The best hotels in Switzerland
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Easing into pancake-flat, glassy lakes, tearing down cruisey slopes with mountain scenery rushing past, pacing through buttercup-strewn yodel-country for fondue and génépy lunches in mountain lodges. Switzerland’s epic scenery earns it its reputation as the playground of Europe, where wintertime capers continue, from frozen lake polo matches to toboggan club memberships. It’s also where the weary come to revitalise, blasting their sooty lungs with fresh mountain air and pounding the cortisol with jets, hot-and-cold water and regular pummellings in the country’s world-renowned spas. As the snow melts and the skiers chug home on trains leaving snowglobe Alpine villages, the voluptuous countryside puts on its wildflower coat, and hikers reach for their walking sticks.
With this in mind, the best hotels in Switzerland tend to rise well above the brief: not simply somewhere stylish to rest your head, but a lavish base geared towards the healthier, better lifestyle, spanning the legendary grande dames to the angular, often sparse contemporary refuges woven into the extraordinary landscape.
- Paul Thuysbaerthotel
Badrutt’s Palace Hotel
Featured in our Gold List of the best hotels in the world 2024
There are few places quite as iconic as this grande dame in St Moritz. Perched among the clouds at 6,000 feet, Badrutt’s Palace is set against a backdrop of craggy, snow-capped mountains with cascading views of the winding valleys and mirror-like lakes below. The hotel has, for years, been the go-to spot for those looking for a sophisticated Alpine escape (it opened in 1896) and it keeps going from strength to strength. At its core, it’s still the magnificent palace it’s always been, complete with turrets and twisting towers. But guests now have more choices to ensure that their stay features all their personal creature comforts. There are 11 restaurants, two bars, the oldest nightclub in Switzerland, a spa, a series of shops and, naturally, plenty of winter sports opportunities. It’s mountainside glamour at its most extravagant, a palatial fairy tale hidden in the Swiss Alps and surrounded by endless landscapes for hiking, trekking, skiing and even lake swimming in the warmer months.
Address: Via Serlas 27, 7500 St. Moritz, Switzerland
Hotel Longemalle
Hotel Longemalle comfortably rubs shoulders with Celine, Prada, Versace and the like in Geneva’s upmarket shopping quarters; its classical chocolate box facade – curved windows, striped awnings, pointed rooftop – makes an outfit as elegant as any in the nearby windows. But inside, this cosy boutique feels more homely than haute. It's a family-owned place, with its longstanding hotelier owners splitting their time between here and the swish Hôtel de la Cigogne, less than a minute's walk away across the square. A mix of their own artwork peppers the walls up the stairs, including framed photos of their own family, and we’re assured they pop in every day just to say hello. It’s all rather sweet, as are the rooms, the majority of which are small but perfectly formed (bar the two suites on each floor, which can be combined into one if needed, and a sizeable penthouse in the gables). Do pre-book if you want to try the Lebanese restaurant, Balila. It’s full most nights, so taking a room won’t guarantee you a spot at the table. Once seated, you’ll see why. Sharing dishes arrive fast and plentiful; crunchy falafel, roasted aubergines soaked in yoghurt and swirled with harissa, chicken that falls off the bone, and sticky, sweet baklava jewelled with pistachios. Little ones are well taken care of, with the hotel putting on an array of activities for kids, and you'll find mini dressing gowns and slippers in the rooms. Charley Ward
Address: Pl. de Longemalle 13, 1204 Genève, Switzerland
La Réserve Eden au Lac, Zurich
The Eden au Lac has been a lakeside landmark since 1909. Architecturally, it is exuberant in the belle époque fashion – almost, for Zurich at least, to the point of flouncy. On the lakeside, even the smallest rooms have excellent views, while the most scenery-deprived rooms on the ‘city’ side feel cosy rather than poky, secluded rather than hemmed in. Its combination of high polish and low fuss is unique in the city. Steve King
Address: La Réserve Eden au Lac Zurich, Utoquai 45, 8008 Zürich, Switzerland
The Woodward, Geneva
This lakeside old-timer has seen many lives, though it has gone full circle, relinquishing its status as a swanky hotel with Como-like views from less Como-esque suites (the restrained Pierre-Yves Rochon sort that wreak of a mogul’s suburban home). The opulence is instead expressed through rich materials, from the hypnotic straw marquetry on the cupboards and sliding doors to the thick, creamy rugs warming perfect parquet floors. Head up to the sixth floor for a balcony overlooking sleepy Quai Wilson, or simply be comforted by the fact that all suites twist, in some sense, towards the lake. True to Swiss form, the hotel’s restaurants are not worth bothering to book a local haunt for, with L’Aetelier Joël Robuchon’s theatrical tasting menus delivered like little paintings to the glowy-sultry counter, and vegetable-led Le Jardinier bathed in that nostalgic Geneva light, with its more unbuttoned, brasserie character. And, as far as activities go, Le Spa Guerlain houses the most photogenic of pools – it once housed piles of cash as a bank vault – and is backed up by saunas, steam rooms and treatments where deliciously smelling Guerlain lotions and potions are lathered on with zero Swiss restraint in mind.
