Review: Badrutt’s Palace

Why book Badrutt’s Palace Hotel?

There are hotels, and then there are experiences. Badrutt’s falls into the second bucket. Some 127 years after its opening, the grande dame of St Moritz continues to draw glamorous guests to its cavernous halls, forever teetering gracefully between Alpine rustic and positively regal. Many are eager to take advantage of the hotel’s proximity to some of the best skiing and hiking in the world, while others are eager to see and be seen. Here, both get just what they want—yet everyone across the board receives an unparalleled level of service.

Set the scene

Lodged in a pocket of the Engadin valley, St. Moritz, the posh Swiss ski town in which Badrutt’s flag is planted, has long lured members of the haut monde—these days as much for its tony shops as for its pristine peaks, which in the winter can scarcely be bested by any other resort in Europe. It all unfurls as you wend your way up the craggy mountainside: drive up and you’ll see the hotel on your left, standing high on the hill over Lake St. Moritz, and to the other side, the town unfolding beyond it. It all looks very quaint, and like something properly out of a fairy tale—though squint harder, and you’ll begin to see the ritzy roster of stores that line the streets: Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Hauser & Wirth, Prada. All the heavy-hitters are there, eager to offer another off-piste activity to the well-heeled folk who flock to Switzerland’s highest town. Inside the hotel’s hallowed halls, rooms open up to reveal sweeping views of the lake below and mountains beyond. When you arrive, pop yourself down in a club chair inside Le Grand Hall—the hotel’s storied lobby, known quite rightly as the living room of St. Moritz—and take in the whole scene while a seasoned pianist plays a lilting rendition of Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire.”

The backstory

The hotel first opened its doors in 1896, a true key-holding member of the St. Moritz scene. Its founder, Caspar Badrutt, was the son of Johannes Badrutt, a well-known ski jumper who’s often credited with kickstarting winter tourism to the town, having brought in the first English tourists and founded the nearby Kulm Hotel St. Moritz. Almost immediately, Badrutt’s was a hit, drawing the last of the Grand Tour waves, which eventually gave way to the jet-set crowd of the ‘50s and ‘60s. Now in its twelfth decade, the hotel continues to attract a similar stock—royals and those who think they’re royalty—with its high-calibre (and yet rigorously unostentatious) amenities: immaculately styled rooms with just enough polish; a slate of at least a dozen drinking and dining concepts, some multi-Michelin-starred; a top-of-the-line wellness centre complete with a glamorous, panoramic pool; its own ski shop and instructors; and much more.

The rooms

The hotel has 155 guest rooms and suites, each of varying sizes and appointments, from classical and regal to modern and sharp. I was fortunate enough to stay in a corner Palace suite, overlooking both the mountains and the buildings in town. From my sitting room, I could watch the sunset over the icy lake, its bright white expanse and the jagged peaks above it suddenly tinged red and purple.

And the space truly was palatial—but think refined career aristocrat rather than louche despot. My jewel box of a suite led through me a long, spacious entryway lined with neat wood plank floors and walls (and a half-bath, to boot) into a bright parlor bedecked with gilded mirrors, puffed-out chairs and long, draped curtains upholstered in rich, red-and-cream fabrics and gleaming sconces and chandeliers every which way: above the trim, L-shaped couch, over the desk, and framing each picture window. The bedroom was similarly appointed and included a walk-in closet as well as an en-suite rendered mostly in marble and chrome. But the set-up, again, never felt gauche and overwrought—it hit just that sweet spot where elegance meets both the old world and the new.

Food and drink

A full roster of seasonal activities aside, one thing Badrutt’s doesn’t leave you wanting for are places to drink and dine. There are more than a dozen spots, both on and near the premises, where you’ll find everything from Japanese-Peruvian fusion under a glass coupole to rustic Italian in a 17th-century farmhouse and a clubby off-lobby bar where the scent of expensive cigars cling to red velvet banquettes. My favorite spot, though, might well have been Paradiso, the see-and-be-seen après-ski spot lodged into the side of a mountain in the Corviglia ski area, some 6,000 feet up, for which Badrutt’s assumed management in early 2022. But humble alpine outpost, this is not. Sheepskin furs drape over the wooden benches of its plein-air High Altitude Brasserie, where rosy-cheeked patrons swill crisp Champagne and dip their long, elegant forks into bubbling cauldrons of local Engadin mountain cheese. It’s the bona fide embodiment of rustic-chic.

I happened to be there on my birthday and was treated to an outrageous fête (think Champagne bottles plugged with sparklers, toted around by Daft Punk helmet-wearing staff) at Kings Social House, a nightclub in the belly of the property, complete with a DJ booth and dance floor. If you’re set on going all-out—maybe there’s a big birthday to celebrate, or a proposal to stage—you can always book the wine cellar. The 30,000-bottle-strong cavern is surprisingly intimate, with lighting dimmed to perennially set the mood—and once you’ve sipped and nodded to your satisfaction, you can take a seat in the “Krug Stübli,” a corner nook where you can nibble on truffle fondue to go with your glass of bubbly.

