SNOWY GREETINGS FROM BADRUTT'S PALACE HOTEL IN ST MORITZ IN SWITZERLAND!
Badrutt's Palace hotel right now in February 2013 during winter
Badrutt's Palace hotel in summer. Whatever the season, it reigns supreme as Switzerland's best hotel
The current owners of Badrutt's Palace hotel; Hansjurg Badrutt and Aniko Badrutt, now in their 80s. His grandfather Johannes Badrutt opened the hotel in 1896 and single handedly started winter tourism in Switzerland after making a bet with 4 English tourists in 1864. Johannes Badrutt said if they came in winter and did not enjoy themselves, he would pay their expenses. If they did, Badrutt would let them stay as long as they liked! What a win-win deal!
Hans Wiedemann, MD of Badrutt's Palace hotel greeting Princess Dr Becky Leogardo and Michael Mantz
Hans Wiedemann MD of Badrutt's Palace hotel honoured us by personally welcoming us
Linda, Hans Wiedemann, Princess Dr Becky Leogardo, Daniel Mantz and Michael Mantz
Kee Hua Chee joins in
Raphael Wiedemann is the son of Badrutt's Palace hotel MD Hans Wiedemann
Raphael Wiedemann honored me by personally escorting me to my suite
Raphael Wiedemann is half Swiss, half Indian and has worked at Badrutt's Palace hotel since 13. He is now 27 and is currently Front Desk Manager
Badrutt's Palace hotel in summer
Gorgeous in summer
I am now basking in the lap of luxury in the Lakeview Suite at nearly RM 20,000 a night in Badrutt's Palace, the best hotel in the highclass, exclusive and expensive ski resort of St Moritz which also happens to be the best and most famous hotel in all of Switzerland.
I am staying here for 5 days and 4 nights which will cost some RM 80,000 without meals though breakfast is included!
Of course not everyone can afford RM 80,000 for 4 nights but Badrutt's Palace hotel is not impossible as their 'Tradition Meets Lifestyle' package is just RM 11,000 for 3 nights!
You get a Grand Deluxe Room with lakeview, breakfast buffet, 3 dinners in the magnificent Le Restaurant, 1 champagne high tea, historic tour of the hotel, massage, tickets for mountain railways and public transport and transfer in a Rolls-Royce!
In my case, it is due to the largesse and generosity of Princess Dr Becky Leogardo who paid for my flight and food from Kuala Lumpur. We left KL for Amsterdam and The Hague with her 5 year old son and Linda her hairstylist and make-up artist which explains why Princess Dr Becky Leogardo always look so perfect each time she steps out of her hotel door.
Back in December we attended a Malaysian International Gourmet Festival dinner at Royale Chulan hotel as guest of the Swiss ambassador Dr Lenz and his Chinese wife Shirley Lenz.
We met Hans Wiedemann, MD of Badrutt's Palace hotel at the dinner. As a surprise gesture, he sponsored a 2-night stay in a Badrutt Palace suite for the lucky draw. I of course protested, explaining it would take an entire day to fly from KL to Zurich and then another 3 hours from Zurich airport to St Moritz.
Hans Wiedemann grinned and expanded his offer to 4 nights and 5 days!
VIP guest Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen the Minister of Tourism was invited to pick the lucky winner and whose name card did she pick but Princess Dr Becky Leogardo's!
Just as well the prize went to her as most of the guests would not have bothered to fly to Switzerland just to enjoy the free accommodation as Hans Wiedemann was not sponsoring the flight!
So Princess Dr Becky Leogardo, Linda, Daniel Mantz and I flew KLM to Amsterdam where Michael Mantz, the Dutch lawyer husband of Princess Becky was waiting to drive us to his house in The Hague.
We enjoyed The Hague and Amsterdam for 2 days and Michael Mantz treated us and 2 of his friends to a sumptuous Valentine's dinner at Corona hotel.
The next day we flew to London and then St Moritz!