Address: The Woodward, Quai Wilson 37, 1201 Genève, Switzerland
- Gaudenz Danuser
Casa Caminada, Fürstenau
There used to be a singular motive for skiers in Switzerland’s Pinot Noir-producing Rhine Valley to ditch the glitz of St Moritz and head an hour west to the village of Fürstenau après their après: Schloss Schauenstein, an understated 16th-century castle with a three-Michelin-starred restaurant. Now its chef, Andreas Caminada, is giving them a reason to stay the night. In October 2018, he opened the exquisite Casa Caminada in a born-again barn on the castle grounds, where rustic ambience is tempered with urban touches, and authenticity replaces the musty luxuries ubiquitous in Swiss mountain-palace hotels. Upstairs, 10 sun-flooded rooms retain original exposed beams, enhanced by reclaimed larchwood-parquet floors and furniture custom-made by local carpenters. To soften the masculinity, Patricia Urquiola added pops of refined Italian style, including tangerine tweed sofas and brass and magenta linen loungers for absorbing sunshine or finishing a novel. It is unexpected and fabulous. The airy new restaurant, popular with hikers, offers an ugly-delicious alternative to the main castle’s refined cooking. There are buttery and crunchy maluns (crumb-like dumplings made with shredded potatoes), ravioli filled with dried pears plucked from gnarled trees in the castle courtyard, and walnut tortes baked in a volcanic stone oven, all served with knock-out views of the surrounding Piz Beverin and Lenzerhorn mountains. Casa Caminada places the design and food expected of Milan, 130 miles south, in one of the most glorious natural settings anywhere on earth.
Address: Casa Caminada, Obergass 3, 7414 Fürstenau, Switzerland
Gstaad Palace, Gstaad
Driving through the Bernese valleys, climbing up the steep and bendy roads, there’s an extraordinary moment when you first see the Palace on the hill. The magic of it – the vertiginous proportions, the sparklingness of it all – are at the same time fairy-tale pastiche and timeless classic. There’s a magnetic allure; families have been coming here for generations – the hotel first opened in 1913 – along with fallen royals, fashion designers and film stars. It’s louche and glittery but still rarefied. It used to be that there were no other hotels of note in ridiculously pretty Gstaad. Now there are several, but the Palace is still queen, a proper grande old dame, with a twinkle in her eye. Melinda Stevens
Address: Gstaad Palace, Palacestrasse 28, 3780 Gstaad, Switzerland
Grand Resort Bad Ragaz
There’s something intrinsically soothing about a Swiss spa; the brisk efficiency, the white coats, the sanitorium vibes. The rest of the world can be raging wildly, but all will be well for those surrounded by snow-capped mountains with a rug over their knees. And Grand Resort Bad Ragaz is no exception. Wellness seekers have been making a pilgrimage here since the 13th century, when the geothermally heated water at the Tamina Gorge was discovered. It’s not often somewhere that can be all things to all people and do it well, but high-octane, turbo-charged Bad Ragaz seems to have nailed it. Issy von Simson
Address: Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, Grand Resort Bad Ragaz
The Chedi Andermatt
Surrounded by mountains in the Urseren Valley, 90 minutes from Zürich, it is a bold and beautiful hotel that has it all: the looks, the location – and with 10 treatment suites that are bigger than most London flats, plus huge dressing rooms and private steam showers, the spa is the real winner here. The therapists are friendly and typically Swiss-efficient. Massages will leave you woozy and happy.
