Quirky inn serves up variety of sensations

The Angels room is a real love nest. www.auberge.aux4events.ch

The Auberge aux 4 Vents offers anything but typical hospitality, with eight very different rooms and original cuisine to delight the palate.

The Auberge, or Four Winds Inn, which opened two years ago in Fribourg, is somewhat off the beaten track. Far away from any public transport, down a side road, it has however managed to attract many guests, who have beaten a well-worn path to its door.

The owners knew from the beginning they had to offer more than clean sheets and comfortable beds.

“We didn’t want to create another hotel like there are everywhere else,” says Res Balzli, one of the owners. “We went looking for a house that wasn’t already a hotel so we could decorate it according to our own tastes, and fortunately we found this place that didn’t have its own style.”

Buying the house was just the first part of the plan. To set up shop, the owners decided to rely more on inspiration.

Rather than call on an architect or interior specialist to get the rooms ready for business, they brought in a local stage designer, Olivier Suter, to do the job.

Stage set rooms

“Everything was adapted from what we found,” says Balzli. “There was no initial concept, and if you look at the rooms, they look a bit like stage sets.”

The result is eight rooms possessing each its own particular style. The rooms’ names refer to a theme, such as the Scottish Room, or a colour, like in the Blue Room, or even a slightly wacky idea, for the Cathedral Room.

The Angels room is the most requested by guests, although whether sleep is on their mind is open to some debate.

“The angels are technical angels,” says Catherine Portmann, the hotel’s other owner. “Guests can control everything from their bed thanks to the remote controls.”

“People usually spend their entire stay in the room. It would probably be better to call it the Lovers Room than the Angels.”

The Auberge des 4 Vents also owes much of its reputation to its Blue Room. Because of a lack of space, there was no way of installing a conventional bathroom, so the design team built in a bathtub with a difference.

Bathtub on rails

The tub, which dominates the room and is perched on a set of rails, can actually be moved through a window into an outdoor position high above the garden. Guests seem to have no compunction about using this unusual facility.

“People like to take two or three baths when they are staying in the room,” says Portmann. “In the beginning, other guests used to wait in the garden just to see the bath come through the window.”

Not every room has a gadget to guarantee its reputation, but there is one whose name totally belies its place. The Cathedral Room is in fact built on the opposite side of the building offering a view of Fribourg’s biggest church.

To get around this slight discrepancy, the designers came up with a technique that lets guests see round corners. They set up a series of four mirrors that allow people to see the image of the cathedral from the bedroom window.

“This is the only room without a proper view, so we had to find a way of making it more interesting,” says Portmann.

The inn isn’t just about beds and rooms though. The restaurant, with its large skylight, has also attracted connoisseurs for its décor and the quality of cuisine.

“The restaurant was the only thing we built from scratch,” says Balzli. “We wanted a warm atmosphere, so we used the colour red. We also used natural materials like a wooden parquet and copper and zinc surfaces which age well.”

“We didn’t want a totally new look about the place either. We chose a mixture of old wooden tables and we don’t use tablecloths so people can see them.”

Locals have appreciated the restaurant’s small selection of quality dishes and reasonable prices since it opened. The owners suggest reserving at least a week in advance to get a table.

The restaurant’s success owes much to its chef, Emmanuel Gremaud, who is heading an establishment for the first time.

“The owners give me a lot of freedom,” said Gremaud. “We try to be original. I like to use unusual herbs and spices and to avoid common restaurant fare.”

You could be forgiven for thinking that with unusual rooms and good cuisine, the Auberge des 4 Vents could be somewhat overpriced. But look again, and you’ll see that the inn is also an affordable destination.

“During the week, we have a lot of business people,” says Balzli. “But on the weekend, we have couples in love. As people say, let’s have fun.”

by Scott Capper