To welcome us was Hans Wiedemann himself and his handsome 27 year old son Raphael who is married to a lovely Portuguese so I am afraid he is taken.
The sponsored suite comes with 2 bedrooms at RM 25,000 a night which is supposed to accommodate Princess Dr Becky Leogardo, Michael Mantz, Linda, Daniel and me but Hans Wiedemann very kindly gave me my own suite!
It was already an honour for us to be personally welcomed by Hans Wiedemann the MD of Badrutt's Palace hotel but for him to sponsor my own suite means I was definitely born under a lucky star and I shall mention him when I receive my Nobel Prize for Peace or Literature.
In addition, the top team of Badrutt's Palace also lined up to welcome and shake our hands as if we were Heads of State!
His son Raphael escorted me to my suite which is the size of a normal condo! I have my own foyer, living room, bedroom, vast balcony overlooking the famous lake and mountain while my bathroom is also the size of a studio!
Then again, at 6,000 Swiss Francs, it had to be sumptuous!
Both Princess Becky's suite and mine look out onto the lake which commands a premium as the rooms on the other side overlook the main shopping street which is also quite nice as you can see when the latest collections arrive.
The green-roofed Badrutt's Palace hotel in St Moritz is the best in Switzerland
This train takes skiers and visitors to the mountain peak
The Grand Lobby
Princess Dr Becky Leogardo in front of Badrutt's Palace hotel in St Moritz
Badrutt'a Palace hotel really resembles a palace
Looks like a castle
30 designer shops line both sides of Badrutt's Palace hotel
Postcard perfect
Badrutt's Palace hotel reigns supreme
Badrutt's Palace is a major international icon
View of Badrutt's Palace hotel from the terrace of Chesa Veglia, a restaurant from a converted farmhouse also owned by the hotel
Stunning
Lofty turrets and parapets add grandeur to Badrutt's Palace hotel
The view is stunning from both inside and outside the hotel!
I took this photo from the Grand Salon of diners enjoying their meal and view on the terrace
Grand or what
Room with a view
The magnificent Badrutt's Palace hotel in St Moritz
Kee Hua Chee, Princess Dr Becky Leogardo, Leona and Michael Mantz
Enjoying lunch at Le Relais
View from Le Relais restaurant
View from Le Relais restaurant
The great outdoors has never been grander!
Le Restaurant
Le Restaurant
Leona, Michael Mantz and Princess Dr Becky Leogardo
Le Grand Hall
Le Grand Hall
Grand Salon
View from my suite
View from my desk
Kee Hua Chee in front of Badrutt's Palace hotel
A Rolls-Royce is the usual means of transport for Kee Hua Chee
All dressed up and everywhere to go!
Badrutt's Palace hotel has 3 Rolls-Royces
Grand entrance
Chopard and Grisogono occupy pride of place in Badrutt's Palace hotel
Directly opposite Badrutt's Palace hotel is Palace Galerie, home to Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Louis Vuitton, Chanel et al
This shopping arcade is also attached to Badrutt's Palace hotel
Designer brands galore
Palace Galerie
Ernst, Betty and Michael Mantz
Ernst, Betty, Princess Dr Becky Leogardo and Michael Mantz
Ernst, Betty, Princess Dr Becky Leogardo and Michael Mantz in their suite
Hans Wiedemann welcoming Princess Dr Becky and her entourage
View from my suite
My private balcony overlooking the frozen lake
We celebrated our first night at Le Restaurant
Our waiter showed us what beef we would be enjoying
Michael Mantz gave his approval
Our Chateaubriand for 3 was cooked and served before us in superb style
We abandoned all diet and feasted!
Yummy!
Delicious!
Princess Dr Becky Leogardo enjoying life!
