Waldhotel Davos – magical hours of leisure with a view

Above the rooftops of Davos – the city of the Alps – sits the Waldhotel Davos. This unique panoramic location also reflects the image of the 4-star superior hotel. According to Switzerland Tourism, it is one of the 100 most hospitable hotels in Switzerland and also on Tripadvisor, where the Waldhotel holds first place out of 60 listed hotels, only words of praise can be read.

We will be picked up by the hotel shuttle bus at Davos Platz train station and driven to the Magic Mountain. The building has existed since 1911, when it was built as a forest sanatorium and used as a hotel from 1957. Katia Mann was one of the first guests. The wife of writer Thomas Mann cured her tuberculosis there. He himself was inspired by the miraculous goings-on in the sanatorium to write his world-famous novel “The Magic Mountain”.

The hotel lives up to the good reputation of its hosts in the first minutes of our stay. In the spirit of Thomas Mann’s novel The Magician:

Welcome to us, Mr. Castorp! Would you like to settle in quickly and feel comfortable in our midst?

I’m not Mr. Castorp, but I definitely feel right at home. Personal service is particularly important here. During check-in, we can enjoy a welcome drink in the comfortable armchairs of the festively decorated Bar Krokowski. A pleasantly warm fire crackles in the fireplace – almost like at home.

Afterwards we are escorted to our room, where we experience the first surprise. We have to “clear” our way to our room – I feel a bit like a celebrity.

In recent years, in collaboration with the two well-known Swiss architects Pia Schmid and Hans-Jörg Ruch, extensive renovation work has been carried out to create a lovingly designed living oasis, which takes up elements of the sanatorium era with skilfully placed accents. The view into our junior suite makes my heart beat faster. Large panoramic windows, exquisite materials and a spacious floor plan. I am particularly fond of the bathroom, which is lined throughout with a fine Valser granite. Since it is already dark outside, we can only guess how great the view over Davos is on this first evening.

The next morning we wake up to a view of pink-colored mountain peaks. During breakfast in the restaurant “Speisesaal”, which has been carefully restored, the morning spectacle of colors can be observed through the large south-facing windows. We drink a latte macchiato and try our way through the extensive breakfast buffet.

After the morning refreshment, the hotel guest is spoilt for choice. Of course, we take advantage of the nice weather for skiing. The free hotel shuttle bus takes you directly to the mountain railways. If you prefer a more leisurely pace, you will find beautiful hiking trails with a view over Davos right behind the hotel. Culture and shopping are also available, as you can walk to the center of Davos in about 10 minutes.

Pssst my insider tip: Do nothing!

Our Junior Suite, which is now flooded with the sun’s rays, has a huge south-facing balcony with original Davos loungers. The balcony really invites you to just let yourself go. Lie in the sun, wrap yourself up with the warm blankets, enjoy the mountain view and recharge your batteries with vitamin D. Perfect to leave the hectic everyday life behind for a few hours.

If you get bored of doing nothing at some point, you can make a detour to the hotel’s beautiful brine pool and loosen up your muscles on the bubble lounger. Here, too, large windows offer maximum sun flooding. The only drawback is that there is no outdoor pool area – but hotel manager and host Bardhyl Coli already has one or two ideas for the future buzzing around in his head.

Good air and sun make you hungry. Before dinner, however, we take part in an enjoyable journey through time through the Waldhotel. Every Saturday at 5:00 p.m. (December to March) an hour-long guided tour of the Magic Mountain is offered, which comes up with a few surprises. This much can be revealed: there is still an original sanatorium room including blue Heinrich – you don’t know what that is? Well then, off to the Waldhotel!

When it comes to dinner, there are two options to choose from. The “dining room” serves half-board and à la carte. Next to it is the exquisite gourmet restaurant “Mann und Co.”, which has been awarded 16 GaultMillau points. Here, chef Thorsten Bode conjures up little culinary extravaganzas. At some point between the main course and the pre-dessert (i.e. before the “real” dessert) I actually slipped out “Oh man, oh man” – the food here is peppered with surprises.

Thanks to its privileged location, the Waldhotel offers the perfect retreat for short escapes from everyday life on the one hand and the perfect starting point for a relaxing mountain holiday on the other. Personally, I was particularly impressed by this unique mix of a hundred-year-old eventful history and its modern interpretation and implementation. The Waldhotel with its tailor-made and unique overall concept has me wrapped around my finger.

Information and tips about the Waldhotel Davos:

• Price for a double room standard from 370 CHF incl. breakfast
• The Mann & Co. restaurant has a wine cellar with more than 700 fine wines
• On the 5th floor there is a fantastic sun terrace with a view
• The Krokowski bar also serves currywurst à la Waldhotel
• In the romantic Sertig Valley, the Chalet Berghof Sertig is the dependence of the Waldhotel (oh, I want to go there!)

Note: I was invited by the Waldhotel Davos – thank you very much for this. As always, my readers can be sure that I always represent my views and enthusiasm here.