Homes, hotels & restaurants

Grand Hôtel de Territet

Type: Former grand hotel / recording location
Address: Avenue de Chillon, Territet (Montreux), aujourd’hui Résidence des Alpes

Not open to visitors

Adjoining the Hôtel des Alpes and completed in 1888, the Grand Hôtel de Territet was the first grand hotel in Montreux. Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Sissi, occupied its first floor four times between 1893 and 1898. But it was an altogether different episode that wrote it into rock history: in December 1971 the hotel stood empty, closed for the season, when Deep Purple took refuge there after the Casino fire. The band set up their equipment at the end of a corridor leading off the lobby, lined the walls with mattresses to deaden the sound, and parked the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio in front of the main entrance. Reaching the truck meant walking through bedrooms and across balconies: the trip was so arduous that the band gave up listening back to their takes and simply played until they were satisfied. “Machine Head” was recorded there from 6 to 21 December 1971. The building, restored identically after a ten-year project, is today the Résidence des Alpes, a private condominium that cannot be visited; the “Smoke on the Water” plaque stands a few steps away, on the quay.

The Grand Hôtel de Territet, from Sissi to Machine Head

1888: Montreux’s first palace

Completed in 1888 and adjoining the Hôtel des Alpes, the Grand Hôtel de Territet was Montreux’s first palace. Empress Elisabeth of Austria, the famous Sissi, occupied its first floor four times between 1893 and 1898.

December 1971: Deep Purple takes refuge

In December 1971 the hotel stood empty, closed for the season, when Deep Purple took refuge there after the fire at the Casino de Montreux. The band set up its gear at the end of a corridor off the lobby, lined the walls with mattresses to deaden the sound, and parked the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio in front of the main entrance.

“Machine Head”, December 1971

To reach the truck, one had to cross rooms and balconies: the journey was so awkward that the band gave up listening back to its takes and simply played until fully satisfied. “Machine Head” was recorded from 6 to 21 December 1971. The album contains “Smoke on the Water”, which tells of the Casino fire seen from across the lake.

Today: the Résidence des Alpes

Restored identically after a ten-year project, the building is today the Résidence des Alpes, a private condominium that cannot be visited. The “Smoke on the Water” plaque stands a few steps away, on the quay.