St. Moritz Is Great, but This Overlooked Swiss Town Is Better
Ihave never been drawn to St. Moritz. I didn’t think my wallet could handle a winter jaunt in a destination considered the most expensive in Switzerland, and what’s more, I felt I would be at odds with the type of traveler who flocks to this glamorous ski town.
Not only am I not a skier, but the parade of Instagram photos depicting skiers in designer digs posing atop Corviglia seemed at odds with my more laid-back, low-key style. Like hearing about a person before you’ve been formally introduced, I arrived at the Grand Hotel des Bains Kempinski St. Moritz brimming with expectation. Within the hour, I found myself holding a glass of champagne and taking caviar “bumps” off my hand.
How St. Moritz Got Its Reputation
Legend has it that in 1865, Johannes Badrutt—then-owner of the Faller Pension AKA the present-day Kulm Hotel and one of the first accommodations to open in St. Moritz—was saying goodbye to his summer travelers, when he made them an offer they couldn’t refuse: “Come back and spend Christmas in St. Moritz,” he is claimed to have suggested. “It’s sunnier and less rainy than London. If you don’t like it, I’ll pay your travel costs. If you do, you can stay as long as you like.”
St. Moritz, at this time, was a popular summer destination for wealthy Europeans who were drawn to the healing properties promised by Switzerland’s natural hot springs. Known as “mineral cures,” St. Moritz was considered a spa destination where iron-rich waters and alpine mud were believed to aid in everything from cardiovascular health to musculoskeletal issues. The Mauritius spring, discovered over 3,000 years ago, helped cement St. Moritz’s reputation as a place of healing, with its benefits hailed by the famed Swiss physician Paracelsus, who pioneered the use of chemicals and minerals in medicine.
It wasn’t until Badrutt’s offer that St. Moritz and, as fate would have it, its future reputation would irrevocably change. The story goes that those English travelers, in fact, returned to St. Moritz that winter and ended up staying until Easter before going back home to spread the word among London’s upper class that St. Moritz is a winter destination worth visiting. Over the years, a parade of glitterati descended upon the small alpine town, from business tycoons to Hollywood celebrities like Charlie Chaplin and Brigitte Bardot. Their star power (and deep pockets) transformed St. Moritz into a destination synonymous with glamour, wealth, and chic jetsetters; a reputation that endures. Today, according to The New York Times, St. Moritz attracts more than half a million visitors annually, a stunning comparison to the town’s population of around 5,200.
“The exiled royalty, minor princes, beauties, near beauties, sportsmen, and bankers of the International Set consider St. Moritz the place to spend a winter holiday,” wrote Life Magazine back in 1947. “It is not just because this village, tucked high in the Alps of southeast Switzerland, is world-renowned as a winter sports center, with a famous Olympic bobsled run, unparalleled ski slopes, and miles of beautiful mountain trails. It is mostly because St. Moritz is the most fashionable village in Europe.”
From Ski Slopes to Billionaires
Much like St. Moritz itself, the Grand Hotel des Bains Kempinski has a storied past. Housed inside a building dating back to the 1800s, the hotel has always exuded a deep elegance and sophistication emblematic of the place it calls home. Located at the foot of the Signalbahn cable car and the legendary Hahnensee ski run, considered one of the best in the region, the Grand Hotel des Bains is perfectly situated for skiers to ski-in or out to Corviglia and Corvatsch or to opt for cross-country skiing or walking along the various paths that lead to alpine lakes and verdant forests tucked in the valleys of the Engadin.
Upon check-in, I was whisked away to an expansive suite bigger than my New York City apartment, offering uninterrupted views of the surrounding snow-capped Alps. The next morning, I woke early and made my way up the mountain via cable car for my first ski lesson as an adult. Up until this point, my experience with skiing had proved minimal. Apart from a mortifying lesson as a child, one in which I had somehow managed to knock down every single kid in my class, I mounted my skis with trepidation.
Grand Hotel Des Bains Kempinski St. MoritzCourtesy of Kempinski Hotels
Standing atop the mountain, the alpine air whipping my face, I watched with humor as droves of beautiful young skiers hobbled to the ideal viewpoint, posed with their ski poles, and then waddled back to the warmth promised by the mountain-top wine bar. Hardly one to judge, especially after spending an hour practicing my “pizza pose,” which found me awkwardly sliding down a bunny hill with my skis forming an open triangle, I, too, threw in my ski poles and made my way to the bar. As I soon learned, I’m much more suited to après-ski than I am to skiing.
