The Best Hotels in St. Moritz

The carved wood ceiling in the lobby has been there since the hotel opened, and the staff behaves as though it always will be. This is a grand Alpine resort in St. Moritz, old-school glamour at altitude, with an ice-skating rink on the grounds and complimentary laundry for children under twelve, which tells you something about who stays here. The Hitchcock Suite is self-explanatory. Forbes Five Star and a spot on the World's 50 Best Hotels list.

Every suite faces south, which means Lake St. Moritz and the Engadine mountains fill every window without exception. This Forbes Five Star hotel sits just outside the town center, all-suite throughout, with butler service and a 24-hour car on call. The Bel Etage, anchored by two historic fireplaces, is where guests gather before and after dinner while someone plays the grand piano, which is either charming or a lot, depending on your mood.

The natural ice bobsled run outside is the oldest still operating anywhere, which tells you something about the ambitions of the place. This grand Swiss alpine hotel has been the center of St. Moritz winter life for as long as anyone can remember, with an ornate lobby, seven restaurants and bars, a vast spa, and rooms with balcony views that make it hard to get dressed. It holds a Forbes Four Star.

The private ski lift says everything about this grand alpine hotel just outside St. Moritz. Inside, the old-world atmosphere holds firm: wood beams, coffered ceilings, an oak-paneled bar, a billiards room, and a dining room where children are required to dress for dinner. Rooms are classic and quietly luxurious. Breakfast is a lavish Swiss spread, and an indoor pool faces the mountains. The Michelin Guide awarded it two Keys.

A palazzo-style grand hotel in St. Moritz, turrets and blue shutters and all, built over a mineral spring that still feeds the spa's pools and baths below. Chandelier dining, high tea with Swiss patisserie, and a gondola station directly across the street for the slopes. The Michelin Guide awarded it a Key. It's the kind of place where "popping out for a ski" feels like a completely reasonable sentence.

The exterior looks like a marzipan model of an Engadine farmhouse, all painted stucco and shutters, giving nothing away. Inside, this design hotel in Champfèr near St. Moritz earns its Michelin Key with timbered ceilings updated by a palette of pale wood, cream, and bursts of fuchsia or lime. Two bars, three restaurants, and a spa handle most excuses to leave, which in St. Moritz winters is exactly the point.

Floor-to-ceiling windows and private balconies mean the Engadin Valley does most of the decorating at this contemporary alpine hotel just outside St. Moritz. The building is deliberately low-slung, all glass and local timber, chosen over the usual chalet kitsch. Seventy rooms lean clean-lined and blond-wood calm, junior suites nearly double the space, and the spa throws in an underwater relaxation bed for guests who find hot tubs insufficiently dramatic.