The origins of the former Parkhotels Kurhaus reach back to 1862-1866.
The hotel was first opened in 1864. The original building had two stories and no turrets. In the same year, in autumn of 1864, Johannes Badrutt made a bet with the last British summer guests, the so-called “winter bet”. He invited them to a visit during winter time. In case they wouldn’t like it he offered to compensate their expenses for their trip from and to London. However, if they liked St. Moritz in winter, he invited them to be his guests for as long as they would like. The British liked this bet, being a win-win situation. They accepted, arrived at Christmas and stayed until Easter. They were the first winter tourists to the Alps and discovered a new world – that of the “white winter holidays” and made St. Moritz the cradle of winter tourism. This explains the British influence still noticeable today, e.g. the Cresta Run that is reserved to men only.
In 1887, the Parkhotel received its first renovations to give the building a simple north-Mediterranean palace look. In 1905 the two characteristic turrets were added, housing the two Tower Suites in Engadine style today. While the design of the turrets is neo-Baroque, the bays at the corner towers show neo-Gothic influence. The Parkhotel was closed from 1914 until 1958 and has been opened only briefly in 1928 and 1948 for the Winter Olympics. A steam heater was used to heat the building in those days.
Prior to the opening of the Winter Olympics in 1928, these annexes were built in the year before: Cà d’Oro, parts of the hall and the entrance area. The design is both, Biedermeier and historism.
In 1958, the building was reopened after extensive rebuilding and now featured floor slabs, modern furniture and a new heating system. In 1983 the hotel’s spas were renovated and an additional wing was purchased.
From 1914 until 1982, the hotel was owned by the Graubündener Kantonalbank. Following a referendum, the building was transferred to the municipality in 1982. A further referendum saw the hotel reprivatized and was now owned by the St. Moritz Bäder AG and the municipality of St. Moritz. Since 2001, the Kempinski group successfully manages the Grand Hotel des Bains.
The interior Many rebuilding activities began in October 2001 that are now the new look of the Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains. The project was managed by the Vienna architect Franz Schnabel. The owners invested 14 months of extensive renovation and modernisation of facade and interior. Old engravings and pictures were used during interior and exterior renovations to pay due respect to this building’s history.
Entrance hall and lobby The original ceiling of the entrance hall still exists while the side elements were rebuilt and are accurate in every detail. The use of heavy textile fabrics, divided rooms and dark colours were refrained from for the most part to enhance the light-flooded rooms. Particular attention should be paid to the precious original alabaster lustres in today’s bar.
The original library, closed for decades, was almost completely retained. The wooden ceiling is a particularly well-kept example of what is called “beer painting”, a special technique of painting involving actual beer and used to upgrade the look of wood. It was a typical painting technique of that time involving stencils. The painter Donazzi from Celerina was the author of these paintings. The restoration measures in the Enoteca and in the Gourmet restaurant Cà d’Oro discovered particularly beautiful mural paintings. One of the painters suddenly called out: “Hey, have a look! Or should we just paint over it?” The response was obvious and the mural paintings were diligently exposed with no expenses saved. The Enoteca is located in the former Medaillonsaal (also called the Lady’s Salon). A splendid, last-century tiled porcelain stove provides cosy warmth.
Some parts of the Blue Room or music room remind of the old splendour that today is the passageway and entrance to the St. Moritz Casino. Today, the adjoining ballroom is home to the casino.
The new building sets modern accents and houses the spa area, conference rooms and suites. The interior is a successful blend of antiques, partially from the Kurhaus’ founding period, and modern elements, adding a lively lightness to it. The lustres in the restaurants Les Saisons and Cà d’Oro were also made according to old designs and reproduced by Swarowski already in the 1980’s. Gold-plated stucco rosettes and gold-painted ceiling lights and sconces form a pleasant contrast with contemporary pictures and avant-garde seating accommodations, rounding off one’s impression of the impressive entrance hall of this grand Grand Hotel.