Badrutt's Palace Hotel

Within the rarified world of five-star hotels, a handful truly stand out. Badrutt’s is one of if not the greatest of those stand-outs. From pre-arrival to post-departure, it is almost impossible to think of anything that was short of perfect. An upgrade to a lakeside room was confirmed by the hotel through Leading Hotels of the World within two days after our initial booking. An email to the hotel requesting a larger lakeside room since we both had to work even while on holiday was acknowledged with no promises, but sure enough we were escorted to a room that was the size of a junior suite. Waiting for us in our immaculate, traditionally furnished room was a fine bottle of wine and a signature nut cake as welcome gifts, which we enjoyed on our spacious balcony overlooking the sapphire-hued lake. The hotel’s iconic blue Rolls Royce met us at the station when we got off the Bernina Express and its comparatively understated Range Rover dropped us back at the station in time to board the Glacier Express. Breakfast was an elegant but not over-the-top affair, featuring a vast buffet as well as the likes of eggs benedict with summer truffle and champagne, accompanied by a harpist. Families with strollers and gym rats in joggers were as welcome as anyone in one of the grandest rooms in Europe. What a way to start the day! Dinner at Ches Veglia, one of Europe’s oldest restaurants, was yet another highlight. With a choice of the traditional stube or the famous pizzeria (think truffle pizza – is there a theme here?), everything was just so. Yet with all of that, it was the polished yet effortlessly welcoming staff that shows how it is done and puts Badrutt’s in a league of its own. Despite being one of the most famous hotels in the world, there were no airs, condescension or even the slightest raised eyebrow from anyone - just a sincere commitment to make all guests enjoy their stay from the professionals at reception, the always helpful concierge team, the lively hosting team at breakfast, the long-tenured restaurant staff, housekeeping and our friendly drivers. With dozens upon dozens of great hotels at which we have stayed throughout the world, Badrutt’s is one of the few we shall never forget … and to which we hope to return.

Two years later and I returned to The Palace to stay for a week. It was a pleasure to see Executive Chef Stefan Gerber once again, and his chocolates are still wonderful. They no longer follow the meal at Chesa Veglia, but he sent a beautiful tray of them up to our room. He also gave us another bag of them to take home and sent us a special treat during our breakfast before leaving. To get to know someone at a hotel like this makes all the difference and Mr. Gerber's warm and enthusiastic personality is a true delight. The Palace is lucky to have him!

Top hotel! Excellent friendly staff and service From the check in until the departure it was a super experience! The views are breathtaking !

We are on our honeymoon and have been traveling through Switzerland. I was most excited about our stay at Badrutt's Palace in St Moritz. The pictures were stunning and glamorous. I'm sad and disappointed in our time at Badrutt's. From the moment we arrived we felt unwelcome and unwanted. There a few nice encounters which I will share but the overall experience was FAR from 5 Star. I have never had such an unfriendly experience at hotel, ever. We stay at beautiful 5 star resorts often. There was one concierge who was dismissive and rude. We felt singled out and on an island. We would watch him be gracious and kind to others but to us rude and cold. We would ask simple questions - one specifically about the location of the gym.. at 8pm in the evening and he told us it was already closed. The gym is 24/7. It is stated on literature and was told to us at check in. I asked again because I thought maybe he was confused - again for him to tell us it was closed to us. Of course it wasn't and we made our way down and found a less unfriendly staff member who said it was open 24/7 and showed us the facility. He also told us a restaurant was fully booked to us but then we asked someone else and sure enough it was very open with multiple available times. The misinformation was so obviously intentional. Not sure if he just didn't want us to bother him so gave the wrong information or what the intention was. Never once greeted us or smiled at us. Yet would do that to others. I actually read this exact complaint in another review for the hotel. I hate to say this but it felt like because we were American's. We know this is a classy environment and we did make note to be sure we dressed accordingly. We felt so unwelcomed after the 1st day we didn't feel comfortable eating there anymore. I looked at leaving early but our next hotel was fully committed. It's frustrating to be so excited to stay somewhere for your honeymoon and spend what we feel is a lot of money just to be let down. We did address our concerns at checkout - the girl was apologetic and said she wished that wasn't our experience. We wish that too. She said we hope we change our minds and will be coming back and we will not be. Some of the better interactions we did have was with Matteo in the bar - he was kind to us as was Francisco in the breakfast dining room. We appreciated them simply for being kind to us.

The most amazing vacation experience I have ever had. We were picked up at the train station in a Rolls Royce, and taken to the BRADRUTT'S PALACE, where we were greeted by 3 staff members with warm hand clothes and smiles. They knew our names and treated like family members returning home. I can't wait to return.