The Billionaire Guide to St Moritz 2026/27: Where to Stay, Eat and Be Seen
Courchevel may be synonymous with luxury skiing, but St Moritz has always been about more than the slopes. Its winter season is shaped as much by the frozen lake, private clubs and social calendar as by the skiing itself. The resort’s defining moments take place on the lake, from snow polo in January to horse racing in February, while much of its social life unfolds behind private doors. For most visitors, the essential decisions are which part of town to stay in, which of its three Michelin Three-Key hotels or private chalets to choose, and which weeks of the calendar to plan around. This guide covers each, from the hillside centre of Dorf to the quiet chalets of Suvretta.
The Neighbourhoods Compared
St Moritz Dorf
The hillside centre is home to Via Serlas, the designer boutiques and most of the headline hotels. Everything is within walking distance, from the shops to the lake, but it is also the most expensive part of town.
St Moritz Bad
Flatter and set down by the lake, Bad is reached by the Signal cable car and is easier with young children. It generally offers better value than Dorf, and family chalets here are often more spacious for the same budget.
Suvretta
The quiet residential plateau above the lake is where the finest private chalets are found, some with direct access to the slopes. It is the most private address in St Moritz and the one that experienced visitors tend to know about.
Champfèr
Between St Moritz and Silvaplana, Champfèr sits close to both the Corviglia and Corvatsch ski areas. It is home to Giardino Mountain and to some of the valley’s finest restaurants.
Celerina, Pontresina and Sils
The traditional Engadin villages around St Moritz share the same lift and rail network but are quieter and less expensive. Celerina sits at the finish of the Cresta Run, Pontresina has a grand-hotel tradition of its own, and Sils, at the head of the lakes, is the most tranquil of all.
Where to Stay
The Three-Key Hotels
St Moritz has three hotels with three MICHELIN Keys, the guide’s highest hotel distinction. Badrutt’s Palace, which opened in 1896, remains the social heart of the resort. Its winter season runs from 3 December 2026 to 30 March 2027, and its contemporary Serlas Wing, designed by Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel, added new rooms and suites in 2025. The Kulm, the oldest grand hotel in St Moritz, was raised to Three Keys in the 2026 guide. The Carlton is a smaller, all-suite hotel where every suite looks out over the lake and the mountains.
Further Addresses
Suvretta House offers a quieter grand-hotel experience on the edge of the Suvretta plateau. Kempinski’s Grand Hotel des Bains in Bad sits close to the lake and its events. In Champfèr, Giardino Mountain brings a more contemporary style to the valley. Several of the grand hotels close earlier in the spring than the lifts, so late-March stays are worth planning around their individual season dates.
Private Chalets
For complete privacy, the chalets of Suvretta are among the most sought-after in the Engadin, offering staff, space for several generations and, in some cases, direct access to the slopes. The finest are rarely listed publicly and change hands through long-standing relationships rather than open availability, particularly for Christmas, New Year and the event weeks. The VIP luxury skiing experiences page explains how chalet stays are arranged.
St Moritz is a destination where relationships matter. The most sought-after chalets, private hospitality and invitations are often arranged well beyond conventional booking channels. Our role is to navigate those relationships discreetly and create opportunities for our clients that are rarely available to the wider market.
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Where to Eat
The Starred Tables
Two of the valley’s most celebrated restaurants each hold two Michelin stars. Da Vittorio at the Carlton is run each winter by the Cerea family, whose team comes up from Bergamo for the season, and a table there has become part of the ritual of many St Moritz winters. Its opening days vary through the season, so it is best reserved at the same time as the hotel. Ecco St Moritz, at Giardino Mountain in Champfèr, offers one of the most creative menus in the Alps. Further down the valley, several long-established fine-dining addresses reward a short drive, among them Talvo in Champfèr.
Mountain Lunches
Lunch on Corviglia is part of the St Moritz rhythm. La Marmite is one of the resort’s best-known mountain tables, celebrated for its truffles and caviar. El Paradiso, set high above the town, combines lunch with music and one of the liveliest terraces in the Engadin. In peak weeks, the best tables on the mountain are booked well before guests arrive.
The Cresta Riders’ Bar
At the Kulm, the Sunny Bar is the traditional gathering place of the Cresta riders. It is one of the few places where the history of the resort is still visible on the walls.
The Private Side of St Moritz
St Moritz’s most exclusive spaces are private. The Dracula Club, founded by Gunter Sachs, is a private members’ institution where attendance depends on membership or an invitation from a member. The Corviglia Ski Club, founded in 1930, is equally private, with membership by invitation only.
