In 1856 Johannes Badrutt and his wife Maria Berry rented a 12-room pension above Lake St. Moritz, the first hotel in the village. In 1864 Badrutt bet four English summer guests that they would enjoy the Engadin in winter; they stayed until Easter, and winter tourism began. The Kulm lit its dining room with electricity in 1879, built the Cresta Run in 1884 and hosted the opening ceremonies of the 1928 and 1948 Winter Olympics in its park. The Sunny Bar, opened the same year as the Cresta, is still the riders' clubhouse. At 1,856 metres the house looks over the lake, with rooms in Swiss stone pine, suites reworked by Pierre-Yves Rochon and an entrance and lobby painted in trompe l'oeil by Renzo Mongiardino. The 2,000-square-metre Kulm Spa has an indoor pool and an open-air pool facing Piz Rosatsch, and the Kulm Country Club of 1905, reopened in 2017, serves Mauro Colagreco's alpine cooking. Winter guests receive a complimentary Ski and Mountain Pass, and a nine-hole golf course dates from 1896. There are 150 rooms and suites, and the hotel was raised to three MICHELIN Keys in 2026.
- Nearest airport
- Engadin Airport, Samedan (SMV), 3 Miles / 5 Kilometres
- Rooms
- 150 rooms and suites
Insider tip Call in at the Sunny Bar, the oldest sports bar in the Alps, where Cresta riders meet after their morning runs; in summer, Festival da Jazz musicians gather there too.
Why I choose it The hotel where winter tourism began, and the grand house of St. Moritz since 1856.