Badrutt's Palace Hotel St. Moritz — Restaurant in Sankt Moritz

We stayed at the Badrutt’s Palace as part of my milestone birthday plans with my girlfriends. I’m sad to say, Badrutt’s Palace turned out to be the biggest disappointment of the trip.

We spent about 7,500 CHF for two connecting rooms for two nights in the basic category rooms. And these are the reasons why I am giving the Badrutt’s one star:

When we arrived, at about 330pm we were told one of our rooms were not ready, because of a ‘technical issue’. The official check in time was 3pm. They told us to expect the room to be ready by 530pm. Meanwhile, they offered us “complimentary tea at the Grand Hall”. The complimentary tea turned out to be a frame of small bites that was too little for the three of us, so we ordered one club sandwich and also some water. We were charged for the sandwich and water which turned out to be 75CHF. At 530pm we went up to check into the room that was ready, as the connecting one still wasn’t ready yet. It turned out that the ‘technical issue’ were guests who hadn’t checked out. I saw the service staff cramming clothes and belongings into bags while they tried to clear out the room. The rooms were really small. This I had heard and I thought it was acceptable considering the location of the hotel. What I did not expect was the general shabbiness of the place. Furnishings looked worn and tired. And the carpet wasn’t clean. I do my nightly stretches on the carpet, and found myself cheek to cheek to some dirt / soil. I was hoping that it came from the last guest in their hurry to check out and not some vintage dirt from winter 2022. For the next two days, we found the staff generally distracted and too busy to attend to us, whether it be a request for a kettle, a charger, soft boil eggs at breakfast, water to the table or an ice pack. Things either never materialized or you needed to remind them three times before they arrived. On the last day of our stay, I encountered a small crash on the slopes and tore my ACL. After making it back to the hotel, I called the front office to inform them about the injury, and potential need for alternative arrangements for dinner. Their reply was, “There will be a cancellation policy of 200CHF per person if you decide to cancel dinner” I wasn’t prepared to pay 600CHF for no dinner and to mooch in a small room so I said I will go ahead with dinner, but could I please have a wheelchair to bring me to dinner. They said, of course we will bring it up immediately. We waited 1.5 hours for the wheelchair which never materialized. Finally I hobbled to the front desk to find out they had “lost the wheelchair”. I was puzzled why we were not informed any earlier.

I feel extremely cheated out of what I thought was going to be a luxury experience. We are not un-used to paying high prices for 5-star accommodations but for this price, this level of service and general standards of the property are...

My father recently stayed at this hotel and asked me to post this review for him: Though the virtue of a hotel and its stars lie in its grander, location, ambience , Resturant’s , pools , the spa and Badrutt palace aces in all these accolade and is listed by Forbes as one of the best 5 star hotels in the world.

However at Badrutt Palace these 5 stars shining most brilliantly in the sky of hotels are pale in comparison to the pleasant smiling faced stars , in the doorways , the hallways , behind the concierge desk reception desk, the restaurants , behind the wheels of the curtesy shuttle who are willing to pander to your every small whim , every desire and every need of their guests. Although more often than not the guests entering the revolving doors of the palace are nobilities and celebrities who are familiar with feeling special but the palace personal make even a common man like myself feel very special.

The Budrutt experience starts even before you enter the doors with the well clad valet team and the bell men who welcome with alacrity. In the week we stayed there not once did they let us even open the door. One has hardly entered the doors when a reception team welcomes every member of the family individually and take you to the room efficiently.

Ski slopes , shopping , trains or dining which are all less than 4 minute drive can be reached any time with the curtsy shuttle which is always available and the drivers are an embodiment of the word curtsy. I being a discerning observer of people can write a paragraph on the excellence of service of every employee but I cannot finish the review without mentioning a few individuals who makes the stay indelible . Top of the list are concierges Giuseppe Pesenti and his young protégée Matteo Piazza who would leave no leaf unturned to make the stay comfortable and memorable. Our bags got delayed getting to Zurich from Florida and they made innumerable calls to assist us with retrieving the bags. I am sure that Mr Giuseppe’s excellent training of all these years has helped shape his debonair demeanor but I believe that these qualities he own are a big part inherent to his nature. His availability , vigilance and memory of guest and their needs is incredible and he sure has imbued the same fine attributes to Matteo Piazza and all the other staff. I would also like to recognize Gianluca Turvano and Janick Nachtergaele, Chef Jatinder and Maria Elisa for their pleasant and helpful disposition.

This letter would not be consummate if I forget to acknowledge Ouirin Strahl and Sergio Fagioli the ships Captain. Their perennial and welcoming smile and willingness to help is very appreciative.

“Better it is to spend a single day in a palace with those you love than to build a Taj Mahal in the memory of those you loved. “...

We stayed in Badrutt's Palace with our kids for snow polo in January and had two connecting rooms with lake view.

We had high expectations given it's reputation, history and pricing. If you want to skip the details, it was a big let down and we would not go back or recommend it.

It's important to note that my family and I travel to Europe for 3 months out of the year and we have experienced many of the finest hotels and service out there.

PROS Location - centrally located near all the shops with breathtaking views of the lake and mountains Spa and pools are very well done and enjoyable Breakfast room and food assortment was a treat every day The Grand Hall is a nice place to gather for snacks, lunch or drinks with live music.

CONS Poor Value - Given the price of the hotel, you would expect 5 star attentive and thoughtful service. This is not the case. The hotel was well aware that my wife and I were celebrating our wedding anniversary as well as our daughters birthday. There was ZERO effort, mention or gestures in our room. After we emailed to remind them of my daughters birthday, they sent her some berries and a small lego toy. In every other hotel we stayed without exception, we received fruit, champagne, chocolates, gifts for the kids throughout our stay. We received ZERO here.

Rooms - the room design and decor have no soul. They are literally a generic 3 star hotel design in France. Was very surprising to see.

Italian service - Given it's proximity to Italy, many of the staff in the hotel (and St Moritz in general) is Italian which has its pros and cons. Many of the staff, with some exceptions, do not have the grace and thoughtfulness you would expect from a 5 star palace. Some of the waiters at breakfast are confused and not prompt.

Rude Concierge - The head concierge - Giuseppe - tall gentleman with black hair is one of the rudest I have ever come across. In fact, it was shocking how rude he was. When you call on the phone he is constantly speaking with other guests while you are on the line and hangs up without saying anything. Other hotel guests were arguing with him. This guy has got to go!

THE BOTTOM LINE is that guests want value, especially when paying such high prices. The value here is POOR. You do not feel appreciated and overall, staff is rude and disorganized.

Given our experience, I emailed the hotel to request for one night complimentary and they refused.

I received the typical "we care about or guests, our name and wil look into it, blah blah" from Richard Leuenberger but they did not back it up by offering us a complimentary night.

We will not be back...