Where to Stay in St. Moritz

Filed in archive Luxury Travel on March 1, 2007

Most people who make the journey from Zermatt to St. Moritz take the Glacier Express. However, I drove about eight hours at a fairly rapid pace from Tasch - the valley below Zermatt -- to the ski resort town of St. Moritz. Ritzy? Yes, very much so. Exotic cars, designer boutiques and women dripping in jewels is commonplace. St. Moritz is in the extreme southeastern part of Switzerland near the Italian border. It's not easy to get to, which might account for it's exclusiveness. One of the most famous hotels in the world is located here, the legendary Badrutt's Palace Hotel. Blue-bloods, movie stars and royalty have stayed at the grand hotel for decades.

At Brig, I continued northeast through the Rhone Valley. The most dramatic segment of the drive to St. Moritz is undoubtedly the Furka Pass. I drove up a mountain, reached the Furka Pass peak and drove down the other side where I saw the inception of the Rhine River. The Rhine flows north to Rotterdam and into the North Sea. People stop at the Furka Pass where there's a restaurant with remarkable views to ogle at over lunch. This is a unique spot, because it's the inception of two great European waterways. While the Glacier Express makes for a relaxing trip, train passengers travel through a tunnel, coming out on the other side, completely bypassing the Furka Pass. So for those of you who have an adventurous spirit, you'll enjoy the many white knuckle hairpin turns.

I showed up in St. Moritz without a hotel reservation. I had five minutes to reach the TI (Tourist Information ) before it closed. I was in luck, a hotel was recommended to me that couldn't have been more perfect, the Hotel Eden. My tiny balcony had a full view of the entrance to Badrutt's Palace Hotel and St. Moritz Lake.

The Hotel Eden also provides parking gratis.