In the Engadine the authentic atmosphere of the Cresta Palace

We started the year with a new tam tam of reports, conferences and social media: today the status symbol is luxury hotels. Not the Rolex or the Kelly by Hermès, but where you stay. This is an epochal change that shifts interest from the pleasure of owning an object to that of living an experience, which has now acquired far greater value. But one question remains, the usual one, as with ultra-luxury handbags and watches: who can really afford the fabulous five-star hotels that verge on and often exceed €2,000 a night? Very few.

Yet there are cosy, elegant, contemporary hotels for 'normal' people, for those who prefer niches to famous brands, with fewer stars, sometimes none, with passionate owners and staff and a fair price/quality ratio, often in favour of the former. It takes a little patience, but they can be found. One example is the Cresta Palace in Celerina, shortly after St Moritz coming from Valtellina. The Cresta is a historic four-star hotel, in a large villa surrounded by a garden where there is a family atmosphere, also because those who come the first time become fond of it and return, because of the right size, position and atmosphere. In the lobby there is movement all day long. The international chatter, the pleasantries between regulars, the colourful anoraks and boots on their feet, the fur coats and boiled wool sarners, the shortbread continually topped up on the check-in desk. And from the windows, you can see the red wagons of the Bernina Express appearing and disappearing between the pine trees and the last few metres of a track that starts right behind 'home', just a few steps away.

The spaces are airy, as in the grand hotels of the early 20th century. Light floods into the breakfast room and the lounge, where one relaxes with tea and snacks offered after skiing or walking. In the lobby, there is a bustle of families with children who have a club and a playground for them, but also couples and foodies who come to taste something original. In the rooms there is the warmth of the mountain interior, comfortable and newly renovated. And in the spa of over 1,200 square metres, one can indulge in a few hours in the swimming pool, saunas, holistic massages and gym.

 But this hotel, a stone's throw from the centre of Celerina and the cross-country skiing ring, takes its guests above all by the throat with flavours that are unusual at these altitudes, without detracting from the fondue, raclette and nut cakes of the Chäs-Beizli and the regional classics of the Grand Restaurant. At the Asia 75 restaurant, the menu is cooked by a Thai lady, and at the end of 2025 a Levantine casual dining restaurant opened, the likes of which has never been seen in the Swiss Alps before. Ya Mama - the name indicates a confidential expression to address one's mother ("yes mama") - is a project of chef Moses Ceylan, two Michelin stars and 18/20 Gault Millau points on his CV, who here serves simple dishes inspired by those of the women in his family, but with local ingredients: hummus is made with mountain lentils, trout is prepared Aramaic-style and fondue Oriental-style. Delicious dishes, served at the centre of the table as at home, in an unmistakably Alpine dining room. Of course, you can order club sandwiches and burgers all day at the bar, but at dinner you can travel with your palate to exotic and pleasant places. Indeed, with the Dine Around formula, during your stay, you can choose a fixed-price menu (CHF 59 per person) in any of the hotel's restaurants.

No ultra-luxury or jet set, at the Cresta you go to spend a few days skiing and savouring in the Engadin, surrounded by that mix of regulars and international crowd that makes the atmosphere authentic and pleasantly worldly.