A stage set for hospitality, velvet, and silk

As soon as the doorman opens the door, you can smell it: the scent of the kings. It is understated yet distinctive. It evokes a sense of home and cosiness. It is pleasantly warm and welcoming. This scent is just one of many harmonious details at the Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois, a hotel that has been hosting the most distinguished figures from the worlds of literature, politics, business, art and culture for almost 350 years. For the people of Basel, too, the hotel is one of the finest and most important establishments in the city. It is here that people meet for afternoon tea or treat themselves to an after-work drink. During Fasnacht, the three kings above the main entrance are traditionally dressed in three Waggis costumes. 

Les Trois Rois belongs to Basel just as much as the Münster Cathedral, the Barfüsserplatz, and the Rhine. Furthermore, it is extremely characteristic of the city. It is one of the oldest hotels in Switzerland and has one of the world’s best restaurants. Cheval Blanc by Peter Knogl has held three stars and 19 Gault Millau points for years. The hotel nevertheless exudes Basel’s typical modesty and unobtrusiveness. Anyone who ventures inside (and you really should!) will discover charming details, beautiful flowers, crooked staircases, tassels, ornaments, crystal, velvet and silk – and above all: infectious warmth and hospitality. 

It is precisely these features which hotel manager Mark Jacob emphasises during our conversation in the library, one of his favourite spots in the hotel. “I have rarely encountered such passion in a workforce,” he says, praising his team. “Apart from the in-house technician, everyone here is guest-focused and ready to go the extra mile when the guest needs it.” High praise from someone who knows the industry inside out. Mark Jacob already grew up in a five-star hotel. His parents ran the Suvretta House in St. Moritz. “We lived in the staff flat and experienced first-hand what it means to be a hotelier,” he explains. 

Growing up in but not with luxury
Even as a child, his parents taught him: The hotel is a stage to be performed on, even if you yourself do not belong to the guests’ social circle. And because his parents were there for the guests round the clock, the children had to pitch in at home too. “To this day, I’m very interested in technology and craftsmanship. And I like details. That stands me in good stead in the hotel industry and, above all, at Les Trois Rois.” Before Mark Jacob began his career in the luxury hospitality industry, he spent a year as a professional snowboarder. After that: the École Hôtelière de Lausanne, Cornell University, Paris, Rome, San Francisco. In 2008, he joined the Dolder Grand in Zurich. He has been general manager at the Hotel Les Trois Rois since 2024.

Here, he carries almost 350 years of history and a guest list that makes you think you’ve misheard: Queen Elizabeth has stayed at the Schifflände, as has Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, along with the Dalai Lama, Bob Dylan, Franz Liszt, Pablo Picasso, Voltaire, and The Rolling Stones – with such a list, a manager could easily sit back, relax, and enjoy the moment. Not so for Mark Jacob. The hotel is steeped in history, yet Mark Jacob likes to look towards the future – true to the hotel’s motto: ‘Rich in History, Young at Heart’. “I live in the present and enjoy the moment,” he explains pragmatically. “Standing still doesn’t take us forward; it rather makes us sluggish and blind. Without necessarily wanting to be innovative at all costs, a hotel like Les Trois Rois must move with the times.” Looking beyond the city’s borders helps to maintain both a strong foothold and support in Basel. “We must remain unique,” Mark Jacob is certain. “That means constantly questioning ourselves.”

Always at the pulse of the city
With the front building at Blumenrain 2, transformed in 2025 by the Basel-based architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron, the establishment has definitely catapulted itself to the next level. You can no longer tell that the building used to be a bank – only the name of the Banks restaurant on the ground floor and the steps bridging the height difference between the two parts of the building still hint at this. Otherwise, there is a wonderfully minimalist Japanese-style wellness area here, overlooking the hustle and bustle at the boat landing. In addition, seven designer rooms have been created – including the 240-square-metre Suite des Rois with a private gym, its own kitchen, walk-in dressing room, lounge, and several bedrooms and bathrooms. Truly regal!

Even after all these years in the luxury hotel industry, Mark Jacob remains fascinated by interacting with people from different cultures. To ensure they feel at home in Basel, he and his 220 staff members do everything they can to provide a personalised and individual service. The fact that locals as well as hotel guests frequent the hotel is a little Basel specialty. “As a guest, you can experience the pulse of the city here,” says Mark Jacob. At the same time, Les Trois Rois is a place for the people of Basel where the wider world comes and goes. One person who has never been there, but with whom Mark Jacob would immediately have a whisky sour at the bar, is Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “This man’s energy impresses me greatly.” Should Zelenskyy ever come to Les Trois Rois, he would have earned the stage and the Suite des Rois would surely be his.