St. Moritz & The Engadine Ready For The 2019/20 Season

Reasons to visit St. Moritz & The Engadine ready for the 2019/20 season

• Travel slowly and in style: the Glacier Express Excellence Class, which was introduced last winter season, is a premium rail carriage guaranteeing each of its 20 guests a window seat and, therefore, stunning views throughout the 8-hour journey from Zermatt. En route, passengers are served Champagne and a five-course menu with wine.
• Enjoy the crisp mountain air and clear blue skies, without skis! Outdoors, try ice skating, fat biking (a fun & sustainable way to explore the valley), curling or ice climbing. Indoors, join friends and family at the Kronenhof’s historic bowling alley, de-stress during a yoga or Pilates class, or spend a leisurely few hours wallowing in the warmth of the hotels’ extensive spas.
• The world’s only high goal tournament on snow and the highlight of the social calendar, the Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz, takes place from 24 to 26 January; St. Moritz is the birthplace of snow polo, with the first tournament being played in the resort in 1985.
• Girl Power: the St. Moritz Gourmet Festival celebrates its 27th edition from 31 January to 8 February with 10 female chefs from around the world cooking up a storm in the five-star hotel kitchens: Brazilian Bel Coelho will be at Grand Hotel Kronenhof, while the Kulm Hotel welcomes London-based Asma Khan.
• The 3rd Winter Youth Olympic Games is being hosted by Switzerland from 9 to 22 January; in line with its reputation for adrenaline-pumping sports, the Speed Skating, Luge, Monobob and Skeleton events will take place in St. Moritz. Guests can sample life in the fast lane themselves by booking a bob passenger ride on the Olympic Bobrun track.
• There are 64 art galleries in and around St. Moritz, but between 6 and 9 February there is one more when NOMAD, the travelling showcase for collectable design, visits St. Moritz again; look forward to artist talks, architect-led tours of local landmarks and visits to private art collections.
• Book a guide and experience an exhilarating selection of the finest slopes on the Engadin Snow Safari: 99km of piste, 6,666 vertical metres and 22 mountain huts…
• Mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of the Bauhaus movement, by admiring two of the resort’s best-loved landmarks: the clubhouse of the St. Moritz Tobogganing Club (AKA the Cresta Run) and the former Olympic stadium (now a private home) in the grounds of the Kulm Hotel.

REASONS TO VISIT THE KULM & THE KRONENHOF IN THE 2019/20 SEASON

• Sample the fusion cooking in the pop-up restaurant the K by Time Raue in the Kulm Hotel, awarded a Michelin star earlier this year; the culinary art of VANA at the Kronenhof, brought to you by the chefs from this well-known wellness retreat in India; and the delicious dishes of female chefs Asma Khan and Bel Coelho during the St. Moritz Gourmet Festival.
• 2019 marks 140 years since the first electric light in Switzerland was lit, in the Grand Restaurant of the Kulm Hotel to be specific, starting a trend for innovation that continues at the property to this day.
• Grand Hotel Kronenhof is debuting its super elegant Smoker’s Lounge created by internationally renowned interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon.
  Luxury Swiss skincare brand Valmont will launch a number of treatments and products in the Kulm Spa at the start of the 2019/20 winter season, including an exclusive 75-minute facial treatment called “Escape to the Summit”.
• Winter wellness at Grand Hotel Kronenhof in the tranquil Engadine village of Pontresina can include one or all of the following: snow hiking, spa treatments, early morning meditative walks, yoga, gym sessions and mind coaching from lifestyle coach-cum-certified mountain guide Thomas Theurillat.
• Both the Kulm Hotel and Grand Hotel Kronenhof will be open for Easter 2020, offering preferential rates from 9 to 13 April, so that families can enjoy some wonderfully warm and sunny spring skiing (the sun has been the symbol of St. Moritz since 1932).
• Sunday 12 April is Private Corvatsch Night, when only guests of the Kulm and Kronenhof are invited to experience a truly unforgettable, exclusive night of private skiing – the ski pass, transfers from/to the hotels, and food and drinks are all free. Skiing down Switzerland's longest floodlit ski slope, all 4.2km of it, is a magical experience, matched by the après ski party in the heated tent of the Hossa Bar halfway down the piste.
• The VIK (Very Important Kids) programme includes complimentary childcare, juice, ice-cream, hot chocolate, laundry service and, at the Kulm Hotel, free ski and snowboard group classes at the Ski School St. Moritz (for those aged three to 12 years).