The Cresta Run is the resort’s great institution. The legendary natural-ice toboggan run from St Moritz to Celerina is ridden head-first on a skeleton toboggan, and newcomers can take introductory rides subject to the rules and eligibility requirements of the St Moritz Tobogganing Club. In 2018, the club voted to allow women to ride on equal terms for the first time since 1929. One tradition survives untouched: anyone who falls at the Shuttlecock corner automatically becomes a member of the Shuttlecock Club and is entitled to wear its tie. Anyone planning to ride should confirm the club’s current requirements and check that their insurance covers the run, as some policies exclude it.
The St Moritz Calendar 2027
The season’s biggest events take place on the frozen lake. The Snow Polo World Cup runs from 22 to 24 January 2027, followed by The I.C.E., the classic car concours on the ice, on 29 and 30 January. White Turf brings horse racing and skijoring to the lake on 7, 14 and 21 February, marking 120 years since racing began there, and is covered in more detail in the guide to the best places to travel in February. Cricket on Ice has also become a fixture of the lake in recent winters. The season closes with the Engadin Skimarathon on 14 March, when thousands of cross-country skiers cross the frozen lakes from Maloja to S-chanf. A private table or box for these events, through VIP sports hospitality, turns a crowded afternoon into the highlight of the week.
Things Most Visitors Don’t Know
Corviglia is the social mountain, but Corvatsch is the skier’s mountain. Its north-facing slopes hold their snow longer, which makes it the better choice later in the season.
Samedan, the airport serving St Moritz, sits at around 1,707 metres. It is a daylight operation, subject to weather and its current winter procedures, and arrivals can be suspended in poor visibility, so a spare day at either end of the trip is a sensible precaution. Arranging the aircraft and the onward transfer together through private aviation makes it far easier to adapt if the weather changes.
Helicopters can also land guests closer to the slopes than the airport, depending on conditions and permissions.
Common Mistakes
Booking the outbound flight without the return is one of the most common. In the event weeks, particularly around Snow Polo and White Turf, landing and departure slots at Samedan fill quickly, and departures are often the tighter constraint.
Forgetting Davos is another. The World Economic Forum takes place in late January, and private aircraft, crews and parking tighten across the whole of Switzerland that week.
Planning a late arrival is a third. Samedan operates in daylight, and the short midwinter days leave little margin, so arrivals are best planned for the middle of the day.
Overlooking the rules of the private clubs is a fourth. St Moritz’s most famous clubs operate on membership and invitation, and their rules should always be respected. Introductions are possible in the right circumstances, but they are never a matter of simply booking.
Finally, booking late March for a stay at a hotel that closes before the lifts is easily avoided by checking each hotel’s season dates.
When to Book St Moritz
Christmas, New Year and the event weekends in late January and February are the most demanding periods of the season. The finest chalets in Suvretta for the festive weeks are often committed a year ahead, many by families who return every winter. For January outside the event weekends, and for March, the choice is wider, although the most sought-after tables and chalets still go early.
Public availability, however, is rarely the full picture. The best chalets, tables and hospitality often change hands quietly, through relationships rather than listings, long after the public options appear to have closed. For families who want the chalet, the flights, the tables and the event hospitality arranged as one plan, a luxury travel concierge can pursue them together. For other Alpine resorts, see the Billionaire Guide to Courchevel and the guide to the best ski resorts in Europe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the best place to stay in St Moritz?
For hotels, Dorf, where Badrutt’s Palace, the Kulm and the Carlton are close to the lake and the village. For privacy, a chalet in Suvretta. For families and better value, Bad or the nearby villages of Celerina and Pontresina.
What are the best hotels in St Moritz?
Badrutt’s Palace, the Kulm and the Carlton each hold three MICHELIN Keys, the guide’s highest hotel distinction. Suvretta House and Giardino Mountain are quieter alternatives.
What are the best restaurants in St Moritz?
Da Vittorio at the Carlton and Ecco St Moritz at Giardino Mountain each hold two Michelin stars. For lunch on the mountain, La Marmite and El Paradiso on Corviglia are among the best known.
When are the main events in St Moritz in 2027?
The Snow Polo World Cup runs from 22 to 24 January, The I.C.E. is on 29 and 30 January, White Turf races on 7, 14 and 21 February, and the Engadin Skimarathon takes place on 14 March.
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