Grand Hotel Des Bains Kempinski St. Moritz is a palatial 5-star luxury hotel situated on the edge of a park and a few minutes walk from a significant ski lift and Lake St. Moritz. The communal areas, including the foyer and the bar, have just been renovated and offer a stylish welcome. Rooms here are currently undergoing renovation, which will be halfway complete by the summer of 2024.
We visited the Grand Hotel Des Bains Kempinski St. Moritz as part of a grand tour around this part of Switzerland. The Kempinski was our first stop. We then stayed at and reviewed the Kulm Hotel St. Moritz, followed by Grand Hotel Kronenhof in Pontresina before heading back down the mountains, taking a famous and picturesque Swiss train journey to the spa resort of Grand Resort Bad Ragaz.
Location
Set in an iconic 19th-century building, this luxury 5-star hotel sits at the foot of one of the main cable car stations in St. Moritz, offering unrivaled access to skiing and hiking trails. You can catch the gondola to the mountain’s top and then ski back down to the hotel.
We visited during the summer, and we took the gondola up the mountain and then strolled back down. The Heidi-like setting was simply beautiful. I’ve never ever seen so many mountain flowers and butterflies.
The zig-zag pathway down the mountainside was ever-changing, with the steep grasslands at the top and then meandering through pine forests, which opened up to breathtaking views of the lake and eventually wound around mountain chalets hidden far up the mountainside and within the trees.
If you prefer cross-country skiing, flat mountain walks, or bike rides, the main St. Moritz cross-country trail again leaves from the front door of this magnificent palace, so you couldn’t be better located for winter or summer activities.
For arrival, the hotel is a 5-minute lakeside drive from the main train station and around 5-minute walk from the center of St. Moritz with its pretty church and streets bustling with designer goods.
Style & Character
The foyer and bar area of Grand Hotel Des Bains Kempinski St. Moritz offer a contemporary take on the original and ornate classical features of this hotel. The intricate detailing on the pillars and the ceiling above the sparkling chandelier were quite beautiful, so don’t forget to look up when you pass through the lobby.
The newly refurbished lobby brilliantly highlights all the historic features of the hotel in a contemporary setting. Marble-clad grand staircases lead up to the main restaurant and the rooms. I really appreciated the many bunches of bright mountain flowers in vases around the foyer, bringing a spark of color to the stylish surroundings.
If you’re a cake fan, there’s a delicious cake trolley set up beyond the foyer by the bar, which is worth a look and has the most delicious-looking tarts and cakes on offer for your afternoon tea.
Service & Facilities
This hotel has a large spa which offers an array of treatments. Uniquely, the hotel also offers medicinal alpine water full of minerals, which is meant to be good for your health. The flavor is unusual, with a hint of fizzy from the iron. It’s meant to be very good for your health, and this Kempinski is the only hotel in St. Moritz that offers this medicinal water.
The hotel also has a unique anti-inflammatory therapy where you walk through a room set at -20°C and then -100°C to improve your health and reduce inflammation in your body. This unique therapy is worth trying out if you are staying.
As a guest of the spa, you have access to a unique Japanese relaxation garden complete with a mountain river running through it. There’s a warm indoor pool, and there will soon be a brand-new outdoor pool too.
There’s also a large gym with all the latest fitness equipment and a stylish Pilates studio for working out. For the kids, there is a kids club that is open daily, and of course, in the foyer area, there are numerous comfy sitting areas where you can find a spot to read a book.
Rooms
Rooms have varying layouts and are currently undergoing a complete refurbishment. We stayed in one of the original unrefurbished rooms. Room 309 and I highly reccomend this room as it has no adjoining doors and faces over the front of the property with a gorgeous little balcony that you can sit out on.
Rooms with views over the front of the property are worth requesting as they have brilliant views over the entrance and the lovely park in front, which leads down to the lake.
If you’re a larger family, each tower of this stately building houses a multi-level suite with a sitting room in the eaves and 360 views. These suites have access to their own terrace on top of the hotel.
If you want to stay longer, the apartments here are modern and impressive, with an alpine chalet feel, and each comes with pine flooring, luxurious rugs, and modern bathrooms.
Food & Drink
We loved the breakfast at this Kempinski. It’s delivered in their spacious and grand main restaurant and is an amazing spread. This breakfast has the reputation as the best breakfast spread in St. Moritz, and from our experience, we’d agree.
There is a yogurt and fruit area with bowls of berries and whole and cut-up fresh fruit. There’s a fish area with salmon and white fish options and an array of cold cuts. There’s a live egg chef who will make you delicious omelets or scrambled eggs or eggs any way you like.
There’s soft, fresh bread, pancakes, jams, and honey, including a slice of bee hive which drips into a bowl that you can help yourself to. There’s even a kid’s area with Nutella, cookies, and more.
For drinks, there are all the usual coffees and teas you would expect, but there is also fresh pressed orange juice which we really appreciated. So many hotels pass off Tropicana as fresh orange juice. At this Kempinski, a machine presses oranges in front of you, the juice couldn’t be fresher! Finally, there’s an a la carte menu, but to be honest, the buffet was more than enough.
In the evening, we had a drink in the bar, which had a lovely, busy vibe with lots of people having fun in a completely refurbished and stylish setting. The backlit marble bar is particularly impressive and offers a fun place to sit with a cocktail. If you prefer to relax, head over to the gas fire in the center of the room, which burns through the night.
For food, we tried Ristorante Da Adriano, which was a very special Italian restaurant manned by the kindest and most charismatic Italian staff. The restaurant was set in one of the incredibly ornate and historic rooms in this palatial building. This room had views out over the front and side of the property.
The restaurant designer in this Italian restaurant has created an Italian market design feel in the ultra historic setting. A market stall sits in the center, complete with a stripy awning, which sets the mood of the place. The food was an excellent mix of risotto, pasta, delicious fish and meat dishes, and Italian desserts.
However, it was the staff that really made our evening here. They were full of character with highly styled mustaches and big smiles. They were so welcoming when we arrived and so helpful with our boy, high-fiving him when they got his coke order right, and delivering each dish with Italian enthusiasm and joy. They gave the restaurant an atmosphere that I would love to return to. Everybody had a great time.
Grand Restaurant Les Saisons is the grander and larger restaurant in the hotel, but we loved the intimate atmosphere of Da Adriano. In the winter, there is also a fine dining restaurant at this Kempinski, ideal for those who love gourmet food.
Conclusion
Grand Hotel Des Bains Kempinski St. Moritz is an impressive hotel with every facility you can imagine. Even if you aren’t staying, you should pop by for a drink in their brilliant bar and a taste of the best of Italy in Da Adrian.
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