Carlton Hotel St Moritz: Winter Season 2026/27 Opens 11 December

11 December 2026 — 21 March 2027

There is a particular quality of light in the Upper Engadine in December. It arrives at an angle peculiar to altitude — crystalline, almost theatrical — and it falls across the frozen surface of Lake St Moritz in a way that no amount of description fully prepares one for. It is this light, and what it implies about the season ahead, that has drawn guests to St Moritz for more than a century and a half. The Carlton Hotel has been here for most of it.

The Carlton Penthouse Suite terrace, looking out across Lake St Moritz toward peaks dusted in early snow. All sixty rooms and suites face south — the view is not an amenity here, but a condition of the stay.

The Carlton opened its doors for the first time in 1913 — the fifth five-star hotel to establish itself in what was already the most celebrated alpine resort in the world. In the intervening century, it has survived two world wars, numerous changes of ownership, and the particular test of endurance that comes from operating in a place where excellence is not optional. What it has never done is relinquish its position. Today, as part of the Tschuggen Collection, the Carlton remains one of Switzerland's most quietly accomplished grand hotels.

The 2026/27 winter season opens on 11 December 2026 and closes 21 March 2027. The hotel occupies an elevated position above the town, its sixty rooms and suites — every one south-facing, every one oriented toward Lake St Moritz and the Engadine peaks — arranged to ensure that the view is not an amenity but a condition of the stay. The interiors, conceived by Swiss designer Carlo Rampazzi and most recently refreshed in 2024, speak in the language of materials rather than gesture: warmth without performance, refinement without effort.

The dining room at Da Vittorio St Moritz, the Carlton's two-Michelin-starred restaurant under the stewardship of the Cerea brothers. Securing a table has become part of the ritual of the season itself.

Securing a table at the Carlton has become part of the ritual of the season itself. Da Vittorio St Moritz, the hotel's two-Michelin-starred restaurant under the stewardship of the Cerea brothers, brings the culinary authority of their three-starred original in Brusaporto to the Engadine — earning 18 GaultMillau points and a reputation that regularly outpaces the season's availability. The Grand Restaurant, awarded 16 GaultMillau points and guided by a philosophy of locally foraged alpine ingredients, offers an alternative of equal seriousness. The sun terrace and the Bel Etage — its fireplace among the most reliably civilised hours the Alps afford — complete a dining landscape that is, without exaggeration, among the finest of any winter resort in Europe.

The Bel Etage: leather, timber, and a fireplace that has been receiving guests for over a century. Afternoon tea is served here each day of the season. It is, in all likelihood, the most civilised room in St Moritz.

The season unfolds alongside the defining rituals of an Engadine winter: White Turf on the frozen lake in February; the Engadine Ski Marathon in March; and the long, luminous afternoons of late season that have always made St Moritz, at its close, feel less like a departure than a postponement.

The Carlton has received the Michelin Guide's highest three-Key distinction — one of only nine hotels in Switzerland to do so. For guests planning the winter of 2026/27, availability remains inherently limited.

Sculptured Journeys works with the Carlton Hotel St Moritz as part of a carefully considered portfolio of Swiss winter properties. Itinerary design, reservations, and private chalet alternatives across the Engadine are available through our team.

Explore our Switzerland destination guide to plan your 2026/27 winter journey.

Private by nature. Extraordinary by design.

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