Sunday, July 25, 2010

St Moritz Switzerland

St. Moritz Switzerland


Nestled in the Engadine Valley in the heart of the majestic Swiss Alps lays the village of St. Moritz. At 6,000 feet above sea level it overlooks the beautiful, aqua blue, Lake St. Moritz. It is Europe’s version of Aspen, Colorado . And home to international vacationers, sports enthusiasts, and spa seekers and certainly has its share of the rich and famous.

The Kulm Hotel, ranked 4th best in Switzerland in the five-star category, is a magnificent, 173 room property in the heart of St. Moritz built in 1856. It’s charm and elegance attract those is seek of a get-away fit for royalty and brings to mind this saying; “Only the possibility of realizing a dream makes life worth living.”

To that end, the hotel has added a 6th rating star which includes the motto: “Whatever You Like!” The staff is dedicated to make your every wish come true. In fact, they tell a story of one such patrons dream to ski with her favorite soccer star. Done.

This year, The Klum Hotel introduced a valley-wide, stay and play golf package, which includes four golf courses. The first is a 9-hole executive course right here on the Kulm property. All of the tee boxes have artificial mats from which to tee off, and the longest hole is about 140 yards. But don’t let that fool you. Even if you are a big hitter, you will find this course sporty and pleasant. Every hole, with all of its elevation changes, is a small gem.
I am reminded of the par-3 course at Augusta National Golf Club to which you can compare the beauty and majesty of this small golf course. If there were a rating of top 100, par-3 golf courses in the world, this would have to be on it. Not only is it challenging, but it is very romantic as well. When you stand on the tee box of hole # 5, you see a lovely heart-shaped green some 100 yards below the elevated tee box. My wife cooed with emotion and even gave me a big kiss!
Handy divot tools hang from every flagstick and the rakes in the bunkers have leaning stands. It’s Swiss efficiency at its finest. But it is the views of the surrounding Alps that are truely awe-inspiring. If you come for golf, don’t ignore this little treasure.

Golf Club Alvaneu Bad
This is part of the hotels stay and play package, and when they told me it was an hour and twenty minute drive, I began to question the sensibility of that. But the drive alone is well worth the trip. The road itself winds dramatically over the Alvaneu Pass, which often becomes a single-laned road, and reaches a summit of over 7500 feet. Along the way you will dodge a myriad of bikers, hikers, motorcyclists, and perhaps a cow or two. Wunderbar!
The course is a par 72 playing at 6400 yards. It lies at the base of the Alvaneu Valley. So, while I was prepared for a mountain course with a lot of elevation changes, this course plays horizontally within the valley, with mostly level holes. And these holes are beautifully framed by the tall, wooded forests growing mountainside, with rivers and streams cutting through many of the holes. It is level enough that there are hardly any players choosing to hire carts. It is the splendor of the walk that enhances a players’ experience.
The manager, Roland Fisher, told me it is regularly rated in the top 10 in Switzerland, but keep in mind there are only about 100 courses in the entire country.
Because of its sunny valley locale, their season of golf lasts from May through September. Aside from the golf package, the greens fees are 100 Swiss Francs on weekdays and 120 on weekends.


If you go:
info@kulmhotel-stmoritz.ch
www.klumhotel-stmoritz.ch

www.golfalvaneu.ch

Zouz- Madullain
Zouz is less than 10 miles from St. Moritz and was built just seven years ago. It is a par 72 playing 6600 yards from the tips. It plays mostly level through the enchanting Engadin Valley. The course is tightly built with very few trees to line the fairways, so it is easy to hit your ball into the adjoining fairways. This is evident on a few of the par-5’s where it can be a challenge to direct your ball onto its proper fairway. There are holes with 45 degree, dog-legs, and holes whose tight, small greens require accurate approach shots. My wife protests the difficult golf shots here, but marveled at the courses scenic beauty. In fact, she photographed many holes laying next to active farmland, mountain streams, quaint ponds, and even distant Swiss trains.
Be prepared for altitude accommodations and sun intensity here in Zouz. And be prepared to have fun too!

Zouz is a Romansch word, and the primary language of the village of Zouz. Romansch is a form of ancient Latin and one of the four official languages of Switzerland. The others are German (with many speaking Switzer-Deutsch), French, and Italian. The head Professional here is one of the 10,000-20,000 Swiss who speak Romansch. And that number dwindles each year. With a population of 7 million, it is interesting that this language that is spoken by so few people remains one of Switzerland’s official languages. Those who speak this language live in a very small section of Switzerland, and the Engadin Valley is home to most of them. It all adds to the charm of this golf vacation.


Grand Hotel Kronenhof Pontresina
The Hotel Kronenhof is a sister hotel to the Klum , and approximately ten miles away. It has 112 luxury rooms and is also 5 stars. The original part, like the Klum Hotel, is very traditional. But there is a newer part that is quite contemporary and we stayed in one such room.
Vibrant red colors and sleek design lines define the room with a leather headboard and electrical blinds that block the bath from the bed. Many of the rooms have large windows and patios that allow viewing of the nearby glacier.
The hotel also has a newly designed spa, which features pools of water that massage, soothe, relax, invigorate, and transform your entire body. There is a floating, relaxation pool with accompanying light projections on the ceiling that is sure to delight any spa enthusiast, weary golfer or skier. A massive central Jacuzzi generates bubbles in every shape and form, designed to target different parts of the body; neck, back, legs, etc. And the pool uses underwater music to enhance the relaxation process. One may very well forego golf and lavish into this sensual world of water.

But is the impeccable service at the Hotel Kronenhof that defines its elegance. The entire staff offers friendly, inviting stays. It is not uncommon to find the General Manager awaiting your arrival or visiting your dining table to welcome and enrich your experience.

KIDS ACTIVITES
Like many upscale resort hotels, kids activities are becoming a priority. There is a kid’s club space with loads of activities, and even a kid’s dining room. The Hotel Klum has a VIK program (very important kid)
If you bring your children during the ski season, the hotel will take care of them to whatever degree you desire. Take them to ski school, pick them up, keep them busy, and dine them in the kid’s dining room. It’s almost like having the hotel staff as your private nanny.

Samedan Golf Club
Samedan Golf Club was built in 1893 and is the oldest golf course in Switzerland. It is no more than 7 miles from St. Moritz and plays 6800 yards from the tips. Today I played it from 6500 yards, but keep in mind that, at this elevation, balls travel between 5% and 10% further. I played with Wault (from the Netherlands) and Frank (from Austria) and we had a blast today. This course is much flatter than Zouz but has much more water. Of the 18 holes only 5 have no water in play, so pay attention to your accuracy The greens were in excellent shape and most of the fairways were too, but there is the occasional bad patch of fairway.
The sand, which I found more than once, is very will cared for and the bunkers play very well. There is a diagram board at each tee box so the water hazards, some of which may seem hidden, are quite obvious if you pay attention to the board on the tee box. The Engadin Valley is broad so there is plenty of flat terrain on which to build a course. High approach shots look magnificent with the Alps in the background.
If you go:
www.engadin-golf.ch
samedan@engadin-golf.ch

Badrutt’s Palace

There are 6 hotels with 5 star ratings in the St. Moritz area and Badrutt’s Palace is one of them, featuring 159 rooms 38 of which are suites. The senior member of the Badrutt’s family built the Kulm hotel and his son built Badrutt’s Palace which was completed shortly after his father died. It has a very British feel to it, serving high tea everyday and customer service is at the forefront of everything.
It seems that Mr. Badrutt had a bet with some British friends that if they came in winter they would experience at least 90 days of sunshine “otherwise I will pay the bill for your entire stay” He not only won the bet but started a tradition of the British visiting the St. Moritz area.
In addition to the skiing in the winter, which St. Moritz is known for, there are lots of activities: Hiking, biking, curling, tennis, polo, sailing, wind surfing, bridge. . The list is almost endless!!
80% of the customers return regularly and the staff knows everything about them, from names of parents, kids and even pets. Regular returning guests have robes and towels that are personally monogrammed for them. There is even a resident who has lived in Badrutt’s Palace for 38 years and has his own table in the dining room at which no one else is ever allowed to sit. The kitchen keeps his own personal place settings on hand at all times for use exclusively by this man. The history book of the hotel and family have dozens of stories like this, mostly about the many royalty and celebrities that have spent time at Badrutt’s. Some guests return so regularly that they leave everything when they checkout. The staff then photographs the placement of everything in the room, packs it up and stores it until they return and places everything just where it was when they checked out.
A couple more interesting facts: Every winter season the kitchen goes through 2 ½ tons of chocolate!! I love this place. The wine cellar, which very few people ever get to see houses 40,000 bottles of wine.

“Kids are the clients of Tomorrow” is a creed of the entire staff, and it reflects in the commitment they have to the younger generation There is a kids club here with a capacity of nearly 40, for kids age 2-14 and there are up to 5 nurses on call to take care of these kids at all times. In addition to the adult activities, mentioned above, they can take lessons in almost all of these as well as cooking classes from the head chef. In winter the hotel has access to nearly 60 ski instructors. They will arrange family picnics, have an arts and crafts room and the activities range from both indoors to outdoors. No wonder generations of families keep returning to Badrutt’s Palace.

www.badruttspalace.com

1 comment:

Unknown said...

The details given is awesome and definitely attracts the customers. :)


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