Most Notable Former Guests: Marlene Dietrich, Alfred Hitchcock, Audrey Hepburn…
Long a St Moritz, and Swiss Alps, landmark, the 5-star luxury Badrutt’s Palace Hotel is a splendid building and a legendary hotel.
Built in the grand, Neo-Gothic style popular in the late 19th century its historical elegance is still very much intact.
It has now been wedded to modern facilities and levels of comfort and service that are simply world-class.
It is very much a hospitality institution, and one of Switzerland’s, and Europe’s, very best luxury hotels.
The Rooms:
It has 157 rooms, 37 of which are suites. All are as plush and grand as you would expect and run from 20m2 single rooms to choice 95m2 suites.
All the rooms have a view, of either the lake or the mountains, and some also come with balconies.
Their grand marble bathrooms are worth a mention too with rainfall showers and old-style bathtubs.
Prices:
Check out all the details – prices, reviews, and more photos – on the booking page here.
Facilities & Things to Do:
The hotel is enormous, and just wandering around soaking in the old-style elegance of the place is a pleasure.
You’ll find lounges, bars, boutiques, a nightclub (the extravagant King’s Club), top-of-the-range, eco-friendly, spa facilities, a Kid’s Club, and activities for teenagers.
Outside in the grounds, they have a private ice rink in winter and, in summer, two tennis courts.
Badrutt’s Palace also has a full seven restaurants; three of them, with Swiss and Italian food, are in the homely Chesa Veglia, a restored 17th-century farmhouse, which also has two bars and a relaxed, relatively informal atmosphere.
La Coupole/Matsuhisa@Badrutt`s Palace serves Japanese Peruvian fare in a stylish dining hall in the main building.
La Diala serves seasonal Mediterranean and is more modernist in decor, while Belle Epoque era glamour can be felt at Le Relais and Le Restaurant’s plush dining halls which also have stunning views of the Alps and Lake St. Moritz.
In terms of the best fine dining though, IGNIV surely takes the prize. Opened relatively recently by the then double, now triple, Michelin Star-winning chef Andreas Caminada, it is fast becoming a culinary institution.
You are safe to bring the highest of expectations.
The Location:
Sitting majestically above the crystal clear waters of St. Moritz Lake, Badrutt’s Palace Hotel has a prime location in this famously beautiful town.
At 1800 metres above sea level in the middle of the Engadine, one of the most stunning valleys in the Swiss Alps, it has been a mecca for the beau monde for over a century now.
Its rare climate ensures an almost perfect mix of sun and snow, it was where winter tourism began over a century ago and it now has a full 350 km of pistes.
It’s not just a ski town though, St. Moritz has evolved into something more: its grand hotels are legendary, none more so than Badrutt’s Palace, as are its restaurants.
Switzerland has the largest concentration of Michelin-starred restaurants in the world and St. Moritz has the highest concentration in Switzerland, with around one in ten here boasting the culinary world’s ultimate accolade.
You may not find a higher concentration of upscale shopping anywhere else in Europe either.
To get there there is a small airport in Samedan, 20 minutes from the town, with flights from the international airports of Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Milan, and Munich. Some also choose to come by helicopter.
The nicest way to arrive from Zurich though might be via the Glacier Express. It is one of the world’s most scenic rail lines and the trains have top-to-bottom windows to enjoy the views from.
A Little History:
Johannes Badrutt, 1856, first opened another hotel, then named Engadiner Kulm, now known as the Kulm Hotel.
Just four years later the Badrutt bought up the famous Beau Rivage in the town and reshaped it into the Badrutt’s Palace, the hotel we see today, with the official opening in 1896.
It was at the forefront of the Belle Epoque era, and the birth of winter sports, and over the last century has hosted an extraordinary amount of the world’s richest and most famous.
Alfred Hitchcock had a very special connection with Badrutt’s Palace for example; he came to stay time and time again and was reported as saying the magnificent location inspired creativity in him like no place else.
Some Guest Reviews:
“Service, service and service from the moment we arrived until departure. Every interaction with their staff made us feel as if we had known them for years and no request was ever an issue. Simply magnificent….”
“A truly enchanting hotel. Absolutely stunned from the moment we stepped out of the train station and was transported to the Palace in a Roller. The hotel is truly a Palace, the opulence of the place is just beyond compare. The view of the Swiss Alps from the balcony of our room is just breathtaking. The staff are warm, friendly and very welcoming. They all just try and make you feel at home, nothing is too much to ask….”
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