Badrutt's Palace in Saint Moritz has opened its new winter season. A dream hotel where everything becomes possible but, above all, where to live a unique food and wine experience in terms of quality and offerings.
A dream castle, overlooking the lake, symbol of the international winter tourism that was born in St. Moritz 150 years ago through the winning gamble of Caspar Badrutt. Since then, Badrutt’s Palace has always been more than a hotel: it is an iconic place in the town of Saint Moritz. Its rooms have been, and still are, inhabited by stars and celebrities Of all times. Even Alfred Hitchcock was a frequent visitor, and it was while observing crows from the terrace of his usual suite, 501, that he would draw the inspiration for the film
The Birds
, released in 1963.
Its lobby, known as “the salon of St. Moritz,” is the plaza where the vacationing bourgeoisie showcases itself; its restaurants are coveted by patrons, and chefs, from around the world; and its nightclub is the
place to be
of the Engadine nightlife, in the presence of the most famous international DJs. Open in both winter and summer, the hotel punctuates the flow of visitors to the town, with events such as the lighting of the big Christmas tree on Dec. 6, the designer tree auction on Dec. 21 or the New Year’s Eve Eve party, a happening on which 1 million Swiss francs is invested and which summons artists from all over the world.
Its accommodation offerings are of luxury (The Palace is on The World’s 50 Best Hotels 2023 list) and features 155 accommodations, including rooms and suites, a large wellness and spa area with service suites, 13 outlets including restaurants and bars, plus a high-altitude retreat, Paradiso Mountain Club & Restaurant. Also his winery is known to be among the largest in the world and has more than 30 thousand bottles, for 1,800 labels, with prestigious references, mostly French and Italian.
The gentle heart of the Palace
A huge structure, then, but one with a gentle heart, where one can experience total luxury that does not run into elitism. Badrutt’s Palace remains, in fact, a hotel from the familiar face, where to feel welcomed and pampered like family. A focus that affects, of course, the clientele, but also extends, a less obvious aspect, to the staff who work there and who constitute a true community in their own right: this year the staff will reach a total of 630, in a truly impressive ratio to the clientele. Dedicated to them are some adjacent facilities where they can stay and a restaurant, the Bellavista, where you can regenerate and consume express dishes prepared by the central kitchen.
The serenity of the staff – not surprisingly composed of numerous historical employees, loyal to their jobs for over twenty years – is transferred to all hotel patrons through a warm and familiar welcome, thanks to which Badrutt’s has been able to retain a historic and loyal clientele over the years, who return here precisely because they feel at home. A bond that is renewed from generation to generation, offering a guarantee of continuity to a hotel business capable of maintaining its uniqueness and keeping up with the times without chasing ephemeral fads.
We were fortunate enough to visit it and be its guests for three days. An intense and rejuvenating period, which allowed us to explore all the visible and invisible of the facility, delving all the way into its operational heart, cockpit of this giant ship moored on the shores of Lake Saint Moritz.
A gourmet hotel
Among the various experiences that the hotel offers, the most distinctive and exciting one is undoubtedly the food and wine experience. An offer that exceeds all expectations in terms of the variety of possible choices, because it allows, literally, to travel through the cuisines, and cellars, of the world while remaining seated in the hotel’s splendid premises.
The culinary offerings are entrusted, as a whole, to French executive chef Jeremy Degras, but is renewed and enriched by collaborations with great chefs of the world. It is now well established that chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa “Nobu”, with his Japanese-Peruvian cuisine expressed in the 
striking spaces of La Coupole restaurant, formerly occupied by what was Europe’s first indoor tennis court.
The pop-up season, on the other hand, was kicked off by the two-Michelin-star project of Danish chef Eric Vildgaard and his wife Tina Kragh, the Jordnær of Copenhagen, who will be residents of the hotel from Dec. 1 to Feb. 4. After them, it will be the turn of vegan chef Zineb Hattab, owner of the one-star Michelin restaurant KLE Zurich, stationed at the Palace until March 17.
… and for wine enthusiasts
The entire wine proposal refers to the unique, gigantic, wine list fed from the aforementioned cellar, from which a series of ancient (but still effective) food elevators depart, transporting the bottle directly to the requesting restaurant.
The labyrinth of tunnels, populated by crates and bottles, unravels in the hotel’s basement, guarding truly unique wine treasures, such as a bottle of Château Lafite-Rothschild from 1900 in perfect condition.
Adding to the ambience’s charm are towering old wooden barrels that were once purchased by the hotel directly from Valtellina, the cradle of Swiss wine until the unification of Italy, when the province of Sondrio was annexed to Lombardy. The other hidden treasure in these premises is the Krug Stübli, a wooden garden cottage that once belonged to the Badrutt family, now used to host romantic private dinners of truffle fondue and Champagne Krug, a maison of which the Palace is an Ambassador.
As of this year, to drive this incredible machine has been called for the first time the Italian sommelier Cristina Iuculano, young but strong with experience in several starred restaurants and a great lover of French wines, as well as a winemaker in Valtellina, who, as head sommelier, will coordinate the cellar and room staff of the hotel outlets. We were among the first to interview her and get her to tell us the secrets of “her” new winery, read the interview tomorrow here on doctorwine.wine.
