On a shelf at the confluence of the Engadine, Bernina and Roseg valleys, the Grand Hotel Kronenhof, in the village of Pontresina, combines old-world grandeur, contemporary elegance, astonishing views and some knockout cocktails
As anyone who reads this publication will know, St Moritz and its surrounding Alpine valleys are getting more desirable by the year. But that doesn’t mean that there are not discoveries within them, and the Kronenhof is most certainly one of them.
The alpine view from Hotel Kronenhof’s lobby lounge
Sitting on a plateau above a deep, forested river gorge, the Kronenhof is the jewel in the crown of the little village of Pontresina – located at an even more spectacular point than St Moritz itself, a six kilometre, 10-minute drive away.
Pontresina sits at the mouth of the Roseg valley, which rises up to reveal dramatic glaciated and snowy peaks year round. From the swimming pool at the Kronenhof through its huge plate-glass windows, you have a fishbowl view of the whole Engadine Valley and the forested mountains lining it.
‘Pontresina sits at the mouth of the Roseg valley, which rises up to reveal dramatic glaciated and snowy peaks year round’
The rooms in public areas can only be described as high mountain high chic. There is a view everywhere you go – and it all feels very integral to nature, not urbanised at all. You can head up the mountain alongside the hotel with a guide to discover ibex hiding in the forest; or take a horse and carriage ride up the valley opposite, towards the glaciers; or hike, mountain bike, trail run, swim in lakes… and slide back into the modern grandeur of the Kronenhof.
Whether you are from Bangkok or Baku, the Belle Époque Grand Restaurant dining room, with its own minstrels’ gallery (unlike anything in, say, Courchevel), will take your breath away. You feel you are in the ballroom of a 19th-century Archduke, except at 1,800 meter altitude. Service is exquisite in the way only heritage Alpine hotels can achieve. We particularly liked the after-dinner cocktails in the sophisticated bar area, and going on to the cigar lounge and pool table.
The Grand Restaurant of Hotel Kronenhof, offering guests a meal in classic yet modern luxury
With staff who seem to know you even if you have never been before (and remember you if you have, however long ago) and an underlying civility, gentility and professionalism that speaks not just to the staff but to the sophistication of the management, for summer, winter, or in between, we can’t recommend it enough.