Pioneer of the luxury hotel industry: in Badrutt’s Palace Hotel the founder’s
spirit still lives on today – a trip through more than 120 years of hotel history
and technical innovation
Living history: political and economic greats, heads of state and
superstars have all stayed at Badrutt’s Palace Hotel for over 115 years and even today a stay at
the legendary luxury hotel is still the crowning glory of a visit to the chic Swiss resort of St.
Moritz. Thanks to the pioneering spirit of the founding Badrutt family, the hotel’s history is akin
to the great innovations and superlatives of the international luxury hotel industry. Guests can
dive into the hundred-year history with the “Tradition meets Lifestyle” package.
Right from the start, the hotel’s development was inextricably linked to the Badrutt family. In
1856 Johannes Badrutt had bought a little B&B and enlarged it into a hotel. In 1864 his son
Caspar acquired the Hotel Beau Rivage and had it rebuilt into the Palace Hotel from 1892. Since
the grand opening in 1896 several generations of the family have championed the preservation
and development of this magnificent hotel in the Engadin Mountains – with their lifeblood,
economic skill and in all consciousness of tradition always close to having their fingers on the
pulse. The hotel, which counts as one of the most prestigious in Europe, was consistently
equipped with the latest technical conveniences.
Staying at Badrutt’s Palace Hotel today is therefore a trip through a century of tradition and at the
same time a journey through 100 years of hotel innovation: in 1920 it had its first lift, which is
still in use today. It also proudly presented the first telephone and booth in the Engadin valley,
though today the telephone booth is now equipped with a state-of-the-art telephone. The Badrutt
family opened the first tennis hall in Europe back in 1913. Even the first ice rink in the area
belonged to the hotel and it still exists today, on the spot where the hotel’s tennis courts are
during the summer. The pioneering work reached far beyond the hotel: in the winter of
1908/1909, Hans Badrutt constructed a small wooden hangar on the frozen Lake St. Moritz,
where German Baron Auffm’Ordt had an aeroplane built. On 20th March 1909 this plane rose up
two metres above the ice, and this endeavour goes down in history as one of the first successful
flight attempts in the Alps. The hotel’s Hans Badrutt Suite, named after the hotel pioneer, is still
incidentally one of the most expensive hotel suites in Switzerland – for one night of pure luxury
in high season it costs CHF 20'230.00 (approx. Euro 16'800.00).
When the renowned hotelier Hans Wiedemann took over the family run luxury hotel as
Managing Director in 2004, and completely restructured the entire hotel including infrastructure,
service and offering, he remained true to the hotel’s focus, blending tradition and lifestyle in a
forward thinking way. The nostalgic flair and unmistakable charm of Badrutt’s Palace Hotel is to be held intact for the next 100 years while simultaneously concentrating on technology and
sustainability. In this vein, the hotel’s own energy supply has been covering 80% of its needs
since 2006 through an innovative heat pump. Also the “Palace Wellness”, the hotel facade and
room decor were all harmonised with the hotel’s history and the givens of time.
It is also obvious that the staff all know how to appreciate the house style. Many of them have
worked in Badrutt’s Palace Hotel for decades and put their heart and soul behind the hotel, such
as Resident Manager Angelo Martinelli: he has been with the hotel since 1963 and will therefore
be celebrating his 50th Badrutt’s anniversary in 2013.
The package “Tradition meets Lifestyle” has been put together to bring the hotel’s guests closer
to its family background and eventful history. It comprises three nights in a Grand Deluxe Room
with guaranteed view over the lake, an extensive breakfast buffet, three dinners in the elegant
“Le Restaurant” and one High Tea with champagne in “Le Grand Hall”. The package is crowned
with a historic tour of the hotel, a visit to the records and archive department of St. Moritz library
including transfer in the Rolls Royce, as well as a copy of the Badrutt’s Palace History Book.
Also included in the package price, in a double room from CHF 3'290.00 (approx. Euro
2'700.00), are a classic massage per person and tickets for all mountain railways and the public
transport in and around St. Moritz.
For further information and reservations please go to www.badruttspalace.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment