---
okf_version: "0.2"
type: "Article"
title: "The Living Circle – an exceptional Swiss hospitality brand"
description: "Take two luxury hotels, add two restaurants and two farms, combine them into one and, voilà, a new Swiss hospitality brand is born: \"The Living Circle.\""
resource: "https://travelmemo.com/switzerland/the-living-circle-swiss-hospitality-brand"
language: en
translation: { lang: de, resource: "https://reisememo.ch/schweiz/the-living-circle-hospitality-brand" }
author: "Walter Schaerer"
publisher: "Travelmemo"
photo_count: 9
tags: ["Dinner", "Experience", "Lunch", "Rural", "Switzerland"]
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  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/restaurant"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/experience-travel"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/culinary-tourism"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/rural-tourism"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/luxury-travel"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/culture"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/topics/itinerary"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/ontology/organizations/swiss-international-air-lines"
  - "https://travelmemo.com/author/walter-schaerer"
generated: { by: "human:https://travelmemo.com/author/walter-schaerer", at: 2026-07-27T20:18:42+00:00 }
verified:
  - { by: "human:https://travelmemo.com/author/katja-birrer", at: 2017-06-02T18:25:28+00:00 }
sources:
  - id: photos
    resource: the-living-circle-swiss-hospitality-brand.md#photos
    title: "Original photography by Walter Schärer"
    author: "human:https://travelmemo.com/author/walter-schaerer"
    last_modified: 2017-04-08
timestamp: 2026-07-27T20:18:42+00:00
---

# The Living Circle – an exceptional Swiss hospitality brand

> The Living Circle is a Swiss hospitality brand uniting two luxury hotels, two restaurants, and two working farms under one family ownership, offering guests a farm-to-table experience across Zurich and Ticino.

## Destination
Switzerland — Hotel Storchen and Restaurant Buech in Zurich/Herrliberg; Hotel Castello del Sole, Rustico del Sole, and Terreni alla Maggia in Ascona, Ticino.

## Why visit
The brand's defining draw is a direct farm-to-table loop: ingredients from the family's own agricultural estates — Schlattgut near Zurich and Terreni alla Maggia in the Maggia Delta — supply the hotels' kitchens, promising exceptional freshness and regional authenticity.

## What to see
- **Hotel Storchen Zurich** — Recently renovated 5-star hotel on the Limmat River facing City Hall, with interiors referencing its stork heritage.
- **Restaurant Buech** — Gem of a restaurant set in a Herrliberg vineyard with Lake Zurich views, a green-clad terrace, and romantic interiors.
- **Schlattgut Farm** — Working dairy and arable farm directly behind Restaurant Buech, run by the Ledergerber family; offers fresh milk straight from the cow.
- **Hotel Castello del Sole** — Established luxury hotel on Lake Maggiore with a subtropical garden and hotel park; hosts steel sculpture exhibitions seasonally.
- **Terreni alla Maggia Estate** — Sandy-soil estate in the Maggia Delta growing Merlot and the rare 'riso nostrano ticinese da risotto loto' — the world's most northerly risotto rice cultivation.
- **Enoteca Alimentaria** — Food and wine shop on the Terreni alla Maggia estate in Ascona, worth a stop for local produce and wine.

## What to do
- **Farm tour at Schlattgut** — Guided tours of the working farm, including tasting fresh milk from the dairy operation.
- **Helicopter lunch at Rustico del Sole** — Exclusive rustic lunch high above Lake Maggiore in forest terrain near Brione, reached by chartered helicopter arranged by hotel management.
- **Dine on 'sapori del nostro orto' menu at Castello del Sole** — Chef Mattias Roock's dedicated local-sourcing menu featuring ingredients from the hotel garden, estate, and Lake Maggiore — French-Asian inspired cuisine.

## Good to know
The Living Circle brand launched in April 2017. A short train ride connects the Zurich properties to Ascona in Ticino. Until October 20, 2017, steel sculptures by James Licini were on exhibit in the Castello del Sole park.

## Photos

```yaml
photos:
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/The-Living-Circle-Logo.gif"
    caption: "The Living Circle - the hospitality brand"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/The-Living-Circle-15.jpg"
    caption: "Hotel Storchen bei nächtlicher Beleuchtung von Gerry Hofstetter"
    keywords: ["Gerry Hofstetter", "Hotel Storchen", "Limmat", "Luxushotel", "The Living Circle", "Zürich", "reisememo.ch"]
    captured: 2017-04-07
    geo: {latitude: 47.3713, longitude: 8.5419}
    credit: "Walter Schärer"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/The-Living-Circle-13.jpg"
    caption: "Hotel Storchen und Grossmünster Zürich"
    keywords: ["Hotel Storchen", "Luxushotel", "The Living Circle", "Zürich", "reisememo.ch"]
    captured: 2017-04-07
    geo: {latitude: 47.3713, longitude: 8.5419}
    credit: "Walter Schärer"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/The-Living-Circle-10.jpg"
    caption: "Kunst und Esskultur"
    keywords: ["Herrliberg", "Restaurant Buech", "The Living Circle"]
    captured: 2017-04-07
    geo: {latitude: 47.2885, longitude: 8.6299}
    credit: "Walter Schärer"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/The-Living-Circle-5.jpg"
    caption: "Walter mit einem Glas frischer Milch. Foto Philippe Wiget"
    keywords: ["Bauernhof", "Gutshof", "Herrliberg", "Schlattgut", "The Living Circle", "Walter Schärer"]
    captured: 2017-04-07
    geo: {latitude: 47.2896, longitude: 8.6273}
    credit: "Philippe Wiget"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Haupthaus-Castello-del-Sole-Hotel-Ascona.jpg"
    caption: "Main building and park of the Castello del Sole"
    geo: {latitude: 46.1521, longitude: 8.7925}
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/The-Living-Circle-Terreni-alla-Maggia-5.jpg"
    caption: "Risotto Loto"
    keywords: ["Ascona", "Castello del Sole", "Reis", "Riso", "Risotto Loto", "Terreni alla Maggia", "Tessin", "https://reisememo.ch/?p=15970"]
    captured: 2017-04-08
    geo: {latitude: 46.1533, longitude: 8.7902}
    credit: "Walter Schärer"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Rustico-Castello-del-Sole-20.jpg"
    caption: "Tische auf Terrasse vor dem Grotto"
    keywords: ["Ascona", "Castello del Sole", "Esstisch", "Rustico", "Sonnenterrasse", "Tessin", "https://reisememo.ch/?p=15788"]
    captured: 2017-04-08
    geo: {latitude: 46.1921, longitude: 8.8142}
    credit: "Walter Schärer"
  - url: "https://travelmemo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/James-Licini-steel-exhibition-Switzerland-12.jpg"
    caption: "Steel stela by James Licini at sunrise"
```