Outside the treatment room, life is no less fabulous. There is a hydrotherapy zone with an unbelievable number of baths and saunas, and the indoor swimming pool is covered by a glass roof. The gym is achingly stylish, but this is not a place to exercise indoors – take to the slopes instead. Harriet Compston
Address: The Chedi Andermatt, Gotthardstrasse 4, 6490 Andermatt, Switzerland
Suvretta House, St Moritz
A grande dame on the outskirts of the village, Suvretta is family-oriented, but it has another ace up its well-tailored sleeve: a private ski lift outside the front door connecting to a network of runs from which you can ascend to Piz Nair. At 3,000 metres it is so high that many people have to pause for breath at the excellent Panorama Restaurant. Julian Allason
Address: Suvretta House, Via Chasellas 1, 7500 St. Moritz, Switzerland
La Réserve Genève Hotel
Low-slung and highly revered for its outdoorsy facilities, La Reserve Hotel and Spa Geneva occupies a sizable, green patch alongside its namesake lake. Interiors seize, (curiously but victoriously) on an Old World Africa theme, with gold, walnut and berry shades, glowing lanterns and dark polished floors reminiscent of the continent’s luxury lodges. Rooms either gaze down over the topiary-trimmed gardens or the lake, most with their own large terraces or balconies. And despite its spa’s eternal youth promise and four refined restaurants, (the main act being the Cantonese, Michelin-starred Tsé Fung), the hotel is surprisingly family-friendly. Children can tear through the elaborate wooden playground, dive into one of two handsome pools, or embark on waterborne adventures aboard one of La Reserve’s vintage motorboats (allegedly an enjoyable grown-up activity too).
Address: La Réserve Genève Hotel, Rte de Lausanne 301, 1293 Bellevue, Switzerland
Kulm Hotel
This place isn't one of those sleek, chic pantheons of minimalist style. Far from it. Instead, it is wonderfully cosy in a way that only family-run, family-friendly Swiss hotels can be. With instant access to the start of the Cresta Run, plus two peaks, 350km of pistes and 180km of Nordic ski trails, the Engadine Valley offers some of the best mountain action in Switzerland.
And although the hotel is old-school, the £8 million spa is set firmly in the future. One wall is made from glass, and the views over the lake and snow-capped valley are stunning. Even better, there's a small outdoor swimming pool, where you can soak, steam rising, as the snow gently patters down on your head. Fiona Duncan
Address: Kulm Hotel St. Moritz, Via Veglia 18, 7500 St. Moritz, Switzerland
- Martin Gardellian
Chetzeron, Crans-Montana
Around 15 years ago, looking out of the window during a meeting about what to do with Crans-Montana’s decommissioned gondola station, Swiss-Lebanese hotelier Sami Lamaa had the idea to turn it into a cracking hotel. He bought the derelict Sixties block on a spectacular 7,000ft-high mountain crest in the Swiss Alps and then sought feng-shui expertise from a sect of Taoist monks. Whatever they decreed appears to have worked: the soaring industrial building has been reimagined as a beautiful contemporary space. The restaurant was the earliest part to launch, upgrading regular ski-lunch stalwarts such as hot dogs and spaghetti bolognese to lobster bagels and slow-cooked lamb. The first of the now 16 bedrooms came a few years later – as Lamaa explains: “Everything starts with the food; it had to be perfect before we opened the hotel.”
