975 but the building continues to be used for other purposes. During its heyday, the apartments of the hotel was used for long term stays by the wealthy of Europe, and hosted many members of the nobility and royalty.