Room type: Grand Deluxe Room

Setting: Well. The Chedi Andermatt is owned by Egyptian billionaire property developer and hotelier Sami Sawiris. Andermatt used to have a large military garrison, and when the military vacated most of the premises, Sawiris bought the terrain, with the aim of developing 6 hotels with >800 rooms in total, ~500 residences, 20-30 villas, and a golf course. The Chedi hotel and residences is the first project that was finished, most of the rest is still under construction.
From my perspective, it’s a huge bet. I am in no position to question Mr. Sawiris business case, but after having seen the development with my own eyes, I would be highly surprised if the investment ultimately pays off. Part of the rationale is that Andermatt can be reached in less than two hours from the Zurich, Geneva, and Milan airports, i.e., is easier to reach than traditional Swiss mountain destinations such as St. Moritz, Gstaad, or Zermatt. Also, given the location in a relatively narrow valley, there is guaranteed snow in winter and a long ski season.
On the other hand, if Switzerland has one thing, then it is an abundance of stunning mountain scenery and picturesque villages. Andermatt has neither. The village is fine, and many buildings have been renovated after the Chedi came, but don’t expect a wooden chalet village. The surrounding mountains are also OK, but nowhere near as impressive as in the traditional Swiss mountain destinations. Overall, I feel Andermatt is a strange choice of location for a luxury hotel. We arrived from Gstaad, and were quite underwhelmed.
Also, the Chedi is open year round, in contrast to the vast majority of mountain hotels in Switzerland that open only for the ski season and for 2 months in summer. At 104 rooms plus residences it is a quite large place, also. Occupancy in 2015 was 30%.
The Chedi itself is very nice, though. It has been designed by Jean-Michel Gathy, and the crossover between Asian and Swiss mountain style works very well. Public space, such as the large lobby with multiple fireplaces, the library, and multiple additional lounges, are all very well executed.
Room: We stayed in a Grand Deluxe Room. We liked the room – classic Jean-Michel Gathy design – but there were also some design flaws. The room was very spacious at roughly 60 sqm. On one side was a bed, on the other side a sofa, and in the middle a low table with four cushions on the floor. The bathroom was semi-open, but could be closed off. There was also a balcony, and an indoor/outdoor gas fireplace. The (complimentary soft drinks) minibar contained a full size wine fridge with a nice selection of wines, and a coffee machine.
I felt the use of the space was inefficient. The room could have easily fit a desk, and 1-2 lounge chairs. We did not use the low table with the cushions – I don’t like sitting on the floor. Room service was uncomfortable – they rolled in a normal height table, but there were no chairs to actually sit at the table. The balcony was not really useful because there was absolutely no privacy at all, with multiple other balconies in plain view. Also, the room was always very dark, despite sunny weather outside, as a result of some wooden sheathing to the façade. Overall, this was a case of form over function – nice to look at, and comfortable enough, but it would have been easy to improve the room without sacrificing the design.
Our room was on the highest floor, but still our view over Andermatt village was a bit underwhelming.

Pool/Spa: Excellent. There is a very large indoor pool (35m long), with plenty of natural light streaming in. There is also a heated outdoor pool. Pool service is very good, with complimentary water and nibbles provided, and a nice choice of drinks and snacks, such as smoothies to order. Pay attention to the wood floor though, which is extremely slippery.
There is also a large spa, that we did not visit.

Food: There are two restaurants on-site, The Restaurant serving both Asian and Swiss dishes, and a Japanese restaurant. We ate in the Restaurant once: an Asian tasting menu, a fusion of Chinese, Thai, and Indian dishes, which we enjoyed. Design of the restaurant again is very nice, and service is attentive. We also had room service, mostly Asian dishes, which were executed well.
Breakfast is a buffet, and is OK, but not exceptional. They make a big fuss about cheese: In the middle of the restaurant, there is a 5 metres high walk-in cheese “tower”, where cheeses are stacked for maturation. The actual cheeses on offer were nothing special, though, unfortunately.
In the afternoon, very tasty cakes are served in the lobby.

Service: Attentive throughout. A young, dynamic team. The only issue we once had was a >20 minute wait for a coffee in the lobby.

Overall: The hotel is great, but this will likely remain a one-time experience for us. I don’t feel Andermatt and the surrounding area are really worth returning to.