The spa

Making your way down to the spa is in itself a journey. You start by taking an elevator down to the lowest level of the hotel, where the doors open to reveal a low-lit, geode-like foyer. The indoor pool, with its sweeping, floor-to-ceiling window walls and mind-boggling views of the surrounding snow-capped peaks, is truly incomparable. It’s a lens into such beauty that you genuinely feel as though you’ve landed in a postcard, or a snow globe.

On the whole, the spa—with its arid sauna, salt steam room, hair stations, and relaxation area—was a lovely experience, if a bit more rustic than I was expecting, especially given the luxe patina of most other spaces at the hotel. The treatment room itself was the most incongruous part of the experience: it was spare, clad in thin strips of alpine plywood, and felt more like a nook in an alpine hostel than a treatment room in a five-star hotel. But my classic massage did the trick, and limbered me right up after a day of bending my knobby knees on the slopes. And if I’d wanted a facial, or a manicure and pedicure or a detoxification treatment, I would’ve had my choice of at least two dozen offerings. (NB: Next time, I’ll sign on for Biologique Recherche’s Regenerating Vernix facial.)

The area

You’re in the highest-altitude town in the entire country at Badrutt’s—and up here, the air is truly rare. You can’t walk outside and turn your head without getting some view of the surrounding mountains, and the air is the kind that’ll clear your lungs in mere moments. And despite the slow encroachment of the luxury market, the town still feels like a fairy tale pocket of the world, with most visitors assiduously trying to keep it that way. If that whole concept of “quiet luxury” were a place, this might be it.

The service

The staff are buttoned up but warm, and generally seasoned—you can sense that they’ve seen it all (and what they’ve seen, they’ll never tell). This is Switzerland, after all, home to several of the world’s most renowned hospitality schools, and as such, you can expect discretion and a level of service that feels attentive and sharp but never fawning or smothering. Even the housekeepers know what to look out for. They placed my slippers on one side of the bed, and when they saw that I—staying here alone—had designed to sleep on the other side of the bed, they immediately changed tack, placing them on the right side at turndown and after the morning service; and when they saw that I’d made use of the converter in the bedroom for my phone, they brought several more, unbidden, for my various other chargers.

For families

For a place so refined, Badrutt’s still manages to feel like a dream vacation for families—at least, for those who can pony up for the prices. Broods can book out spacious, interconnected rooms or call up both extra cots and cribs, and dine at restaurants where children don’t threaten the candlelit, white tablecloth vibe. Gratis for guests of the hotel, Palazzino Kids Club is open every day from 9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., meaning that you can get in a few uninterrupted hours on the slopes while your tot runs free on the outdoor playground (under adult supervision, of course)—and there are plenty of activities that are coordinated just for them, including ice skating, a cooking class and even a kids’ disco.

The slightly older set can make just as much use of the in-house ski shop as their parents, throwing on high-end Kjus gear and taking advantage of the top-tier instructors the hotel offers up for ski, snowboarding and ice skating lessons. (I myself took my first ski lessons with Igor, one of the hotel’s top instructors—and while I certainly won’t qualify for the Winter Olympics anytime soon, I came away with the ability to at least glide down the bunny hills on two feet.) If that’s not enough, the hotel can also make arrangements for a family round of curling or ice stock at a nearby rink.

Eco Effort

The hotel has a few different initiatives vis-à-vis eco-friendliness. For one, it generates heat—and about 80 per cent of its energy needs—with a pump system that takes in water from Lake St. Moritz, thereby helping to preserve air quality throughout the Engadin Valley, and has LED lighting installed throughout the property. It utilizes recycled aluminum packaging for particular bathroom amenities, like shampoo and conditioner, while PLA packaging (short for polylactic acid, a material made from plant extracts like sugarcane and corn) is used for items like cotton pads; it also offers toothbrushes and shaving kits, both crafted in wood.

Beyond the rooms, the hotel sources both food- and non-food products from around the vicinity, and minimizes wood waste by donating it or incorporating it into various dishes and drinks. There’s also a strong element of regionality down at the spa; uring its 2009 renovation, local artisans were brought in to design spaces rendered in Swiss pine and silver from San Bernadino, a mountainous village in the canton of Grisons.

Accessibility

The hotel offers accessible parking onsite, and upper floors are all accessible via elevator. There are also adapted bathroom features, auditory guidance, and step-free access throughout certain suites.

Anything left to mention?

Badrutt’s isn’t just a hotel; it’s a world within a world. The beauty, the comfort, the sense of history —every quality makes this a stay that’s truly for the books. And while the standard of care is high, there’s nary a hint of having a nose turned up at you. If you’re here, you belong.