In the second of our winter season series on luxury hotels in Switzerland, LUX visits luxury gems in Geneva, Zurich and Lucerne, and destinations new and old high in the Alps. Next up: The Grace, St Moritz reviewed
No mountain resort in the world has the same quality or quantity of proper luxury legacy hotels as St Moritz – in fact the resort high in the Engadine Valley rightly claimed to have invented luxury mountain hotels in the 19th century. And it has remained that way ever since, with no additions to the luxury portfolio for many decades.
Until recently, until the opening of the Grace.
The new hotel, built just above the station and the resorts’ lake which is the home of some of the world’s most glamorous winter activities, has quite a challenge: to attract the attention of the super wealthy heritage crowd who have been coming, winter and (sometimes) summer, for generations, and are used to formal splendour of the existing portfolio, whilst attracting a new crowd of next generation wealth who have travelled more broadly than any of their predecessors and know what luxury looks like in Indonesia, Chile and Miami.
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Sweep into the Grace, and your first impression is that they are doing a pretty good job of it. There is, as in all these type of hotel, a big, high ceilinged lobby area with tall windows affording of view over the lake and forest, but it is not staffed by suited waiters, it has a more, contemporary private members club field, with art works on the walls and contemporary arts and design books on the tables.
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Walk a few metres along and you get to the spectacular bar area, not a sideline here but a main feature with a long bar and tables arranged as if you are in a jazz club, which frequently you are – whilst we were there there was a modern jazz band playing all evening, a cleverly curated mix appealing to both generations. Far harder to do than to say it.
And that’s the beauty of the Grace. It’s not a hotel that has looked at its competitors and decided to do something oppositionally different, or hyper-contemporary to the point of being out of place. It is simply taking the mountain luxury specific to the area and moving it along.
The restaurant, relaxing in taupes and greys, looks out over the lake and the Alps; LUX enjoyed Hokkaido pumpkin, kingfish crudo with pineapple aguachile, and seabass in bouillabaisse sauce.
The rooms benefit from a few advantages of a new build: they are large and residential in feel, with big terraces and bathrooms, with more in the layout of the luxury apartment than a hotel and all the better for it.
The spa, also newly built, is a standout with LUX enjoying a caviar balm treatment. Although we found the otherwise delightful 20m pool a little chilly at 26 degrees; we prefer a milder 29 degrees.
We much admired the intriguing selection of art in public spaces – we feel there is a lot more potential here as St Moritz is becoming one of Europe’s art capitals – and a service style which is carefully calibrated not to compromise on old school Swiss quality, while dialling down on the formality. An excellent addition to the scene, and we will be back to the Grace.
In the first of our winter season series on luxury hotels in Switzerland, LUX visits luxury gems in Geneva, Zurich and Lucerne, and destinations new and old high in the Alps. First up: the Four Seasons Geneva reviewed
In the world’s great cities there is a certain satisfaction that comes purely from being in the right location. That’s not necessarily the geographical centre of the city – we wouldn’t want to stay on Picadilly Circus in London or Times Square in New York.
There is a physical location in each city that makes you feel that you are both at the heart of things and also looking at the best of where you are. That might be the Place de la Concorde in Paris; or Central by the harbour in Hong Kong.
In Geneva, arriving at the Four Seasons, you know you are exactly where you need to be.
The hotel faces across the point at which the banana shape of Lake Geneva, which extends east all the way into the Alps, contracts into the upper mouth of the river rhone, which then flows down through France all the way to the Mediterranean. Facing you across the waters is the old town of Geneva, above which rise the Alps and, on a clear day, the mighty Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Western Europe, towering over you with its dome of snow year round.
The feeling that you have arrived, with a capital A is emphasised by the greetings of the seemingly endless procession of staff as you come in, who magically know your name as they open the door for the first time. Four Seasons service at its best.
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Our room, a junior suite, looked out over the lakefront embankment to the view; it had a lavish marble bathroom and a vibe that business leaders and aristocrats have been staying there for decades, if not longer. Even before Four Seasons took it over, the hotel was the city’s premier address.
Particularly attractive is that the embankment in front of the hotel is now pedestrianised, with the exception of cars to and from the hotel, meaning you don’t have to brave or hear the traffic between the hotel and the water.
Every city luxury hotel now needs to do so much more than provide comfortable rooms, a bar and restaurants and business efficiency. And while this Grand Dame of a building would not immediately be one that you associate with an urban resort, that is exactly what it is.
Take the elevator to the top floor, wander down the corridor into the spa and up a staircase and you are at Izumi, a funky rooftop Japanese restaurant spread across two very casual, relaxing floors.
We visited in the cold season, but nonetheless on the roof there was a marquee with a pop-up Shabu-Shabu restaurant; all around it, in summer, the terrace becomes a lively cocktail bar with – an astonishing 360° view, across the city and lake to the Alps on one side, and to the mountains on the other. A special place, and on our evening, we headed downstairs to the light and vibey Izumi for a magnificent meal.
To start with, the hotel’s own all Chardonnay champagne, light, floral, rounded and so delicious that we decided to keep with it to match the meal. We loved the Jalapeño Karashi Miso, Quinoa Salsa, Sorrel Cress Chu Toro, the Black Cod tapas with Jalepeño miso, and the Tatsuta-age baby chicken.
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On our second night, we headed down to the bar, unusually in a light and airy salon-type room on the ground floor. This is a cocktail bar at its best – although it’s so popular you have to book – with slick service and some celebrated cocktails; and also a thorough bar menu, for an excellent evening with no need for dinner.
Almost equally memorable was breakfast, which took place at the Il Lago, usually the hotel’s gourmet Italian restaurant. This was a perfect combination of an extremely high-quality buffet with excellent à la carte options.
Later that morning, we headed back up to the top floor to the spa where we had a very smartly devised Alpina Aroma massage.
Altogether very special, and you could also almost forget that you are actually in the centre of a historic European city with plenty of attractions all around, and of course the winter sports destinations of the Alps literally within sight. If you are flying to your skiing holiday via Geneva, a couple of nights at the Four Seasons, could be a lot more relaxing than activities and partying on the slopes above.
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