Steal this itinerary: St. Moritz, Switzerland
St. Moritz is glitzy, glamorous and more attainable than I thought. To be clear, this is no bargain mountain resort town, but you could have a luxury three-night ski getaway here for around the same price as a weekend at Disney’s Star Wars Galactica experience or a weeklong luxury cruise on the Great Lakes.
St. Moritz, pronounced San Moritz, is in the German-speaking part of Switzerland that boasts more than 300 days of glorious sunshine every year. St. Moritz prides itself on being the birthplace of winter tourism and a key player in the development of winter sports. It’s home to just under 5,000 year-round residents and has hosted the Winter Olympics twice—in 1928 and 1948.
Mercedes G-Wagons share the streets with Maseratis and Bentleys. Moncler jackets are everywhere, a pop-up Louis Vuitton yurt debuted this year and even the dogs are wearing designer names. Pay attention because you never know who you may see a table or two over at dinner. Robert de Niro, Liz Hurley, Kate Moss and royals from Sweden, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom have been spotted in St. Moritz over the years.
This is a small town where you can expect to see the same faces around town. It’s got a handful of luxury hotels, a few restaurants, drool-worthy ski villas, high-end boutiques and a convenience store where you can pick up snacks, souvenirs and Swiss beer pong.
St. Moritz does have its own airport, but you’ll need to fly private to use it. If you don’t have a jet, fly into Zurich, take the train to St. Moritz and enjoy the scenic ride like I did.
Where to Stay in St. Moritz
I stayed at the legendary 165-year-old Kulm Hotel, which is everything you might expect from the historic five-star hotel that redefined Alpine tourism. This is a hotel that pays attention to the details, and it shows. Guests are greeted with tea and warm towels. Bags dropped with the bellman during check-in magically appear in your closet. There’s a pillow menu, turndown service, free babysitting and lots of activities for kids.
The Kulm Hotel has 164 rooms and suites. Spacious deluxe rooms include a sitting area, desk space, a balcony and a bathtub with a view. My room looked out over the mountains and a frozen lake where a Snow Polo tournament had just concluded. Standard rooms don’t have a balcony, but they’re spacious, cozy and just as charming.
The Kulm Hotel has seven on-site restaurants, including the K, which has a Michelin Star. It houses an impressive collection of Olympic memorabilia and an eye-catching art collection featuring pieces by artists like Andy Warhol. There’s a cigar lounge and bar inside the hotel. Drinks and afternoon tea are served in the opulent hotel lobby.
Kulm Hotel St. Moritz
Address: Via Veglia 18, 7500 St. Moritz, Switzerland
Phone: +41 81 836 80 00
Website: https://www.kulm.com/en/
What to Do in St. Moritz
This is a mountain town that’s all about skiing, spa days and epic après ski meals. It really is a perfect combination.
I took three half-days of ski lessons with an instructor at the Swiss Ski School St. Moritz, the oldest in Switzerland. I didn’t expect to make it beyond the easiest beginner hill where small children were confidently flying by. Spoiler alert: I did it, and it was awesome!
It took a couple of days for me to acclimate to the altitude at the Corviglia ski resort where the highest point is around 11,000 feet. By my third day on the slopes, I felt well-adjusted to the altitude and almost comfortable in my rented ski boots. I had also graduated from the first to the third level of beginner ski runs. There were fewer small children around and more adult first-time skiers on these runs.
I took more tumbles than I cared to count during my three days of ski school, but I also made it down several beginner runs, learned to turn and to stop, and even skied from the base of the slopes down to the train station, something that seemed both terrifying and like an unrealistic expectation when ski school started. In just three half-days, I learned to ski enough to enjoy it.
After skiing, there were long, leisurely lunches outdoors at picturesque mountainside restaurants. I chose to spend the few hours I had between lunch and dinner at the Kulm Hotel spa. The hotel has a selection of saunas, indoor and heated outdoor pools, a whirlpool and a salt grotto.
I love the Kulm Hotel’s sauna selection and salt grotto, but there’s nothing quite like soaking in the hotel’s heated outdoor pool while taking in the late afternoon Alpenglow. It really is an experience that’s worth a splurge.
I didn’t try a spa treatment here, but you should. Everything this hotel does is top- notch, and I’m betting the spa services are too.
Where to Eat in St. Moritz
I never made it past the excellent Kulm Hotel breakfast in the morning. You can order from a menu or choose the buffet, which is what I chose. Nice hotels tend to do scrambled eggs well, and the Kulm makes some of the best I’ve had, and it serves them up in a gorgeous ballroom fit for a gala. Elsewhere on the breakfast buffet, you’ll find a selection of cheeses, meats, cereals, yogurts, pastries and breads. There’s also a full juice bar.
Part of the Swiss ski experience is après-Ski, or what happens after skiing. Think long, leisurely lunches with free-flowing wine, multi-course menus and epic mountain views.
Langosteria
Address: Via Salastrains, 10, Corviglia Ski Resort
Phone: +41 81 833 31 31
Website: https://www.langosteria.com/en/langosteria-st-moritz
Après-ski, but make it Italian and put it steps away from the slopes and ski lifts. Langosteria is Italian fine dining with a menu inspired by one of my favorite places, the Amalfi Coast. Langosteria successfully brings an authentic taste of Italy over the Swiss border and did an epic job of creating a vegetarian menu for me. The meaty version of this menu is built around seafood.
Trutz
Address: Suvretta House, St. Moritz, Switzerland
Phone: +41 81 833 70 30
Website: https://suvrettahouse.ch/gastronomie/bergrestaurants/
Trutz provides a different but equally stunning après-ski experience, and getting to this mountainside restaurant is half the adventure. Bring your ski pass for the ride up the Suvretta ski lift to this rustic mountainside restaurant that specializes in regional comfort food. The menu is Swiss with hints of Italian and a variety of daily specials. There are a few vegetarian options on the menu, and I chose well. I opted for a truffle linguini that was a simple heavenly taste of Italy.
Kulm Country Club
Address: Via Maistra 41, 7500 San Moritz, Switzerland
Phone: +41 81 836 82 03
Website: https://www.kulm.com/en/culinary-art/restaurants/kulm-country-club/
The Kulm Country Club is about a five-minute walk from the Kulm hotel. Even if you don’t have time for dinner here, do stop in for a signature cocktail, most of which are finished at the table. There’s a creative non-alcoholic cocktail menu, and the bar snacks are next level.
The restaurant menu is Italian-Mediterranean and features locally-sourced ingredients. I couldn’t resist the pistachio crumble and went for the homemade truffle ravioli in a parmesan cream sauce. For dessert, try the crème brûlée with almond brittle.
Sunny Bar
Inside the Kulm Hotel
Phone: +41 81 836 8203
Website: https://www.kulm.com/en/culinary-art/restaurants/sunny-bar-by-claudia-canessa-winter-only/
The last thing I expected to find in Switzerland was an excellent Peruvian meal with hints of Asian flavors. It was a pleasant surprise that started with one of the best pisco sours I’ve had. Peruvian food tends to feature a lot of meat, but the kitchen here created a colorful vegetarian menu with lots of avocados, carrots and squash and kicked it all off with a couple of unforgettable vegan empanadas.
Note the rings, photographs and winter sports gear. The restaurant, like the Kulm Hotel and St. Moritz itself, is an Olympic nerd’s paradise.
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