Day Trips Hotel tips Switzerland Wellness

Wellness hotel in Bad Ragaz – hiking & fine dining: the best excursions

In recent years, we have been in the area around Bad Ragaz from time to time. Accordingly, I have already blogged one or the other tip here on the blog, such as the all-weather excursion to the Tamina Gorge or our visit to Alp Findels. This year we spent a long weekend in the well-known spa town and took it as an opportunity to “pack” all our favorite places in the region into one blog post. Some of the places and activities presented below are worthwhile excursion destinations regardless of the season!

Sleep better at the Grand Hotel Quellenhof – The wellness hotel in Bad Ragaz

Located right next to the Tamina Therme, the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, consisting of the two 5-star hotels Grand Hotel Quellenhof & Spa Suites and Grand Hotel Hof Ragaz, is one of the best wellbeing and medical health hotels in Europe. This leading position is no coincidence – the hotel is constantly investing in the further development of its offer as well as its appearance.

Just this July, the Grand Hotel Quellenhof reopened its doors after a 5-month renovation period and presented itself completely renewed in all freshness. The history of the house – the connection to the 36.5 degree warm thermal water that bubbles out of the earth in the thermal bath next door – was trend-setting in the redesign. Shortly after the reopening, we were allowed to spend two nights in the newly designed suites and found the combination of beautiful parquet floors (made of local walnut wood) and the finely coordinated color palette of the furnishings successful.

As you would expect, a night at the Quellenhof has its price – the Junior Suite for 2 people is currently available from 650 CHF per night. But if you want to treat yourself and your loved ones to a special moment of pampering, this is the right place for you.

Start the day weightlessly

The Grand Resort Bad Ragaz works hand in hand with the Tamina Therme. And so both as a hotel guest and as an external day visitor, you have the opportunity to book spa treatments in addition to bathing in the thermal water. The Tamina Therme is known for the use of the haki method, among other things. This treatment concept was developed specifically for our top-heavy society and aims to relieve tension and pressure in the shoulders, neck and head.

One of these treatments is carried out directly in the thermal water – with “haki flow” you lie in the water for almost 75 minutes while a therapist loosens and stretches the entire back area with practiced grips. With the “haki Flow Deluxe” offer, the whole thing is topped in that the treatment is carried out early in the morning before the regular opening hours. For me, this was an incredibly gentle and at the same time vitalizing start to the day.

Two kinds of breakfast happiness

If you stay at the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, you will be spoilt for choice when it comes to breakfast. You can choose from the classic breakfast buffet at Olives d’Ort, the rustic ambience of the Zollstube or hip breakfast menus at Verve by Sven. Since we know classic breakfast buffets well enough and there will certainly be nothing missing here, we have consciously decided to try the other two offers. The choice of where you want to have breakfast is spontaneous and independent of the booking.

The Verve offers three breakfast menus as well as an à la carte menu. My favorite here is the “Verve” with a detox juice, chia flaxseed pudding with granola and fruit, poached eggs and sourdough bread.

For extensive “zmörgälä” I can recommend the Zollstube. Breakfast is only served here on Saturdays and Sundays – so this option is not so well known and should be treated as an “insider tip”. In the Zollstube, breakfast is classically Swiss and the beautifully arranged “Plättli” are served by the table.

Get out into the fresh air – nice hike up to the Chilchlichopf

After a relaxed start to the day in the Tamina Therme followed by a hearty breakfast, it’s time to do something outside. Bad Ragaz offers a great starting point to explore the surrounding valleys and peaks of Heidiland – both in winter and summer. While the Pizol ski area is just around the corner in the winter months, you have the opportunity to rent bikes at the e-bike station directly in front of the Tamina Therme in the summer months. The daily rental for the e-bike is 83 CHF as a combined ticket including 4-hour admission to the thermal baths.

For example, you can take a trip to the Walser settlement of St. Martin in the Calfeisental. For the 23-kilometer route (including 900 meters in altitude), you need between 1 and 1.5 hours, depending on the level of e-bike support. At the Walser settlement, another 100 metres in altitude follow, which will take you (on foot) up to the “Chilchlichopf” viewpoint. The panorama over the Gigerwald reservoir is always fascinating!

Fine stopover at the ruins of Wartenstein Castle

Be it on the way back from Calfeisental or as a short walk from Bad Ragaz (approx. 45 minutes walking time), a detour to the castle ruins of Wartenstein is worthwhile. When the weather is nice, there is a wonderful panoramic view over Heidiland from up here. In case of bad weather, the restaurant Hotel Schloss Wartenstein behind it will put you in a good mood with wonderfully fresh and cheeky cuisine! The portions are kept smaller so that everyone can order something and then share it with their “Tischgschpändli” – a casual concept in a great location! The restaurant is open from Wednesday to Sunday (holidays 2020: from Monday 3 February to Tuesday 3 March). The appetizers and intermediate courses cost between 15 – 20 CHF – the main courses range between 25 and 36 CHF.

