Crowned with turrets and ornamental touches, and sprawling white as the wintry cross-country pistes and Alpine mountainsides around it, Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains is one of a number of sumptuous five-star hotels in glitzy St. Moritz – but the only one with a prime location at the destination’s original claim to fame: the Mauritius Springs.
As much a world traveller as many of the his guests, the hotel’s general manager, Reto Stöckenius, honed his luxury know-how with experiences in hotels and resorts from Florida to the Dominican Republic and Panama to Spain’s Canary Islands, before making a homecoming to Switzerland where he eventually found himself leading Kempinski St. Moritz in 2014.
Here, we talk to him about the hotel and destination’s evolution from a summer retreat to the winter-holiday wonderland that it is known as today, what makes it unique among the resort’s other luxurious accommodations, and how the future looks to remind travellers of the natural charms that drew guests there long before a season of snow did.
St. Moritz is the spot where winter tourism began, just 150 years ago – was this hotel one of the destinations that played a part in starting all that?
This hotel – which was built in 1864, and was originally a hotel that belonged to the community until it was refurbished completely in 2002 when Kempinski took over, reopening for the winter 2002/2003 season – was actually was the place where summer tourism started [prior to winter tourism]; the start of winter tourism was more in the Kulm Hotel and Badrutt’s Palace. Right here was the place where people came to spend two to three weeks during the summertime to relax, detox and drink St. Moritz’s special natural spring water. But of course, when the winter tourism started, this hotel also became a bigger destination for that.
How did winter tourism start here, and how has it grown since its inception?
Initially they [Johannes Badrutt] invited a lot of British people and said, “Why do you stay in foggy, humid places when you can come to the mountains and have fun in the snow with all of the activities we have here? If we can guarantee a certain number of days of sun, and if you still don’t like it, you don’t have to pay.” So it started with British tourism, and then we had the first Olympics in 1928, and in ’48 the second Olympics – gaining in more and more fame over the years – then the Alpine World Championship came in ‘74 and then again in 2003, and it will be returning again next year.
But originally, St. Moritz was known for its natural water source, Mauritius Springs, which your hotel is located atop. How do you utilise this spring?
We have the natural spring coming into our spa, and every day our guests can drink a glass of this water, which comes out directly here. It’s very healthy water with a high percentage of iron. The water is very pure and known for its healing qualities.
How has the hotel evolved over the many years since winter tourism has begun?
From initially catering to tourists in the summer, it went to the complete opposite when winter became the main season, attracting the largest number of guests then. The summer season now struggles a bit, but in the winter we have the advantage of being on the ski slopes – the gondola is across the street and we are also directly on the cross-country slopes. You could say we are St. Moritz’s “sporty” five-star hotel.
St. Moritz itself is an interesting mix of old and new – charming buildings, modish, jet-set visitors – do you find these two aspects complement each other?
I think the two go together very well; I know it’s a mix of fashionable, and new, and old buildings, as well as the village buildings that are Alpine style… But the thing is, St. Moritz has a special appeal and it’s not due to its architecture but because of the region. We are in a valley located on the southern side of the Alps at 1,800 metres and this makes it special – sunny days, a string of lakes, clean high-altitude air. The architecture is not important.
What does Kempinski do to stand out from St. Moritz’s other five-star hotels?
We try to be a little bit different by having very young, motivated staff. It is a grand hotel, yes, but we try to be different and not so stiff. We want to be the relaxed, sports destination – a very dynamic hotel. Badrutt’s Palace, Kulm Hotel, Carlton Hotel, they are very classic, suit-and-tie, and we try to be a bit more easy going. But we still have five-star superior standards, and the four restaurants in the hotel set us apart, too: One with regional food, Enoteca; gourmet restaurant, Cà d’Oro; another that focuses on meats and grilled fare, Les Saisons; and then Asian restaurant, Sra Bua. The gourmet restaurant, Cà d’Oro has now maintained its Michelin star for, I believe, five years.
How are you and Kempinski looking to the future?
For the summer months, we want to position ourselves as a wellness spa hotel because our situation is unique: We’re 1,800 metres up, we have very good air, fantastic food and beverage products, and we have excellent spa facilities. So this is the direction we’re trying to go in: more spa and wellness. The other five-star hotels aren’t doing this; they are in St. Moritz Dorf [village], not located in the Bad [baths/spa] area of St. Moritz, and they don’t have access to the springs. Spa and wellness is not only to get a massage or go to the gym, it’s also to organise outdoor activities like skiing, cross country, biking, hiking, and activities like that, which we have some of the best access to in St. Moritz.
Do you get a lot of repeat guests, and what do you do to keep them coming back and happy year after year, while trying to attract new clientele and the all-important millennial travellers?
Yes – and first of all, they come back for the good service. It’s a competitive environment with multiple five-star hotels in a village of 5,000 people, and each hotel is of a very, very high standard. Our position right in front of the gondola and the cross-country slopes makes a big difference for us, but I think the most important thing is the level of service. With regards to millennials, we have a strong online marketing strategy, with blogs and much more activity in that area, and again, we’re putting a focus on the activities and sports, which attracts a millennial crowd. Additionally, at places like the Palace guests are older, and I think here they feel more comfortable.
When the Swiss franc was unpegged and resulted in a soaring overvaluation last year, did that effect the season for you and did you do anything to counteract it?
New for this year, we have included a free ski pass for each day for our guests staying more than three days. The pass is CHF75 (US$75) per day, so it’s good added value. From the price point of view, we could not adjust too much because we still pay in Swiss francs for our employees’ salaries, et cetera. But all in all, I don’t think tourism really dropped much. Maybe in summer a little bit, because the guests who come in summer are a little more price sensitive, but in winter? No.
And finally, when you’re not making your guests feel at home in the Kempinski, where is your personal favourite place to go skiing in the area?
I very much like the Corvatsch area. It’s more difficult than some of the other ski areas and the pistes are longer.