St. Moritz
The original ski resort & Alpine luxury
St. Moritz is the birthplace of winter tourism — the Engadin valley resort that invented Alpine skiing as a leisure pursuit in the 1860s, when hotelier Johannes Badrutt bet a group of British guests that the winter was as pleasant as the summer. It has been the most exclusive ski resort in the world ever since: the host of two Winter Olympics (1928 and 1948), the home of the Cresta Run, and the address that defines the upper register of Alpine luxury.
Badrutt's Palace Hotel, the grande dame of St. Moritz, has been the social centre of the resort since 1896 — a turreted palace above the lake where the guest list has included Nietzsche, Hitchcock, Gunter Sachs, and every significant figure in 20th-century European society. The Kulm Hotel, the oldest hotel in St. Moritz (opened 1856), is the most historically significant address in the resort and the birthplace of the Cresta Run.
St. Moritz's ski area — 350 kilometres of pistes across Corviglia, Corvatsch, and Diavolezza — is one of the most varied in Switzerland, with terrain ranging from gentle beginner slopes to the legendary Hahnensee black run. The resort's high altitude (1,856 metres) guarantees reliable snow conditions from December to April.
The Cresta Run — a natural ice toboggan run from St. Moritz to Celerina — is one of the most extraordinary sporting experiences in the world. Access is restricted to members and their guests; your hotel concierge at Badrutt's Palace or the Kulm can arrange an introduction.
St. Moritz's White Turf horse racing on the frozen lake (February) is the most glamorous sporting event in the Alps — a combination of flat racing, skijöring, and the most extraordinary natural grandstand in the world. Book hotel rooms 12 months in advance.
The Engadin valley in summer — July and August — is one of the most beautiful landscapes in Europe: wildflower meadows, turquoise lakes, and the same mountain scenery at a fraction of the winter prices.
December–March is the ski season, with February the peak (White Turf, school holidays). July–August is the summer season: hiking, sailing, and the same luxury hotels at lower rates. April–May and October–November are the shoulder seasons when many hotels close.
For the most historic and most socially celebrated hotel in St. Moritz, Badrutt's Palace — the grande dame of the resort since 1896, with the most theatrical public spaces in the Alps — is the definitive address.
For the most historically significant hotel and the closest connection to the Cresta Run, the Kulm Hotel — the birthplace of winter tourism, opened 1856 — is the most storied address in the resort.