Excursion from Bad Ragaz: Pleasure cycling through the Graubünden region

If you cross the Rhine in an easterly direction at Bad Ragaz, you will pass a cantonal border. While Bad Ragaz still belongs to the canton of St. Gallen, the sun-drenched eastern slopes between Fläsch and Landquart belong to the canton of Graubünden. The so-called Graubünden dominion forms the gateway to Graubünden and is known on the one hand for its excellent wines and on the other hand as the home of the children’s book character “Heidi”.

The signposted cycle path leads us purposefully through idyllic vineyards to Malans and from there along the Rhine back to Bad Ragaz – an all-round beautiful, leisurely half-day tour (about 22 kilometres) through the Bündner Herrschaft. In addition to the pretty town centres of the wine villages, we also pass the Heidi village in Maienfeld (only open on selected days in winter). Allow enough time – along the way, there are one or two recommended places to stop for refreshments, such as the “Alter Torkel” wine bar in Jenins or the “Stall 247” in Maienfeld.

Cocktail o’clock

If you return to the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz after an active day or make a stopover at the Tamina Therme, I recommend a detour to the Verve by Sven Bar. The very “amächelig” cocktail menu has the right drink for almost every time of the day. Among my favorites here are the “Rhubarb Spritz” (which is also served in a very fine non-alcoholic version on request) and the strawberry leaf gimlet.

Michelin-starred cuisine for the first time: shared enjoyment at the Igniv

We stayed at IGNIV by Andreas Caminada in late summer 2016. Shortly afterwards, the restaurant with chef Silvio Germann was awarded a Michelin star. Since then, Germann has not rested on its laurels, but has continued to develop and win further awards (including Discovery of the Year by Gault Millau in 2017 and Chef of the Year in spring 2019 by the Karl Wild Hotelrating Switzerland).

Many things seem familiar on our second visit – as in 2016, we are greeted by the sovereign restaurant manager Francesco Benvenuto, the then new sharing concept has proven itself and at the end of the evening Silvio Germann surprises me again with his sympathetic manner. The IGNIV 4-course sharing experience (from 158 CHF) convinces again this year with creative, seasonal and finely coordinated “appetizers”! Among my favorites here are the lettuce-parmesan-herb trio and the flavorful IGNIV salad.

Michelin-starred cuisine for the second time: Fine dining at Memories

At the same time as the redesign of the Quellenhof, the company has also repositioned itself culinarily, in addition to the IGNIV, the fine dining offer at the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz was enriched with the opening of the Memories. Chef Sven Wassmer is also an old acquaintance for us. At the beginning of 2016, we were able to enjoy his harmonious dishes at the Silver restaurant in Vals. His work was awarded 2 Michelin stars and 18 Gault Millau points. After moving from Vals to Bad Ragaz, he and his wife Amanda Bulgin helped develop the new gastronomy concept at the Grand Resort.

As a fan of Sven Wassmer’s cuisine (I was deeply impressed by the menu at Silver at the time), we didn’t miss a dinner at Memories. The seasonally changing menu is offered either in 9 courses (from 260 CHF) or 12 courses (from 330 CHF). In addition, there are a number of snacks and sourdough bread at the beginning and petit four at the end. Some of Sven Wassmer’s classics from Vals can also be found on the menu – such as the buttery char from Val Lumnezia. The common thread running through the menu are the excellent and carefully selected products from regional producers, such as the filigree vegetables in “Marcel’s organic vegetable garden from Pratval”, the finely coordinated carrot-mountain sea buckthorn and Gran Alpin roller barley combination or the melt-in-the-mouth granola mountain potato from the Las Sorts farm. When it comes to other courses, I’m not sure at first whether I think it’s simply crazy or brilliantly good – one of them is the candied and dried “Knupser salad”, which is served to us as dessert. Vegetables for dessert – why not? Either way, dinner will definitely stay in our memories! By the way, I also think it’s great that there is a non-alcoholic drink accompaniment to choose from and that it can easily keep up with the menu in terms of creativity

Nocturnal light spectacle in the Tamina Gorge

In a selection of beautiful, exciting and fine places around Bad Ragaz, the Tamina Gorge should not be missing. This is where the warm thermal water springs, which has helped Bad Ragaz to its success story as an internationally renowned health resort. Unfortunately, the impressive section of the gorge is only accessible in the summer months (from the end of April to the end of October). Nevertheless, it is worth setting a reminder for the coming June. That’s when the fascinating light spectacle of the Light Ragaz starts again. The tickets for the evening light show cost 25 CHF and include the post bus transport from Bad Ragaz to Bad Pfäfers and back.