Tucking into freshly baked bread and a fluffy breakfast omelette with spinach picked that morning, it’s easy to see his point. Although food actually plays second fiddle to the environment. The mountains are integral to the design: the concrete walls are bare of paintings; the towering porticos frame 25ft windows that flood the restaurant with a skyline of rocky peaks; solar and photovoltaic panels provide hot water and electricity; and the bespoke potions in the bathrooms, crafted with edelweiss, bottle the smell of the custom-made pine furniture. It’s about as ski-in, ski-out as you can get in winter, and in summer, four-wheel-drives bump up the empty pistes delivering digital detoxers, climbers, romantics and foodies for hiking and yoga weekends. Just getting to the front door is an experience. Gabriella Le Breton
Address: Chetzeron, Chetzeron, 3963 Crans-Montana, Switzerland
- Martin Guggisberg
Maison Bergdorf, Val de Travers
Finding out that the co-owner of this hideout also writes Gothic thrillers only adds to its appeal. But Mirko Beetschen’s latest novel – about an abandoned hotel high on a Swiss mountain that brags an intimidating body count – is nothing like this place. Instead, the Maison is a gorgeous 19th-century cuckoo-clock chalet – brought back to life by Beetschen and his partner, interior designer Stéphane Houlmann – that somehow manages to feel hidden right in the centre of the famous town. It’s a very personal project with five bedrooms where you’re invited to curl up with a good book, drink tea, eat just-baked croissants and gaze out at the mighty, snow-peaked Jungfrau.
The interiors are a mix of vintage and custom-made furniture with contemporary art. Walls are lined with fully stocked bookshelves and tapestries that echo the building’s past. Beetschen admits to loving the atmosphere of old houses and the traces of their former inhabitants – and many of the details here belonged to the previous owner, the impeccably tasteful wife of the writer’s childhood doctor. But the hotel also has a modern edge, with a sleek Foster kitchen, playful dining chairs by Dutch studio Spoinq and an almost Cubist fireplace with cement-clad wood panels that steal the show in the sitting room. Maison Bergdorf is not only a warm and imaginative space, it’s also part of the growing trend for hybrid offerings – residences that double as galleries and allow guests to shop their look. In this case, many of the objects in the house, from lamps and books to blankets, are available to buy for those who love their originality and eclecticism. Perfect for design-obsessed bibliophiles. Roshan McArthur
Address: Maison Bergdorf, Rue du Château, 2108 Val-de-Travers, Switzerland
- Robert Bernath
Signau House & Garden
In the bourgeois thickets of the city, minutes from the river yet worlds away from the austere, blue-chip banks lining it, lies Signau House. Its residential neighbourhood of iron gates and imposing shuttered houses doesn’t suggest that this was once the Swiss HQ of Universal Pictures. Inside, it’s easier to imagine a producer striding across the parquet floors, cigar in hand, and the black-tie parties that were held in the dining room. But it’s not glitzy. Instead, this grand and handsome Swiss-German house – with sweeping ceilings, vast windows and a splendid wooden staircase – deliberately skirts the flouncy romance of French equivalents.
