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LUXOLOGIST LURE:
The exclusive el paradiso Mountain Club in St. Moritz, Switzerland is truly a restaurant and club in a league of its own. Here, fortunate guests can enjoy the finest cuisine in the restaurant or exclusive event room, the most devilish drinks in the bar and world-class music throughout a state-of-the-art mountain lodge perched on the ski pistes of Corviglia at 2181 metres. This makes the extraordinary venue only accessible by chairlift (or helicopter if you prefer) and is just one of the many reasons it is true to its slogan “Close to heaven”.
The founders, Anja & Hans-Jörg Zingg, have overcome great odds to bring this concept to life, given the almost impossible logistics involved in serving such high quality cuisine and products on the top of a mountain. It is fair to say they are pioneers in the hospitality space, having successfully brought a new level of exclusivity and quality to alpine gastronomy.
The duo have combined their skills for an exemplary result – Anja is one of Switzerland’s most respected sommeliers in her own right (Top Ten Sommelier of Switzerland by Gault & Millau, 2018) and Hans has a long history of entrepreneurship in hospitality. But perhaps the greatest achievement is that every year they’ve been running it, the establishment, rather than aged, has become fresher and more youthful in spirit – most recently with a whole new Music Club, featuring a dance area where guests can enjoy “Clubbing in the Clouds”.
This passion for innovation has caught the eyes of major celebrities who eagerly collaborate with the Mountain Club, from DJ Antoine who launched the new official song of el paradiso (which itself is a hit with over 4 million views) to renowned Swiss business leader Jean-Claude Biver who dedicated a line of exclusive Hublot watches to the club and Daniel Humm, chef and owner of Eleven Madison Park (#1 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2017) who handed over an exclusive recipe to be served at el paradiso.
The passion for the product runs so deep for the founders and the whole team that they never rest to find the best products, making for the best culinary offer and the best guest experience…even if they have to work through the night (which they sometimes need to do in order to clean the snow from the terrace).
Little wonder why this unique destination has hosted Swedish royalty, was the choice for Boris & Lilly Becker’s wedding and has welcomed many more extraordinary guests from around the world.
Anja & Hans celebrated their 20th anniversary of running el paradiso last year and we would like to extend an enormous congratulations to them and the team from The Luxologist and could not recommend this venue highly enough.
GUEST EXPERIENCE HIGHLIGHTS:
§ Eat exquisite cuisine (all meat and poultry are from Switzerland) and enjoy the finest drinks in one of Switzerland’s most blessed venues: a wooden alpine lodge on a sun-filled slope near the top of the mountains above St. Moritz.
§ Relax in the comforts of a well-designed sun terrace decked with sheepskin furs, overlooking a spectacular mountain scenery.
§ Gastronomic Highlights:
∼ A welcome soup served in a glass flask, both a delicious and creative way to welcome guests who have spent the morning skiing.
∼ The new “Humm Dog” which Daniel Humm (as above) gave to el paradiso with a swiss spin. It makes for an exotic and delicious starter, featuring a Swiss sausage, a layer of gruyere and fine garnishing, resting on a crispy home-made hot dog brioche roll and all topped off with generous shavings of Perigord truffle.
∼ Foie Gras Starter, which included goose liver terrine, quince gelly, apple compote, saffron brioche and a glass of Brännländer Iscider (an absolutely delightful blend of sweet and acid Swedish apples – recommended by Anja).
∼ Signature Salad: Salade Niçoise goes “St. Tropitz”, which includes a diverse delicate preparations of greens (varieties of beans, lettuce, avocado and cucumber) with the centre masterpiece – a flavoursome lobster tail (all very opulent for high altitude mountain plate).
∼ Poulet for two: A tender whole Alpstein Poulet (local sustainable poultry) with herbs carved at the table and served with mashed potato and a generous selection of vegetables.
∼ Millefeuille “el paradiso”: One of the signature dishes, which benefits from the in-house patisserie that is both light and heavy – light by the spoon with soft vanilla cream but served in a very generous helping.
∼ Excellent wine pairing throughout, with over 750 varieties in the mountain cellar and a unique wine of the house – “a merlot of the highest standard”, which is called the 6606 M.U.M, boasting a Merlot del Ticino from a premium vintage prepared exclusively for three mountain restaurants: el paradiso, Chez Vrony and the Motta Hut.
§ Impressive attention to detail from the delicate floral designs on straws and plates to design features with unique collaborations from top artists throughout the interior.
§ Exemplary service, with a welcoming and passionate team, including supervision by one of Switzerland’s best sommeliers and a high staff to guest ratio.
§ Terrific music featuring a DJ from Ibiza and el paradiso’s own music album.
INSIDER TIPS:
§ Ski the pistes of St. Moritz in the morning and then enjoy el paradiso for lunch and apre-ski.
§ Join the Member Club and (if possible) the exclusive Circle St. Tropitz for reservation priority and a long list of other benefits.
§ Make sure to book – this is an exclusive and seriously sought after destination
§ Visit on Sunday for the late apres-ski session until 18:15
§ Try the signature Ski Shots served on wooden skis
§ Sit on one of the el paradiso elevated chairs outside the lodge for sweeping views over the mountains and a top Instagram photo
INSIDER SNAPS:
