Badrutt’s Palace Hotel, St. Moritz, Switzerland
From £685 per night
Arguably the grandest of all alpine hotels, Badrutt’s Palace first opened its doors in 1896, at the height of fin de siècle decadence. The proprietor was Caspar Badrutt, son of Johannes, who owned the nearby Kulm Hotel, and is credited with inventing winter sports holidays. In the autumn of 1864, he persuaded a group of visiting English gentlemen to return in December, betting them that if they didn’t enjoy their stay, he would refund their travel expenses.
From the beginning, this art nouveau masterpiece was designed as a larger, more luxurious cousin to the Kulm, and it remains family-owned to this day. Over the years it has welcomed film stars like Marlene Dietrich, Charlie Chaplain, Audrey Hepburn and Brigitte Bardot. John Lennon stayed here, as did Andy Warhol, and Hitchcock loved it so much, he visited over 30 times.
Gardena Grödnerhof, Val Gardena, Italy
From £547 per night
In 1923, Antonio and Anna Demetz bought a small home in the village of Ortisei, in Val Gardena, and opened a guesthouse. Today, their once-humble property has transformed into one of the most luxurious hotels in the Italian Dolomites. Still owned by the Demtez’ grandchildren, its rooms and Michelin-starred restaurant have hosted generations of well-heeled guests, as well as celebrities including the mountaineer Reinhold Messner.
Last year, it celebrated its 100th anniversary in spectacular style. The hotel’s longevity has been helped along by steady expansion, including the recent construction of a stunning new spa complex. But as much as anything, its continued success is down to its location—right beneath the Gruppo Sassolungo, one of the most spectacular mountain clusters in the Italian Dolomites.
Grand Hotel Des Iles Borromees, Stresa, Italy
From £215 a night
Located on the western shore of Lake Maggiore in Italy, the Grand Hotel Des Iles Borromees’ was immortalised in Hemingway’s semi-autobiographical novel, A Farewell to Arms. The writer stayed here while recovering from the wound he sustained while volunteering as an ambulance driver in WWI, and later returned for a holiday, in 1948. The hotel’s reputation as a luxury stopover long precedes the arrival of its most famous guest, however.
It opened in 1863, and by 1870, Alexandra, “Grand Duchess of all the Russias” stayed here, carving her title into one of the windows with a diamond. Anna, Princess of Prussia, visited in 1875, and by the time the London - Milan - Istanbul route on the Orient Express was established, this had become the place to stay on the Italian lakes—a title it maintains to this day.
Hotel Weisses Roessl, Kitzbühel, Austria
From £314 per night
Kitzbühel’s oldest hotel, then called the Bichlwirt, was first mentioned in documents over 400 years go, in 1582. But the current proprietors believe that the stone walls of the downstairs ladies toilet are even older—dating back to at least the 1400s, when they were part of the town’s defensive wall. As Kitzbühel expanded in the 19th and early 20th centuries—first with summer tourism and then with skiing—the hotel expanded too.
The name change, to Weisses Roessl, or “white horse” in English, reflected its origins as a coaching inn. Kitzbühel is arguably best-known for the Hahnenkamm downhill race, ski racing’s toughest event, which has been held here since 1931. In summer, they stage a crazily steep golf tournament on the same course., and both skiing and golfing stars are regulars at the Weisses Roessl, now a five-star spa hotel.
Grand Hotel des Alpes, Chamonix, France
From £220 a night
Although its prices are considerably lower than some of the other historic hotels listed here, the Grand Hotel des Alpes in Chamonix has a heritage that outstrips almost all of them. The building dates back to 1840, when Chamonix had become a standard stop on what was known as “the Grand Tour”—the years-long journey undertaken by young, aristocratic Brits looking to expand their horizons on the continent.
Mont Blanc had been climbed for the first time by Jacques Balmat and Michel Gabriel Paccard some 50 years previously, and mountaineering, although still a novel pursuit, was beginning to catch on. The hotel played host to many of the athletes at the first ever winter Olympics in 1924, and has welcomed countless mountaineers and sporting stars down the years, both in summer and winter.