The owners have preserved the heritage with consideration, carefully commissioning EMI Architects whose loyalty to the building’s original character is palpable. A private cinema takes up the basement, and all the way up to the third floor a blend of contemporary and early-20th-century furniture populates the spaces, some from the owners’ own homes, some from their travels, such as the Art Deco lamp suspended over the dining table. On sunny mornings, breakfast is served in the English garden where Roger Moore was known to enjoy a tipple: a feast of Swiss cheese, cured meat, yogurt, brioche and bread. In the afternoon, grab a cold beer from the Smeg honesty bar or head to lively neighbourhood restaurant Bohemia and Tyler Brûlé’s Monocle-magazine café, where the coffee is indisputably good but the global, new-age aesthetic now errs on mainstream – unlike Signau House. There’s nowhere in the city like it. It’s not a business hotel nor is it a gilded dowager along the lake’s shores, but its streamlined elegance tells a story that is distinctly old-Zürich in character. Rosalyn Wikeley
Address: Signau House & Garden, Signaustrasse 6, 8008 Zürich, Switzerland
Brücke 49
Swiss-Danish owners Thomas Schacht and Ruth Kramer, a creative director and a fashion designer, broke rank in this deep Graubünden valley when they opened their first B&B. Gone were the gingham curtains and knotted pine chairs of traditional chalets; in their place, a bright, airy kind of mid-century, Nordic-like interior that felt not only different, but also cleverly relevant and just as rooted. Last year, the pair extended their methodology to the herberge, or inn, next door. The 18th-century building now has three apartments, where Schacht and Kramer have rolled out that same successful riff on Alpine styling via Scandinavia – a blend of muted colours, clean lines and rustic character. Tongue and groove lines the walls – some is the original cladding – while cheese plants sit beneath low beams, and sleek dark kitchens add an urban nod. The top-floor studio and the two larger flats below attract the usual hiking and skiing crowd, but the Herberge is also a base camp for design buffs, nature lovers and families wanting to hole up and relax. In the mornings, everyone wakes with the first rays of sunshine streaming into the bedrooms along with the sound of church bells before breakfasts of local cured meats, fresh coffee and homemade jam. And at night the soft crackling of the wood fire lulls everyone to sleep. On the doorstep are the five lifts that make up the tiny ski resort of Vals, and nearby the rather extraordinary Peter Zumthor-created spa with its famed thermal waters. A low-key hangout that punches well above its weight. Eileen Stagat
Address: Brücke 49, Brücke 49, 7132 Vals, Switzerland
- Olivia Pulver & Sarah Vonesch
Hotel Eden Roc, Lake Maggiore
Hugging the northern shores of Lake Maggiore, with views more commonly associated with the Italian lakes than Switzerland, Hotel Eden Roc fluffs up its feathers as the only beach-style resort in a country known for its Sound of Music hills and skiing. There is, in fact, a beach – real sand – a discombobulating row of palms and a private marina that Rivas zoom in and out of, their passengers sporting loafers and billowing linen. Inside, it’s a mishmash of contemporary and classic interiors jumping through the decades – spread across three buildings. Expect bold, patterned eclecticism in the main wing, and more muted hues in the two flanking it. And despite four superb restaurants, (including grand waterfront La Casetta and the perfectly French Eden Roc’s Swiss outpost), most of the activity takes place outdoors, whether water-skiing along the lake (easily organised by the hotel), or meandering through pretty gardens, towel in hand, for a Mediterranean-style morning on one of the beach’s Slim Aarons-style sun loungers.
Address: Hotel Eden Roc, Via Albarelle 16, 6612 Ascona, Switzerland
- Mr Tripper
Experimental Chalet Verbier
From the triumvirate that began their mid-century, velveteen empire with brooding speakeasy bars, Experimental Chalet brings the group’s signature off-beat cool to the mountains, while honouring the storied Farm nightclub (a prince or two have let their hair down here) that still thuds on in the basement. A mere seven-minute ski boot trudge from Verbier’s main lifts, the crimson-shuttered hotel eschews traditional Alpine twee yet seizes on that retro ski aesthetic with a dash of the whimsical – the ebony balconies layered onto the white building perfectly mimic the dark pine and snow-coated mountain contrast framed by the room windows. Arrivals tumble straight into the restaurant (there’s no lobby) as if stepping into a mid-century Pinterest board, where naked flames warm a lacquered red and white, tastefully zany scene. Low-key, turtle-necked guests scoff celebrity Frenchie chef Greg Marchand’s moreish, Savoyard-spin sharing plates with the near-obligatory cocktail marathon, and in that drowsy stretch between the slopes and supper, a pocket-sized spa beckons.
Address: Experimental Chalet Verbier, Rte de Verbier Station 55, 1936 Verbier, Switzerland
- Paul Thuysbaert
Badrutt's Palace
The stalwart of St Moritz’s glitzy, frosty playground, Badrutt's Palace recalls the mountains of yore… when bejewelled guests would arrive with piles of leather trunks and thrills on the slopes would be lifted still higher inside with a pianist and excessive Champagne. Bought in 1884 by Caspar Badrutt (the founding father of St Moritz’s winter leisure scene), the Gothic grande dame takes centre stage in the valley – all surging, spinning like a Victorian music box, with dark green and white flashes of pine and snow. Interiors embody the sort of fresh, creamy classicism you’d expect from a traditional Knightsbridge townhouse – blondes, buttermilks and pastel blues, with curtains that drape as if a child illustrated them. The palatial lobby and restaurant feel more ornate, with soaring ceilings (the latter intricately carved from timber, with vast arches framing the valley views. Come here for old-school glamour, where elaborate silver-service breakfasts roll on, undeterred by the fads, and a well-stocked bar still awaits those returning from polo, Cresta or frozen lake piano shenanigans.
