Hotel Giardino Mountain

Hotel Giardino Mountain

At almost 2,000 metres, between the peaks of Corvatsch and Corviglia above Silvaplana, Hotel Giardino Mountain is built from seven Engadine houses first raised in 1913 and rebuilt into one 77-room design hotel in 2011. That history is the detail its grander neighbours in St. Moritz cannot claim: this is not a single new block but a joined hamlet of century-old structures, spread over just three floors, holding three restaurants, a bar-lounge, an indoor pool with spa tub, sauna, steam room and solarium, and a sun deck under one roof. Ski passes, a ski school, storage and a shuttle are arranged on site, putting the Chassellas and Trutz lifts within walking reach in winter, while the same team organises hiking and free bicycle rental through the surrounding forests and mountain lakes come summer. Families get a playroom, a kids club and babysitting; couples get soundproofed rooms from 269 square feet with bathrobes, mini bars and blackout blinds. Dogs travel for a nightly fee, extra beds run 170 CHF, and parking costs 20 CHF a day, small print worth knowing ahead of arrival. Anyone who wants a traditional, rustic chalet look rather than a considered, design-led interior should look elsewhere: this is a Design Hotels property, and the rooms are pure Alpine chic. What it does not do is pretend to be new. Seven old buildings, joined into one hotel over a century after they were built, is something the valley's newer arrivals cannot manufacture. Seven century-old Engadine houses above Silvaplana, rebuilt in 2011 into one 77-room design hotel with three restaurants, an indoor pool and access to the Chassellas and Trutz lifts. Better suited to families and design-hotel guests than anyone wanting a rustic, traditional chalet feel.