Tours and Activities:

Those were the Days

Located in Colonia Suiza Nueva Helvecia, 50 kilometers away from Colonia del Sacramento, we found the first tourist hotel ever built in Uruguay. Of course, it was a long time ago, when tourists thought and behaved in a different way. Nevertheless, the magic of the place remains intact.

No sooner visitors arrive in Colonia Suiza Nueva Helvecia, than they understand there are some places in the world with a glow and a magic of their own and that beyond all rules set up by new technologies, some sites turn out to be marvelous due to their simplicity.


A Place in the World

Such is the case of Nueva Helvecia, which emerged upon the arrival of Swiss peasants from Old Europe along with German, Italian and Spanish immigrants who came in the mid XIX century with the aim of building up a country without leaving their own philosophy and customs aside.

Uruguay had what everyone was looking for: broad possibilities to settle down based on fertile soil ideal for agriculture and livestock, in addition to benign weather. All these elements, along with the effort and passion for work, turned this district into a model, a real example for the future generations.

Tourism Began Here

Completely different from what we know today, tourism began in this district and its landmark is an emblematic site: a beautiful hotel known today as Granja Hotel Suizo, which began lodging the first Uruguayan and foreign families who arrived in these lands “to rest” back in 1872.

A spacious lawn where every detail is taken care of and decorated with all kinds of plants and season fruit trees would contribute to an environment that made guests feel out of this world, just like it happens today, almost 140 years afterwards.

In those days, “to rest” consisted in reading the newspaper or commenting on the news and gossip of the time, chatting about political and economic matters and thinking about the world while wrapped up in an atmosphere of quietness. Nobody would have thought about going to the beach barely dressed and much less about sunbathing, something considered harmful.

Times Change

But the essence is the same. The hotel still has the magic of those years, but now it also has an Olympic swimming-pool immersed in this handsome location, which lets guests enjoy the fresh water and relax in the small spa and massage room of the venue.

The very neat lawn keeps inviting guests to relax. They just need to close their eyes and listen. Though it may seem strange, birds make competitions in this place to see which of them sings more and better day after day.

But if there is one place inside the hotel worth a visit and which will immediately take guests on a journey back in time, that is the restaurant and dining-room. The most representative photographs are hanging on the walls to show visitors what everything used to be like in those days.

Homage to Switzerland

Rolf and his wife take care of everything and succeed in making all guests feel as if they were part of this nice Swiss family. The menu is faithful to the place: Swiss dishes. Made with original recipes from Europe, this place serves the best Swiss potato in America and the best cheese fondue and smoked pork ribs with orange and plum caramel sauce.

No wonder dozens of visitors come along in the high season to visit the hotel and end up staying for lunch or dinner. When the night falls and the yellow lights illuminate its façade, there are people who sit at one of the benches in the park to imagine what all this was like long ago. We came to the conclusion that good things are simple and plain, they never change.

Contact

Granja Hotel Suizo

Federico Fischer 355 - N. Helvecia a 60 km de la ciudad, (70000) , Colonia del Sacramento, Colonia

See also: Hotels in Colonia and other accommodation venues