I returned to my suite, a quiet luxury haven of neutral colors, rich fabrics, and a warm ambiance, which provided a welcome calming energy—a contrast to the over-the-top glamour I was about to experience at the Kempinski’s Billionaire club. Like Cirque Du Soleil and a Michelin-starred restaurant had a love child, Billionaire fuses high-end dining with sexy performances meant to ensnare the senses. Forget about dinner conversation, my filet mignon was accompanied by aerialists, light shows, and impressive vocalists. As I sat at a round table, making my way through an impressive dinner spread, I felt as though I had truly arrived at St. Moritz.
It’s hard to imagine St. Moritz as it once was: a place of healing and calm centered around hot springs and apothecaries. There’s nothing subtle about St. Moritz today. This is a destination that welcomes you with the same savoir-faire that its visitors exhibit: stylishly, with an air of confidence tinged with the slightest hint of pretension that those privileged enough to vacation in St. Moritz can bring.
By the time I checked out of the Kempinski, I felt as though I had stumbled out of a glamorous club at last call, carrying my stilettos in hand, shaking glitter from my hair, and tasting the remnants of champagne on my lips. St. Moritz was exactly what I had imagined, and then some. As my car weaved its way along the curving mountain road, heading for its next destination, I realized that, unlike St. Moritz, I had zero expectation for the next alpine town I’d be visiting: Engelberg.
Engelberg’s Quiet Luxury
I hate to fall victim to that classic travel writing trope of alternative destinations. You know the headlines: “Go here, not there” or “Forget [insert a very popular city no one is likely to forget] and go to [insert an obscure city] instead.”
I won’t tell you that St. Moritz isn’t worth a visit, because that simply isn’t true, but I will tell you that Engelberg is a magical and wholesome place that gave me the Switzerland I was looking for. Nestled in the heart of central Switzerland, less than four hours driving from St. Moritz, rests Engelberg—a town home to glacier views, the towering Titlis Mountain with its dramatic Titlis Cliff Walk (Europe’s highest suspension bridge), and a 12th century monastery that rests at the heart of Engelberg, from which the town quite literally sprung up.
Upon checking into the five-star Kempinski Palace Engelberg, I could tell right away that the vibe felt different. A gem from the Belle Époque, Kempinski Palace Engelberg is the first five-star resort to open in Engelberg, and over the course of five years, it has been carefully renovated and expanded. From its Palace Bar, well over a hundred years old, to the Rooftop Spa with its stunning views, The Palace Engelberg seemed to exude a quiet luxury compared to its cousin in St. Moritz. Here, there were no late-night caviar bumps or statuesque women teetering past in towering stilettos; instead, the feeling of the Palace Engelberg was decidedly quieter and cozier, with balconies looking out on towering snow-covered pines and the rising Alps. Like checking into a beautiful winter chalet, I found Engelberg to feel like the Switzerland I had imagined —a charming reprieve from New York City, where I could indulge in wearing my chunky-knit sweaters with wild abandon and relish the near-spiritual ambiance of the hotel and town.
Kempinski Palace Engelberg.Courtesy of Kempinski Hotels
The spirituality of Engelberg comes as no surprise since the town was born from a Benedictine monastery founded back in 1120. Known as Engelberg Abbey, the monastery became the cultural and spiritual heart of the valley, even bestowing the town with its name, which translates to “Mountain of Angels.” Unlike St. Moritz, which rose to fame as a luxury playground for the ultra-wealthy and fashionable, Engelberg seemed quieter and more monastic to me, preserving ancient traditions like cheese-making.
One day, I made my way to the Chäs im Kloster, a cheese shop and bistro built directly into the monastery walls. As someone who is fond of cheese and especially keen to seek it out while in Europe, it’s important to note that the Chäs im Kloster is no ordinary cheese shop. This working cheese factory—and notably the only one operating within a monastery in all of Switzerland—allows guests to watch traditional cheesemakers. I had the joy of making cheese myself, watching as fresh Alpine milk transformed into silky cheese.
In the end, I found St. Moritz to feel like a Michelin-starred meal with a lot of bells and whistles. You sit down and are served a thoughtfully prepared prix-fixe menu, where each dish is served with style. Liquid nitrogen gives the impression that a carefully poached oyster is floating. Edible gold turns that sliver of cake into a work of art. You enjoy the meal, relishing its flavors, but on the 10th dish of a 15-dish procession, you find yourself feeling stuffy in that fancy restaurant, never quite at ease, tugging at the constricting sleeves of your stiff button-down, or pulling at the rising hem of your dress.
Engelberg, on the other hand, was like enjoying my favorite comfort meal; the kind I look forward to tucking into after a long day of work or on a cold evening. I took that first bite, felt my shoulders drop with relaxation, and gave in to the beauty of something so simple, cozy, and authentic.
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