Kulm Hotel

As the 2006 summer season gets underway, Kulm Hotel St. Moritz will be celebrating its 150th anniversary. In retrospect, it could hardly have been a livelier century and a half. Thanks to the courage and far-sightedness of the great Swiss hotel pioneer Johannes Badrutt, the Kulm Hotel is considered by many circles to be the premier address in the Upper Engadine. 150 years ago, the Kulm Hotel was indeed the first establishment in St. Moritz to begin welcoming guests. A predominantly British upper-crust clientele came to appreciate the clear, mild summer weather up in the high valley south of the steep Julier pass. Yet Badrutt would have been no pioneer had he not very soon taken further steps to make a name for the Kulm. One late summer's day as he bade farewell to his departing British guests, he laid a bet that they could sun themselves on the terrace in shirtsleeves even in the depths of December. On their return to the high mountain valley at the appointed month, the hotelier was indeed able to receive them under bright sunshine. The British had lost their bet, but in so doing they initiated the tradition of Alpine winter tourism. The Kulm Hotel subsequently became its quintessential cradle, welcoming an illustrious clientele from all over the world and indulging their taste for the joys of summer and winter in this high mountain valley. The pioneering spirit that has been with the hotel since day one is also very much alive. Hence our one-of-a-kind service offer for guests during the anniversary summer of 2006. Even the kind that money can't buy.

Price: £319.25 from Otel