The birthplace of winter tourism, this high-altitude Swiss town was the first to invite travellers to embrace the colder months. These are the best hotels in St. Moritz.
St. Moritz has never done quiet luxury. Beyond skiing, it’s synonymous with snow polo, hosting The Snow Polo World Cup on its frozen lake every January, and counts the Cresta Run, a hand-carved ice track dating back to 1884, among its most enduring icons. Set high in the sun-soaked Engadin Valley, it remains one of the Alps’ most glamorous addresses, drawing a well-heeled crowd for more than 150 years. Here, winter sport is serious, and so is the business of seeing and being seen. Whether you are in town for the slopes or its famously thriving social scene, these are the five hotels that define St. Moritz now.
For Winter Sports: Kulm Hotel
If winter sport is the reason you’ve come to St. Moritz, then Kulm Hotel is the place to stay. This is where organised winter sport first took hold in the region, with guests skating on the hotel’s natural ice rink long before ice sports were formalised, and early thrill-seekers racing down the nearby Cresta Run as the sport of skeleton was born. That legacy later placed the Kulm at the heart of the Winter Olympics in 1928 and 1948, cementing its role not just as a hotel, but as one of the most important addresses in Alpine sporting history.
Sport has always come first at Kulm, and their new Alpine Sports Lounge reflects that legacy. This season, the hotel has unveiled a modern reimagining of the traditional boot room – no whiff of soggy socks here. Designed by Lord Norman Foster’s team, the space has been created to make the transition from suite to slope entirely seamless. Guests can store their own skis or rent from the hotel’s top-tier selection, pause for a pre- or post-ski coffee (or champagne), and pick up any forgotten essentials at the well-stocked boutique.
Every guest receives a complimentary lift pass as part of their stay, and there’s an on-demand shuttle to and from the slopes. It makes Kulm an excellent base for seasoned skiers, and offers a refreshingly friction-free setup for first-timers who want everything off the mountain to feel as easy as possible. Sadly, we can’t promise the same for the ski lessons themselves.
After a day on the slopes, Kulm’s dining scene comes into its own. There’s Amaru, a modern Peruvian restaurant created in collaboration with British designer Luke Edward Hall and chef Claudia Canessa, which provides a welcome break from fondue. But, it’s the Sunny Bar and Grill that we found ourselves gravitating towards. The oldest sports bar in the Alps, it has long been the rallying point of the Cresta Runners, and its walls are lined with archival photographs charting decades of winter sporting history. This year, it hosts Tom Booton’s residency, with the celebrated London chef bringing his modern brasserie style to the mountains. After skiing, Tom’s menu delivers comfort in the best possible way, with reworked classics including fluffy-battered chicken wings topped with caviar and the best burgers in town.
For Art Lovers: Chesa Marchetta
Turning historic buildings into cultural destinations is what Artfarm – founded by Manuela and Iwan Wirth of Hauser & Wirth – does best. After The Fife Arms in Braemar, its latest opening, Chesa Marchetta, brings that same art-led approach to the Alps. A new hotel in the region, it launched in early January 2026 following a four-year restoration by architect Luis Laplace, and sits in the Engadin Valley village of Sils Maria, just 15 minutes from St. Moritz.
Long considered the cultural epicentre of the Engadin, the tiny town of Sils Maria has drawn creatives for generations, from Gerhard Richter and Jean-Michel Basquiat to Marc Chagall and David Bowie. That creative legacy carries through Chesa Marchetta today. Local antiques feature throughout, while in-room art includes works by Gerhard Richter, pieces from the Giacometti archive and murals by British-German artist Corin Sands, inspired by regional myths and landscapes.
Like The Fife Arms, the 13-room hotel Chesa Marchetta positions itself as a cultural anchor for the region. With Hauser & Wirth already present in St. Moritz, the hotel strengthens the group’s role in shaping the town’s arts calendar. This winter’s Alberto Giacometti: Faces and Landscapes of Home exhibition, on until 28 March 2026, feels especially apt, given the artist’s close connection to Sils Maria.