Address: Badrutt's Palace Hotel St. Moritz, Via Serlas 27, 7500 St. Moritz, Switzerland
The Grand Hotel Kronenhof, Pontresina
Palatial, green-capped and meringue-domed, the Grand Hotel Kronenhof dominates the pretty Alpine village of Pontresina. Row upon row of windows peer down over the Rosey Valley and the crisp, twinkling River Flaz. The visuals are all fresh air and peak health before you’ve even opened the window of your plush, creamy room or been stopped in your front crawl tracks, with the spa’s vast glass-and-iron atrium dramatically framing the valley. The subterranean spa (seemingly carved into the hillside as a contemporary add-on), houses a knockout infinity pool that blurs into the mountainscape, various hot-and-cold water therapies (the floating grotto being a highlight) and cutting-edge treatments that say “I’m in Switzerland.” The great neo-baroque heft of a hotel above it though dates back to 1848, and has managed to blend its opulent frescos, pillars and chandeliers with contemporary furniture and, in the suites, creamy, orderly restraint. The Grand Restaurant, however, stubbornly grips onto its past life as a resplendent ballroom, where guests can slip into a bygone era with full silver service and the tinkle of piano keys.
Address: Grand Hotel Kronenhof, Via Maistra 130, 7504 Pontresina, Switzerland
- Six Senses Hotels Resorts
Six Senses Crans Montana
For a healthier take on the endless rounds of raclette and sinfully thick hot chocolate, Six Senses knows how to keep things lavishly light (and conveniently just above Crans Montana’s Cry d’Er Gondola, with balconies hovering above the slopes). True to the group’s form, this ski-in-ski-out hotel teases traditional chalet notions into a resolutely contemporary structure and interior, while keeping wellness, in its various iterations, front and centre. The spa has been known to lure the powder hounds back to base with its glossy outdoor pool, winking in the sunlight, a sensational indoor pool rippling below a MOMA-worthy wooden art installation and an invigorating, shoulder-lowering thermal circuit. It’s worth noting the hotel’s year-round appeal, with spring and summer peak hiking time, where the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc glow an ethereal green, and guests can squeeze on their riding boots for epic canters through the valleys.
Address: Six Senses Crans-Montana, Rte des Téléphériques 60, 3963 Crans-Montana, Switzerland
Beau-Rivage Palace
In plum position on the banks of Lake Geneva with the Swiss Alps jutting ahead, Beau-Rivage Palace is Lausanne's comfortingly old-school grande dame, where heritage bedspreads and canopy fabrics are synchronised and chandeliers glitter like opulent disco balls in the morning light. Split across two buildings (both with Haussmann good looks), suites in the Beau Rivage side lean confidently into the traditionalism, while the Palace buildings bear the fancy-but-fresh hallmark of French designer Pierre-Yves Rochon. A marble lobby, vast dome (La Rotonde) overlooking the gardens and its perfect slice of swimming pool, and Anne-Sophie Pic restaurant continue to thrum with the same European elite chitter chatter as all those years ago… it’s potentially less erudite, and slack on the dress codes, but it still buzzes with bourgeois energy. A small but significant techy feature in the Palace rooms is the ability to open blinds from the bed, revealing the lake in all its aquamarine glory and snow-capped mountains (a detail Coco Chanel would have almost certainly enjoyed during her decade-long stint as a resident of the Beau-Rivage Palace).
Address: Beau-Rivage Palace, Chem. de Beau-Rivage 21, 1006 Lausanne, Switzerland