St. Moritz
Saint Moritz, an Alpine resort town high up in Switzerland’s Engadine Valley, is home to some of the most glamorous, historic hotels in the world, including Badrutt Palace, Kulm and the slope-side star Suvretta. Though it hosted both the Winter Olympics in 1928 and 1948, it was during the jet-set sixties that the glitzy resort town won the honor of being the winter playground for the wealthy and well-skiied. But the members-only clubs do not mean that this scenic Swiss town is not still a winter sports mecca that hosts the Snow Polo World Cup, world-class skiing and thrilling bobsled races held on its famed Cresta Run.
Hotels
Built in 1896, Badrutt’s Palace is still the town's social center of gravity. Set in the heart of town, overlooking the shimmering St. Moritz Lake, the gothic-inspired, green-turreted roofed stay has hosted the greats of screen and the slope, such as Alfred Hitchcock and Brigitte Bardot. Over the last two decades, the hotel has undergone a Hollywood makeover, including a $75 million redesign of its spa and acquiring the famous apres ski haunt, Paradiso Mountain Club. But expect old-fashioned touches like hot-water bottles tucked under the sheets at night. And the four bedrooms and two terraces of Tower Penthouse, rented by the same guest for the last thirty years, just became available. Enjoy a cocktail at the Renaissance Bar, the intimate smoking lounge known to locals as Mario’s, named after the retired barman there.
Another architectural gem, the neo-Baroque Grand Hotel Kronenhof, has been welcoming guests for more than 170 years. Request one of the 13 rooms and suites recently refreshed by French interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon, and keep in mind that the south-facing suites have views of the Roseg Glacier. In the nearby village of S-chanf, the seven rooms of Villa Flor are ski homes away from home for the painting-and-powder set, including Julian Schnabel, who typically hunkers down here for a month each season.
Après-Ski
Italian restaurateur Enrico Buoncore has earned a cult following for his Langosteria, his seafood restaurants in Milan and Paris. Now, he has opened an outpost set in the former CheCha Hut in the Corviglia ski area. Expect classic catch-of-the-day towers and house-made pastas spiked with delicacies like galician urchin. The Swiss sommelier Danijel Krasnic is responsible for Dal Mulin, a tiny restaurant with an outsize wine list. The kitchen serves simple, hearty dishes like deer ragout and dumplings with apricots— a rarity in a town full of restaurants that piles on caviar and truffles. If you like the restaurant’s esoteric Swiss varietal and rare Italian vintage, you can pick up a bottle next door at his wine shop, Grand Cru Club. The members-only Dracula Club in the storied Kulm Hotel, which was first opened in the mid-1970s by the playboy industrialist Gunter Sachs and the art dealer Bruno Bischofberger. Decades later, it is still the most-coveted invite in town. You need to be a guest of a member for life to gain entry, although if you are staying at Kulm, Badrutts or Suvretta, the concierges might be able to help with a nudge. For some family fun, head to Conditorei Hanselmann for some hot chocolate and old-school Swiss pastries.
Off-Piste Attractions
The roaming art and design fair NOMAD returns to the region in late February, when it takes over the Grace La Margna hotel ahead of its summer opening. Saint Moritz and the Engadine Valley have long attracted artists and intellectuals like Alberto Giacometti and Thomas Mann. Today, there’s a thriving culture scene with a slew of blue-chip art spaces, including Hauser and Wirth, Vito Schnabel gallery and the artist Not Vital’s studio museum just outside the city. For more traditional arts and crafts, Ebneter Biel SA has been selling handmade embroidery, lederhosen and appenzeller belts for over a century.
Zermatt
This snow-globe of a Swiss ski town features car-free, cobblestone streets lined with 16th-century barns, artisan cheese shops and homespun, chocolate-themed cafés. Horse-drawn carriages and electric taxis shepard guests between heritage hotels and a toy-like cog train whisks skiers to the pistes. And the iconic Matterhorn mountain stands watch over the picturesque scene of whimsy and nostalgia.
Hotels
Besides Mont Cervin Palace’s cherry-red, horse-drawn carriages, the rooms of one of the oldest hotels in town are inspired by the local vernacular of traditional chalets with prime Matterhorn views. And over at the more-urbane Schweizerhof, each of the oak-paneled rooms are decorated with nods to the region, like cowbells and wooden walking sticks. Perched above the village, Cervo Mountain Resort attracts a younger crowd, thanks to the Moroccan restaurant Bazaar and the newer Mountain Ashram spa’s climbing wall, ayurvedic treatments and outdoor bathing circuit, which features Japanese onsens, Scandi-style cold plunges and Bhutanese hot baths.
Après-Ski
There is no shortage of mountainside restaurants in Zermatt. But be warned: Views of the Matterhorn means lunch on a clear day can soon turn into a hours-long affair. Off the Sunnegga-Findeln run are two family-run classics: Findlerhof and Chez Vrony. Don’t miss the signature Matterkuchen, a type of Matterhorn quiche spiked with bacon and leeks, while Vrony’s legendary burger is a heartier, post-slopes option. Last winter, Vrony opened Paradise, a more casual spot run by the owner’s nephew, a former ski racer, with a menu of alpine staples like kaiserschmarrn, a fluffy sweetened pancake torn into bite-sized pieces.
