Not only guests are welcome in the Garten Hotels - honey bees and wild bees also find thriving retreats here. Discover five hotels where sustainability can be felt and experienced: From the new beehive in the Villa Carona to the fragrant beeswax candle from the Giessbach garden.
Bees in the Garten Hotels - Visiting the silent pollinators
With the nationwide project "The bee. Switzerland.", Switzerland Tourism is sending out a strong signal for biodiversity and sustainable tourism. The Garten Hotels are also buzzing: As part of this initiative, a new, lovingly designed bee house has been created at Villa Carona - a place where people, nature and animals can come together. An accompanying video tells the story of how this special project came about.
But bees are not only at home in Carona: they are welcome guests in numerous Garten Hotels - from wild swarms of bees to well-tended beehives. Be inspired by five hotels where sustainability hums quietly.
🐝 5 Garten Hotels where bees are guests
1. Kartause Ittingen - Home for honey bees and wild bees
The extensive gardens at Kartause Ittingen offer ideal conditions for both honey bees and wild bees. In addition to managed bee colonies, numerous species of wild bees live here, nesting in dead wood, soil and wall gaps.
🧠 Worth knowing:
In contrast to honey bees, which live in colonies and produce honey, wild bees are usually solitary. They pollinate specific plant species - a valuable contribution to biodiversity that honey bees alone cannot make.
Particularly beautiful: in the in-house carpentry workshop at Kartause Ittingen , wild bee hotels are lovingly crafted together with supervised employees - each piece is unique. Different natural materials such as reeds, elderberries, pieces of wood and branches are used individually and provide nesting sites for a variety of wild bee species.
The wild bee hotel is available from the Charterhouse online store
2. Schloss Wartegg - Hidden peoples in the trees
The extensive park at Schloss Wartegg is not only home to managed beehives - wild bee colonies can also be observed nesting in the trees. The large Demeter garden and the natural surroundings create ideal conditions for the industrious pollinators.
Find out more about the philosophy and the garden of Schloss Wartegg:
3rd hotel FloraAlpina - Bees with a view
Situated high above Lake Lucerne, not only guests but also the bees enjoy an impressive view. The hotel's own colonies make a valuable contribution to pollinating the surrounding plant diversity - and are wonderful to watch at work.
🧠 Worth knowing:
Many people react uneasily to signs such as "Beware of bees". But don't worry: bees are generally very peaceful animals that only sting when they feel threatened - for example by jerky movements or if you stand directly in front of the entrance hole.
4. Grandhotel Giessbach - Fragrant beeswax candles
At Giessbach, bees are not only valued - their wax is also put to good use. Made from 100% beeswax, the hand-poured Giessbach candles exude a delicate fragrance and bring natural comfort into your home.
Available in the Grandhotel Giessbach online store - a fragrant piece of nature directly from the Giessbach Domain.
5. Villa Carona - A new bee hotel is being built
In the middle of the Mediterranean garden of Villa Carona near Lugano, an extraordinary home for up to 30,000 honey bees has been created as part of the Switzerland: the "Bee Edition" - an architectural highlight that combines design, nature and sustainability in a special way.
The miniature hotel was created by designer and concept developer Sarah Rittmann. It is a faithful homage to the villa itself - in terms of color, shape and proportions. The Bee Edition stands elegantly on stilts, has a central entrance hole and a hinged roof as well as an integrated beekeeping system with ten Dadant frames. It therefore meets all the requirements for species-appropriate beekeeping and enables local beekeepers to provide efficient and sustainable care.
Surrounded by nectar-rich flowers and historical scenery, the bees find optimal conditions for a healthy, vibrant bee life here.
👉 The project is part of the nationwide campaign "The bee. Switzerland." campaign by Switzerland Tourism, which promotes greater biodiversity and the conscious use of natural resources.
🌿 Whether it's a historic park, herb garden or Mediterranean floral splendor - the Garten Hotels make a valuable contribution to the promotion of biodiversity with their very different garden landscapes.