WORDS
Chris Madigan
For years, St Moritz’s La Margna Hotel, just by the railway station, lay unused – hoardings around the site suggested a redevelopment into residences, but the plan was never realised. Instead, what has emerged is the first new five-star hotel to open in the Swiss resort in two decades. With the emphasis on “new”.
A wing has been added to the original 1906 architecture by owners The Grace hotel group, who operate in ways that might shock regulars at its established rivals – such as the famed Badrutt’s Palace – up the hill. One of these is by opening 365 days a year, rather than only in high ski or summer seasons.
Everything else is a question of youthfulness – this isn’t old-money Swiss luxury. The GM is under 40 and the staff, while attentive, are relaxed and friendly – none of the terrified standing to attention that makes some five-star service, frankly, unhelpful. Restaurants include a Mediterranean place with sharing plates, a luxe street-food offering (wagyu beef kebabs, anyone?) and a fondue stube with neon signs saying things like “I licked it so it’s mine”. There is higher art than that around the hotel, too, most of it contemporary.
Nowhere is the 21st-century luxury ethos more obvious than in N/5 – The Bar. The counter itself is impressive enough – a seven-metre-long slab of Carrara marble that, at eight tonnes, required the floor to be reinforced. The offering, too, would be worthy of The World’s 50 Best Bars’ consideration. There is a list of classics, plus a section of true indulgence (we’ll have the champagne cocktail with Louis XIII cognac for £110, thanks). All the hi-tech kit for post-molecular cocktail-making is on display – a rotovap for creating bespoke spirits with a Swiss twist, a bubble-maker for fun garnishes and a device for printing pictures on to the foam of a sour. Bar manager Mirco Giumelli also devised a tarot card menu, where the truly brave can let fate decide their drinks.
Beyond the cocktails, the drinks menu shows some interesting choices too. Given equal featured-artist status on the list to a flight of rare Macallans is a trio of single malts from Orma, the Swiss distillery located at 3,303m above sea level at the top of Piz Corvatsch, just along the Engadine valley. Given that you can visit the distillery via a cable car included on your St Moritz lift pass, this is perhaps unsurprising. More of an eye-opener is Grace La Margna’s choice of house fizz – Gusbourne Brut Reserve, from Kent. The choice of English sparkling wine is a sign that it’s not just at home that people are appreciating its quality. It’s also a nod to the British role in building St Moritz as a destination. In 1864 Johannes Badrutt (of the eponymous Palace) persuaded a group of Brits to say on in the mountains through the winter on a “you’ll love it or your money back” basis, thus effectively inventing the ski holiday. The fact that the frozen lake still hosts polo and cricket matches is an echo of the English influence.
These days, however, Badrutt’s closes between April and June, and again from September to December, so it is the Grace La Margna that keeps the year-round resort in luxury accommodation in perfectly good months. It’s also the destination in the resort for an afternoon tea to rival the Ritz’s, and at the property’s Living Room stunning Jugendstil architecture is coupled with chic modern furnishings.
