I have been to Geneva twice. The first time, I was on a school trip to Annecy to practice my French. I was allocated one day to spend roaming around the Swiss capital, splashing my francs – kindly withdrawn beforehand by my mother back in Yorkshire – on the most expensive chocolate I could find, ostensively on the basis that I’d bring some home as a gift. You can imagine how that panned out. Some 15 years later, I returned to the famous city in search of something even tastier: European football.

Before even consulting my bestie, I’d bought us two tickets to the first semi-final of the UEFA Women’s Euros, hoping that the Lionesses would take an unconventional route to victory (they did!). Then there was the small matter of where to stay. Ultimately, we just needed a base, but hospitality aficionados that we are, we fancied a base with a bit of luxury and, ideally, personality.

Courtesy of Rotary Hotel Geneva MGallery Collection

Rotary Hotel Geneva McGallery Collection Review:

After a short flight from Edinburgh to Geneva, we walked out of the airport to blue skies and a bustle of tourists all rushing to see what the historic city had to offer. We jumped in a taxi and spent the 20-minute taxi journey to the hotel getting a feel for the local scenery, making a mental note to reserve some time for the most essential city-break activity: shopping.

When we arrived at the Rotary Hotel, we were swiftly greeted by friendly hotel staff, who helped us shift our oversized luggage up to our room and gave us tips for getting the most out of Geneva, from the best lake-side beaches to the famous chocolate tour – a Choco Pass is pretty much essential. It’s also worth noting that if you book a stay at the Rotary Hotel, you’ll be sent a free Geneva Public Transport card in advance, for using the bus, tram, boat, and train to the airport.

We wasted no time in exploring the city. Having left our suitcases in the room (more on that later), we walked straight over to Lake Geneva, which took us less than five minutes. The Jet d’Eau, otherwise known as the massive water fountain, is every bit as impressive as the brochures insist, spraying water 140 metres into the air at a rate of 500 litres of water per second at 200km/h. We admired the view from Bains des Pâquis, one of the many lakeside beaches within the city, with an Aperol Spritz in hand.