Tr avel report ST MORITZ
just a ten minute drive from St Moritz station, Suvretta House was built in 1911 by pioneering hotelier Anton Sebastian Bon, who dreamed of building a grand hotel where ‘guests would want for nothing.’ After a four day stay at the property, I think it’s safe to say more than a century later it’s still delivering on that dream.
Of course it’s sod’s law that though I am arriving in the height of summer, I seem to have brought the rain from Manchester with me. But no mind, as after being whisked from St Moritz station by the hotel’s incredibly quaint shuttle bus (which could be straight out of Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel) and dropped at the door of Suvretta House, it’s not long before I am sat down in the hotel’s gorgeous yet understated walnut panelled lounge area enjoying a decadent lobster lunch, washed down with the property’s very own ‘Gentlemen’s Gin.’
The rain endures, but that allows to me to take advantage of Suvretta’s glorious fitness and spa facilities. Set over 1,700 square metres, the spa offers a raft of treatments and places to while away a few hours, but I head straight from Suvretta’s 25-metre pool, which overlooks the mountains of the Upper Engadine. Of course, if you don’t fancy swimming a few lengths, just outside is a heated open-air whirlpool that looks down on to the clear waters of the Silvaplana Lake.
And after a swim? Why not relax in one of the spa’s many sauna experiences – including a finnarium, sanarium, vaporium and caldarium – or get a massage, facial and body treatment.
Though Suvretta is only a few kilometres from the bling of St Moritz’s center, it doesn’t feel stuffy, which is probably for the best, as when the rain does abate my packed itinerary means I am generally returning to the hotel hot and somewhat sweaty. In winter the hotel is stuffed full of skiers who can glide in and out of the palatial grounds using the hotel’s own private lift, but in the summer there’s an abundance of activities to take part in around the region’s rugged mountains and lakes.
My first sojourn out of the hotel sees me transform from stylish star to action hero – skimming along the waters of St Moritz Lake in a small sailing boat learning the differences between a tack and a jibe. The Engadine features the Maloja Wind, a steady breeze created by thermal winds coming down the mountainside that is prized among windsurfers, sailors and kitesurfers in the area, offering some of the best sailing conditions in the country. And my two hours or so learning to navigate through the crystal clear waters of the lake is just the beginning of a packed program which sees me skidding a mountain bike down the flow trails from Alp Giop to the mountain restaurant at Trutz - where we fill up on some fine dishes local to the Graubunden region - and learning how to make a golf ball travel more than a just a few metres by spending an hour or so with Suvretta’s own professional golfing coach.
As well as mountain biking, golf and sailing, the hotel also offers horseback riding, hiking tours, climbing courses, fishing, training sessions in its state-of-the-art gym. Aviation enthusiasts can even take a trip in a glider. All of these experiences can be tailor made to suit each guest’s individual needs, and all the instructors I spent time