The Kulm Hotel St. Moritz – Representing the Golden Age of Travel

The Kulm Hotel St. Moritz – Representing the Golden Age of Travel
Mr Cook's intrepid group spent 21 days covering the country by boat and train, as well as on foot and horseback. Today, however, it's possible to replicate that golden age of travel in a little more style and comfort.

The Kulm Hotel St. Moritz is one of the grande dames of the Swiss tourist industry. It opened its doors in 1856, seven years before the first Grand Tour, and immediately became popular for summer spa and painting holidays, particularly among the British who comprised around 75% of the guests and were quite happy to make the arduous journey over the Alps to spend a few months every year enjoying a little bit of R&R in the fresh mountain air.

From 1864, the owner of the Kulm Hotel, Johannes Badrutt initiated winter holidays to St. Moritz with a bold wager. He promised the last departing summer guests a free stay from December to the following spring, if their winter holiday in St. Moritz was not as sunny and as pleasant as in summer. Tanned and full of enthusiasm, the British guests returned home the following spring and word quickly spread about the fantastic winters in the Engadine valley. Fast forward to the 21st century and the Kulm Hotel St. Moritz is still going strong, regularly appearing in lists of the top ten luxury hotels in Switzerland and constantly re-inventing itself, most recently with the opening of the £8 million Kulm Spa St. Moritz.

These days, the trip to St. Moritz is far easier for British guests, who can fly into Zurich and – in efficient Swiss style – take a train all the way from the airport to St. Moritz. But this isn't just any train journey, it's one with captivating views all the way that takes in the narrow-gauge Rhaetian train, part of the famous Glacier Express route and a UNESCO World Heritage railway, and is a truly unique masterpiece of the railway engineer's art. The way the train dips in and out of tunnels and chugs over the super high arched bridges of the valleys takes your breath away, while the little hill-top villages passed en route are pristine and picturesque.

On arrival, the Kulm Hotel St. Moritz has put together a Summer Romance package to help guests recreate a little bit of the magic of those early days of travel, incorporating not only a horse-drawn carriage ride, but also plenty of spa time.

The package includes:

- 3 nights' accommodation, including a lavish daily breakfast buffet
- Gourmet Dine Around half board allowing guests to eat in any three of the hotel's restaurants
- a four-course menu at the Gourmet Restaurant Kronenstübli at the Kulm's sister hotel Grand Hotel Kronenhof, including transfers
- two hours' exclusive use of the hotel's Private Spa Suite (to use the double hydrojet bath, lounge on the double waterbed and relax in the bio sauna, as well as to enjoy a simultaneous 25-minute aroma massage and a natural salt peel in the steam bath, plus exquisite snacks)
- a romantic carriage ride through the summer landscape to Lej da Staz
- an afternoon tea in the lobby lounge
- unlimited access to the Kulm Spa St. Moritz and its daily-changing wellbeing programme
- unlimited use of the 9-hole Kulm golf course, driving range and tennis courts, and
- unlimited use of all open mountain railways in the Engadine/St. Moritz region and public transportation in the valley (bus and Rhaetian railway).

Summer Romance costs from CHF1180 (approx £810) per person; reservations can be made by phone +41 (0) 81 836 80 00 or by e-mail via reservations@kulm.com.

More information: kulm.com