Within ten years, a former Swiss military base was transformed into a fashionable ski resort – with the best hotel in the country
Dropped off and not picked up? When almost 60 years ago James Bond in “Goldfinger” the Bond girl Tilly Masterson at a gas station in Andermatt dropped off and drove on, there wasn’t much to do in the area.
Today nobody would be sad to be parked here. Me neither. The gas station and the surrounding Alps remained the only constants. But everything else is different in Andermatt.
In the heart of Swiss Alps Located on the Gotthard massif, the holiday region with its eight surrounding Alpine passes is unique in the world! Sharp cliffs and narrow passes, wild waterfalls and snow-covered peaks: the perfect backdrop for 007. Andermatt in the canton of Uri may seem like a secret hiding place, but at the same time the place is right in the middle: Zurich is only 1.5 hours away, as is Italy. Nevertheless, the area remained insignificant for tourism for a long time.
It also didn’t help that the poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe raved when he visited Andermatt 250 years ago: “Of all the areas I know, it’s the dearest and most interesting to me.” During the Cold War, the area became an important military base for Switzerland . But when the military withdrew more than ten years ago, the small village of Andermatt threatened to fall asleep.
At exactly the right time, a dazzling Egyptian investor came and fell in love with the area. He promised, Andermatt to make it the largest ski arena in Central Switzerland. To a second St. Moritz. When I met Samih Sawiris in Berlin ten years ago, he presented his megalomaniac project in a PowerPoint presentation.
He talked about his plan to build the best hotel in Switzerland, around which a superlative ski area is to be built. Sawiris has already pounded eight cities out of the desert, including the well-known El Gouna on the Red Sea. Nevertheless, I was skeptical, thinking: “He doesn’t know the traditional Swiss…” But the charmer Sawiris was able to convince the residents, 96 percent voted for the project.
Today I see the come true Powerpoint presentation with my own eyes. A sophisticated alpine village sparkles in the snow. The newly merged Andermatt+Sedrun+Disentis ski area has actually become the largest in Central Switzerland with its 33 lifts and 180 kilometers of pistes! The number of tourist overnight stays has at least doubled since the investments. And how do the residents see it today?
“In the past, every ski area did its own thing, separately and we would never have been competitive with old ski facilities!” Markus Gerig (63), guide and ski instructor, explains to me at one snowshoe hike. “Many locals have also smartened up the facades of their houses and opened restaurants. The village has flourished, the young people have prospects again.”
Even the cuddly singer James Blunt bought a bar here. “The best pianists from all over the world come to our new concert hall, we suddenly get Michelin stars! If someone had told me that ten years ago, I would have given them a fuck!” says Gerig.
And what happened to the project for the best hotel in Switzerland? That worked too!
“The Chedi Andermatt” in the middle of the pretty village was completed in 2013 and consists of a total of nine houses. The luxury hotel at 1447 meters is a mix of a Swiss chalet and an Asian temple (“Chedi” means “temple” in Thai). I’ve never seen anything like this in the mountains! Huge ceilings, a skilful architecture of wood, stone and metal ensure a crazy interplay of light and shadow.
In recent years, it has hardly been able to save itself from awards: The house is currently Europe’s best “Luxury Mountain Hotel” and that 2000 square meter spa on three floors was awarded as the best mountain spa in Switzerland – with the longest hotel pool. The Japanese Restaurant earned a Michelin star.
Four years in a row the bar has been voted the best in the country, and the menu takes even longer than the pool. Funny: There is an Asian and a Swiss version of every cocktail! Two menus are also served in the main restaurant.
Despite the international success, the house remains close to nature and home. The electricity comes from hydropower, the cheese in the five meter high cheese tower comes mostly from the region. But “The Chedi” can also be small: the pop-up restaurant “The Cube”a glass cube in front of the hotel, is the tiniest après-ski bar in Andermatt during the day – and a restaurant for just two people in the evening.
Today the saying goes: “Anyone who wants to be something goes to St. Moritz. Anyone who knows what he is comes to Andermatt.” Is that true? I dont know. But one thing is clear: If “The Chedi” had been here back then, the Bond Girl would not have chosen the gas station to get off.
And this is how you get to Andermatt:
Getting there: Flight to Zurich from 61 euros/way with Swiss (swiss.com) and continue by train to Andermatt, about 2 hours from 25 euros (sbb.ch).
All information: andermatt.ch, andermatt-swissalps.ch,
www.myswitzerland.com
ski pass: from 60 euros (andermatt-sedrun-disentis.ch).
hike with Markus Gerig (wasserwelten.ch): “Fire and Ice” snowshoe hike with bath in the hot tub and fondue costs around 70 euros.
Stay: in the “The Chedi Andermatt” (from 230 euros/pp in a double room, thechediandermatt.com). In the “Radisson Blu Hotel Reussen“ (from 120 euros/pp in a double room, radissonhotels.com).
