There’s nothing quite like walking across the Engadine Valley in Switzerland, you’ll find the trails meander through lush alpine meadows, with cowbells providing a gentle soundtrack. One of the main highlights of walking through this region is the Lower Engadine valley, a hidden gem known for its charming, traditional Swiss villages like Florins, Tschlin and Guarda and the spectacular trails in the Parc Naziunal Svizzer, Switzerland’s only National Park. On our seven-night Walking in the Lower Engadine holiday, you get to explore this wonderful region and opt to upgrade to stay at the idyllic Hotel Belvedere, situated in the picturesque town of Scuol, which is known for its thermal baths and well-preserved houses showcasing Engadine architecture. To find out a bit more about this unique place to stay, read on, as we chat to Hotel Belvedere’s owner, Julia Baumgartner.
When it comes to the history of this charming hotel nestled within the mountain meadows of Scuol, Julia explains the building itself has been delighting guests since 1876. The Hotel Belvedere was originally built by Anna Maria Arquint-Rosler, who then passed it down to her son. “Over the following decades the hotel changed owners several times, before my husband Kurt and I purchased the hotel in 1999 and began our renovations and extensions.” She mentioned, “It was an exciting time, as we saw so much potential in the Hotel Belvedere, and aimed to lovingly restore wherever we could, while also extending it further.”
“Throughout the years, we built a covered passage from Belvedere to Engadine Bad Scuol, the incredible mineral baths. During this time, we were lucky to acquire two nearby hotels which allowed us to add additional hotel rooms and create a connected hotel resort we like to call, the Belvedere Hotel Familie. Our Ala Nova extension also houses our wonderful SPA Vita Nova.” She joked, “You’ll find everything you could possibly need within a radius of some hundred metres, including three individual hotels, four restaurants, two SPA areas, two bars as well as a local wine shop, bike rental and even a hairdresser!”
Julia also touches on the design of the hotel, mentioning, “It’s a mixture of the almost untouched art nouveau façade and a modern interior with some regional influences like the use of local pine wood in some of our suites”. Although most of the hotel’s interiors have been completely modernised since the couple purchased Hotel Belvedere in 1999, she says, “Our goal was to design hotel but allow our guests to still feel all the comforts of home. The lobby, restaurant and many of the rooms have just recently been updated. Even this spring, the hotel was undergoing further renovations to be ready for our peak summer season.”
One of the hotel’s most standout features, which makes it different from others in the region, is the innovative covered walkway that provides easy access to the Engadine Bad Scuol, the area’s local mineral baths. Julia says, “We think it’s great that our guests can comfortably walk in their bathrobes to directly to the mineral baths, ” but that’s not all she elaborates, “We’re proud to have a number of very attractive and unique included services such as: Free entry to the mineral baths, free use of the cable car to Motta Naluns, free use of the bus and the train in the Lower Engadine.
“Our SPA Vita Nova is a firm favourite among guests that stay here”, Julia says. “It offers a range of spa and beauty treatments including massages, facial treatments, manicures and pedicures, baths, body wraps all using high-quality products.” She continues, “There’s also a cosy wellness area in the hotel that comes complete with a whirlpool and a relaxing cube room to unwind in. Our covered walkways and the included access to the mineral bath with around 13’000 sqm of indoor and outdoor pools, sauna area, steam baths, and saltwater baths extends our wellness offer even more.”
When you’re not taking advantage of Hotel Belvedere’s spa amenities or out exploring the spectacular highland wilderness on our Walking in the Lower Engadine, Julia recommends indulging in one of their four incredible restaurants in the resort; Nam Thai, Allegra, Bistro Belvair and GuardVal Gourmet, which houses a fondue room in the winter months. The main Hotel Belvedere restaurant is called “Allegra”, a Romansch greeting, that translates to “cheerfulness”. Here she says they serve, “modern cuisine with a strong regional touch, where most of the products and ingredients are locally sourced”. A must-try dish she says is their capuns, a traditional staple from the Grisons in eastern Switzerland. “The talented Head Chef, Henning Malinowski, cooks the Swiss capuns dumplings filled with Grisons (a Swiss speciality cured salted meat) and rolls them in chard leaves. The dish is then gratinated with alpine cheese and red wine scallions – it’s absolutely delicious”. She also mentioned that if you book your room with half board, and you’d like to book a table at their Thai restaurant, Gourmet restaurant or Bistro, the hotel gives you a reduction of CHF 40.- on à la carte consumption.
If you thought the luxurious spa treatments, mineral baths and delicious cuisine were enough to keep you busy, think again, as the Hotel Belvedere also hosts exciting events throughout the year, which Julia says can include things like, “jazz or classic concerts in our Bar Lounge, book readings, wild herb excursions, early morning skiing with the manager, wine tastings, and even special cheese buffets.”
While you’re out taking in the fresh air and breathtaking alpine landscapes in the Swiss national park using our detailed route notes, Julia also recommends, taking the time to head to Zernez where the National Park Exhibition Centre is located, as it houses fascinating exhibits on the wildlife you might see in the park.
If this has inspired you to visit the wonderful Hotel Belvedere in Switzerland on our Walking in the Lower Engadine holiday you can find out more about this trip and how to book here.
