St. Moritz, Switzerland
Badrutt's Palace Hotel
Since 1896. They haven't needed to revise the formula.
From
From $2,800 / night
Rooms
157
Country
Switzerland
Stars
★★★★★
Johannes Badrutt is credited with inventing winter tourism. In 1864, he made a wager with a group of English summer guests: come to St. Moritz in January, and if you do not find the weather better than in England, the trip is free. They came. They found the weather better. They told their friends. The hotel that bears his name has occupied the same position above the lake since 1896, and the clientele that fills it in January and February represents a concentration of established European wealth that is arguably unmatched anywhere in the world. There is no application process. There is a waiting list for rooms, and there are people who have been on it for two years.
The Property
Architecture & Setting
The Palace is a castle — architecturally speaking, it occupies a prominent ridge position above St. Moritz-Dorf with the tower that has been the hotel's emblem since the original building. The interiors have been continuously updated without losing the character of an establishment that takes its history seriously: there are drawing rooms with fireplaces, a wine cellar with bottles that predate living guests, and a ballroom that was designed for the specific social rituals of the Alps in winter. The hotel's position above the lake means that virtually every room has a view worth having. The town is accessible on foot in ten minutes, the ski lifts in fifteen.
Service
Staff & Experience
The Badrutt's service model is calibrated to guests who have been returning annually for decades. Staff retention at the hotel is exceptional; the head concierge, the sommelier, and several of the restaurant managers have been with the property for fifteen or more years. They know the returning guests by name and, more usefully, by preference. The King's Social House, the hotel's members' club and bar, is one of the genuine social centrepieces of the St. Moritz winter season — not a hotel bar in the conventional sense but a room where introductions are made between people who have no other reason to be in the same place. The Spa Badrutt's Palace is the most comprehensive alpine spa facility in the Engadin valley.
“There is a waiting list for rooms. There are guests who have been on it for two years.”
Rooms
What to Book
The 157 rooms and suites span the hotel's main building and the newer Chesa Veglia building — the latter housing the hotel's traditional restaurants and adjacent to the curling rink. The standard rooms are generous for a mountain property; the suites are generous by any standard. The duplex suites in the main tower are among the most requested in the Alps, with bedroom and sitting room occupying two floors of the original castle architecture. The Royal Penthouse Suite — 400 square metres, private terrace, panoramic Engadin views — requires reservation well in advance for peak winter season. In summer, which is the hotel's secondary season, availability is considerably better and rates meaningfully lower.
Booking
How to Book It Correctly
Badrutt's Palace takes reservations through its website and through a reservations team that operates year-round. Peak winter season — the last two weeks of January through the first two weeks of March — is the critical booking period, and the most desirable room categories are often fully committed twelve months in advance. The hotel hosts several annual events that function as booking anchors: White Turf horse racing on the frozen lake in February, and the St. Moritz Polo World Cup. Suites in the tower are the most requested and the first to close. Extended-stay rates are available for stays of seven nights or more.
- 1.Book peak winter (late January to early March) twelve months ahead — the top suite categories sell out within days of opening.
- 2.The summer season (July–August) offers materially better availability at 40–50% lower rates with identical service.
- 3.Request the Chesa Veglia building for traditional Alpine character — the main tower rooms are grander, but the Chesa has a warmth the tower lacks.
Property Details
| Location | Via Serlas 27, 7500 St. Moritz, Switzerland |
| Altitude | 1,856 metres above sea level |
| Rooms | 157 rooms and suites |
| Peak Season | December–March |
| Established | 1896 |
| Ownership | Badrutt family (fifth generation) |
| Distinguishing | Annual winter season clientele list |