2023-08-27 10:46:40
Success couldn’t be more different, couldn’t express luxury: On the one hand the Cervo Mountain Resort and on the other The Chedi.
I visit these two luxury hotels in Switzerland, the first resort is in Zermatt, the second further north in Andermatt. It was already clear to me before my trip: These will be two very special stays. However, I did not expect that both houses would fascinate me in this way and that a comparison would hardly be possible due to the very different concepts.
The Cervo partly reminds me of the now established sister hotel brand Janu of the well-known Aman Group with a total of 33 hotels around the world – but it also has something of the Soho House, the global social club with hotels, bars and restaurants for private members. It’s a mature 25hours hotel with a lot more luxury.
What I particularly like here is the variety; in the target group, in the concept, in the interior design. I observe young, creative, design-savvy travelers. People who deal with aesthetics are at home here. And that’s how it should feel after coming home.
The founders Daniel F. Lauber, Seraina Lauber and the resort manager Benjamin Dietsche achieve this through great attention to detail. Nothing seems decorated here, just placed there. Everything comes together organically. I think that’s an art in itself – that at Cervo Mountain Resort everything embodies modernity, yet is cozy.
The Cervo in summer
The resort stands for variety: in the target group, in the concept, in the furnishings.
(Photo: Cervo Mountain Resort)
The employees also contribute to this. What appears relaxed, informal and casual in direct contact, on closer inspection suggests highly professional organization and coordination. For me as a guest, the mix of serenity and professionalism is what contributes significantly to relaxation and makes a hotel stay what it should be: a break from everyday life.
View of the mountain
The Huntsman suite has its own terrace and spa area.
(Photo: Cervo Mountain Resort)
Previously responsible for the DACH region of the conservative hotel group Relais & Châteaux, Benjamin Dietsche has probably found a better fit with the Cervo for a little over two years. In our conversations, I perceive him as a very approachable and progressive manager who leads this house from one success to the next.
Warm brown tones dominate
The sleeping area of one of 54 suites in the Cervo.
(Photo: Cervo Mountain Resort)
The owners – Daniel F. Lauber and Seraina Lauber – are real visionaries and have brought together things in the Cervo that are not usually expected in the Alpine region. For example the Moroccan restaurant Bazaar, which offers almost exclusively vegetarian dishes, or the Mountain Ashram Spa, inspired by Japanese onsen, Bhutanese hot stone baths and the northern European art of sauna.
For some, this may sound incomprehensible, perhaps inappropriate. I think the overall concept is fun and has been implemented very tastefully.
Rath’s Voyage Rating (current rating in bold):
1. Explicit Travel Warning
2. Better than under the bridge
3. So-so, not oh, là, là
4. Complaining at a high level
5. If only it were always like this
6. Great cinema
Luxury in every square foot of The Chedi
Exactly the opposite, but no less successful, is perhaps the most luxurious hotel in the Alps, The Chedi Andermatt. General Manager Jean-Yves Blatt, who has been running the establishment successfully for more than eight years, has breathed a real soul into the Chedi, which promises luxury in every square metre.
The Lobby of the Chedi
The focal point is the large open fireplace – one of more than 240 in the resort.
(Photo: The Chedi Andermatt)
Now he is leaving the hotel and can look back on a series of innovations. I hope his successor can fill in the huge footprints because there is attention to detail here. It is the first luxury house in the world to accept cryptocurrency and thus also attracts many young, wealthy people from the relevant scene.
The Chedi has the largest cigar collection in the world, over 240 open fireplaces, ten ski butlers who choose the ski equipment for the guests, deliver it to the slopes and collect it from there. So believe me when I say The Chedi is exceptional – in the service, the facilities and the food. It really is the superlative among alpine luxury hotels.
The Japanese im Chedi
The restaurant has been awarded one Michelin star and 17 Gault Millau points.
(Photo: The Chedi Andermatt)
The Japanese restaurant, run by executive chefs Dominik Sato and Fabio Toffolon, is also incredibly impressive. The Japanese is located directly in The Chedi, while the second Japanese restaurant at 2300 meters above sea level also convinces with sake, sushi and tempura. Both restaurants have been awarded a Michelin star.
Gemsstock-Suite
Suites at the Chedi are open and cleverly designed.
(Photo: The Chedi Andermatt)
A double achievement that after just one day of my stay no longer surprises me, because everything here is really extravagant. I ask you this: Now don’t imagine a cluttered hotel with ostentatious decoration. The interior design here is super modern and linear. The suites are open and designed so cleverly that the transparency does not detract from the comfort.
Rath’s Voyage Rating (current rating in bold):
1. Explicit Travel Warning
2. Better than under the bridge
3. So-so, not oh, là, là
4. Complaining at a high level
5. If only it were always like this
6. Great cinema
Insidertipps
Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, Zermatt: If you love adventure, then visit the Matterhorn Glacier Paradise, the highest cable car station in Europe. Here you can explore glacier caves, enjoy the view from the viewing platforms and various activities in the snow.
Hike to the Riffelsee, Zermatt: Make your way to Riffelalp and then to Riffelsee. This picturesque mountain lake features a surface with the reflected Matterhorn and is particularly worth visiting in the morning hours or at sunset.
Gemsstock Summit, Andermatt: Experienced skiers or snowboarders can venture to the Gemsstock summit. The steep pistes and deep snow descents offer an incomparable adventure for all ambitious freeriders.
About the author: As a former grand hotelier and operator of the Travelgrand.ch travel platform, Carsten K. Rath is a professional globetrotter. He travels to all the hotels he writes about for the Handelsblatt on his own account.
Rath is the source of the ideas for the ranking “The 101 best hotels in Germany”, whose partners include the Handelsblatt. Rath is also the author of the book on the ranking, co-authored by Michael Raschke (Handelsblatt).
Carsten K. Rath, Michael Raschke: The 101 best hotels in Germany 2022/23.
Institute for Service- and Leadership Excellence AG/Handelsblatt
594 pages
39,90 Euro
ISBN: 978-3033094574
More: This is what makes the 101 best hotels in Germany so successful
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