Grand Moments Grand Moments

Dear Walther Guests, Dear Readers,

The Grand Hotels hold an enormous fascination for people, especially today. They are places that seem to have fallen out of time, giving them a timeless appeal. They give us the opportunity to experience beauty, culture and history. The Hotel Walther is such a place, designed as a Grand Hotel shortly after 1900. The intention was to offer guests the opportunity to experience the fascinating Engadin mountain landscape in an ambience of luxury and grandeur. This was the era of the Belle Époque and Pontresina’s emergence as a popular holiday destination.

The wonderful Art Nouveau design elements were brought back to life when the Bel Étage of the Hotel Walther was renovated a few years ago, and we were able to establish a link with the beginnings of tourism in the Alps. It is of course easier to pretend to be old than it is to preserve and develop the genuinely old. However, preserving the substance creates something intangible, and the attention to detail awakens the spirit of these buildings. All that is genuine improves with age.

The family-run Grand Hotel thus breathes history, but at the same time we have been able to continuously develop it over the years and adapt it to the demands of our time. What remains is the fascination of our natural Alpine landscape. Then as now we enjoy the mountains, the fresh air, the peace and grandeur –an experience that keeps us grounded and gives us strength. Summer in the Engadin is still a very special experience. The Camerata plays its concerts in the Tais forest as it did over a hundred years ago, there are countless sports and leisure activities, great events, the southern mountain climate, our varied cuisine and the grandiose atmosphere of our charming Grand Hotel.

In this edition of the Giazetta, we take you on a journey back to the Belle Époque, to the beginnings of tourism in Pontresina, to the early years of the Hotel Walther, and we invite you to enjoy the timeless, carefree Engadin summer here at over 1,800 metres above sea level.

A warm-hearted welcome