For The Spa: Suvretta House
Suvretta House has always occupied its own lane in St. Moritz. Set slightly above town and surrounded by snow-dusted parkland, the turreted grand dame feels pulled straight from a fairytale. A fantastic base for skiers and boarders, it’s the only ski-in, ski-out hotel in St. Moritz, complete with a private button lift that delivers guests directly onto the Corviglia slopes.
Inside, Suvretta House remains charmingly old-world. Opened in 1912, many original features remain, from timber floors to the wood-panelled Grand Restaurant, while rich upholstery and antique crystal chandeliers add to the hotel’s grandeur. Large arched windows flood the public rooms with light and frame storybook-worthy mountain views, making them the perfect place to spend a few hours with a book and a hot chocolate.
While the décor and the service are decidedly old-school (in all the right ways), the brand-new spa is firmly future-facing. Set across three levels, the space feels calm and generous in scale, anchored by a 25-metre pool and complemented by indoor and outdoor pools, a women’s-only spa, saunas and steam rooms, plus a Kneipp circuit designed to boost circulation and ease tired muscles after a day on the slopes.
Treatments here are results-driven, led by Swiss skincare specialist Cellcosmet alongside facials from Sisley and exclusive body therapies by Ilā, with reformer Pilates sessions from THE BEAT offered in private, duet and small-group formats. You might even be tempted to swap a day on the slopes for one spent entirely poolside.
For The History: Badrutt’s Palace
The story of St. Moritz as we know it today begins with a bet. In 1864, hotelier Johannes Badrutt challenged a group of his British summer guests to return in winter, promising sunshine, mild weather and terrace lunches without coats. If he was wrong, he would cover their travel and accommodation. That December, they crossed the Julier Pass wrapped in furs and arrived to blue skies, with Badrutt himself waiting to greet them jacketless, sleeves rolled up. Winter tourism was born.
Badrutt’s Palace opened in 1896 under the direction of Caspar Badrutt, Johannes’ son, and quickly became the beating heart of the resort. It drew the tail end of the Grand Tour crowd before slipping seamlessly into the jet-set era of the 1950s and ’60s, welcoming royalty, Hollywood names and society figures in equal measure. Alfred Hitchcock was a regular, and it was here that he wrote The Birds. Now in its twelfth decade, the Palace trades on a reputation of glitz and glamour, but the rooms are immaculate, there are 11 restaurants and bars (including King’s Social House, Switzerland’s oldest nightclub), and a rather impressive infinity pool overlooking Lake St. Moritz.
Even if you’re not a guest at Badrutt’s, you can still get a taste of the hotel’s illustrious history by booking afternoon tea in Le Grand Hall, which is also locally known as the ‘living room of St. Moritz’. There’s a deep-rooted hotel lobby culture in St. Moritz, and you’ll often find generations of families crammed around a table on a Sunday afternoon. Taking tea is a simple way to feel part of a social scene that’s entirely unique to St. Moritz.
For Summer Getaways: Grace La Margna
Grace La Margna has been quietly shaking things up in a town that doesn’t often welcome newcomers. The first hotel to open in St. Moritz proper in 50 years, this stylishly dressed address feels like the cool little sister to the historic big hitters. Rooms are fresh, unfussy and modern, with a lighter, more relaxed feel than you’ll find elsewhere in town, and it’s one of the few places in St. Moritz that stays open year-round.
Summer here is all about making the most of the outdoors. E-bikes can be rented directly from the hotel, ideal for exploring the Engadin at a gentler pace, or you can try kitesurfing, wild swimming or rent a boat on Lake St. Moritz, which can be seen from nearly every window of the hotel. If you’re into hiking, there are options for all abilities, from the flat loop around the lake to gentle trails like Heidi’s Flower Trail, winding through pine forest with open valley views. Golfers can opt for unlimited play on the Engadin courses at Samedan and Zuoz-Madulain, with the option to add a round at Kulm Golf St. Moritz. And if the mountains start calling for a change of scene, the concierge can even arrange a trip to Lake Como.
After all that fresh air, Grace makes space for slowing down. The spa centres around a partnership with Aesop, making it the only five-star hotel in St. Moritz to offer the brand. Products are used in treatments and stocked in select rooms, creating a simple, calming reset before the next day outside.
Lead image credit: Suvretta House
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