Inspired by Musken’s Vietnam trip report and motivated by the terrible weather today, I decided to sit down and write a trip report of my own. Mrs. vienna-resident and I spent a weekend at Chedi Andermatt in early March.

Pre-arrival
We had been looking forward to the new GHM property in Switzerland for quite some time, so we decided to try the hotel immediately after the opening in mid-December 2013. We usually book hotels through DavidO, but the hotel was not a Virtuoso property by fall 2013. We called the hotel to find out if and when they would be. The front office manager handled this enquiry very well, offering not only the main Virtuoso benefit (upgrade upon arrival) for our direct booking, but even extended a confirmed two-category upgrade (Deluxe Room > Deluxe Suite) at time of booking. 

Unfortunately, the opening got delayed by a week, so we had to postpone our stay (to a later date of our choice) after all, but the original rate and conditions were honored, and they offered a bottle of champagne, so we did not mind at all.

Arrival
We arrived by car from Zurich in the evening. Finding the hotel was very easy, and we were immediately welcomed by a bellman upon pulling up in front of the hotel and escorted to the reception. The check-in took longer than expected, for no specific reason. We did appreciate the welcome warm towel and drink, but we generally prefer a more personal sit-down check-in to the somewhat bland ‘standing at the counter’-experience. 


Hotel driveway

It needs to be said that the hotel is absolutely beautiful. It is, of course, very different to the typical Alpine mountain hotels, and although there are some Swiss-inspired design cues (like the vests of the ski room staff, cowhides in the bar, and the traditional ceiling of the main restaurant) the style is very Asian-inspired and contemporary. We always appreciate Mr. Gathy’s style, and the design and materials of the Chedi is truly stunning. We noticed a lot of similarities to Amanoi, which was designed in the same period. 

The lobby is huge, but divided into several smaller sitting areas with fireplaces, so it feels very cozy and comfortable.


Reception area


Lobby


Lobby


Lobby

After a tour of the most important facilities we were shown to the suite, which was also explained in details. This would also have been the right opportunity to inform about the closed Japanese restaurant, which we had been really looking forward to... We only found out about this later.

Interestingly, the baggage arrived only after this, although it must have been at least 25 minutes from arrival until the end of the suite introduction.

The promised champagne bottle (Roederer Brut) was waiting for us in the suite, but already at room temperature, with all ice melted. Housekeeping had not refreshed it during turndown service, and neither did so the next day. Also, while a newspaper was offered at check-in, we never received the requested copy.

Suite
The first impression of the suite was very good. The Deluxe Suites are huge, measuring 100m2, which – I estimate – is divided into a 50m2 living area, 25m2 bedroom and 25m2 bathroom. The living area, with a 7m (!) sofa was larger than necessary for 2 guests, but it would be great for families or hosting private dinners.


Suite


More suite


More suite (note the fireplace)


Suite living area (huge sofa!)


'Mini' bar with wine fridge


Bathroom


iPad room control

The design is quite masculine, lots of wood, leather and earthy colors. Gathy at his best, but sometimes design got in the way of practicality. For instance, we did miss a luggage rack in the closet. The suitcase was placed on floor level, so packing and unpacking was not the most comfortable task. We were very impressed with the iPad room control, everything worked perfectly. Also, we loved the quality and material of the bathrobes and slippers. For those who care about details: bathroom toiletries are by Acqua di Parma and the bed is a Hästens.

As expected, we did encounter some ‘new hotel’ problems, like the shower flooding the bathroom floor or the gas fireplace, which is a great feature, but the flames are so small that they are hardly visible.

F&B
Food was generally very good - good to excellent quality of both Western and Asian dishes, and we particularly enjoyed the Indian food in the main restaurant.

We had all our meals in the main restaurant. Whenever we came there, breakfast or dinner, it was full, and we were lucky to find space at the chef’s table. This might be a problem if the hotel is at full capacity. 


Entrance to main restaurant


The main restaurant (half of it)


Restaurant at night (love the ceiling)


Chef's table

Breakfast is buffet-style with 2 buffet stations (sweet and savory), and warm dishes like waffles, pancakes, and eggs of any style are cooked to order in the show kitchen. Breakfast left nothing to be desired; only the fresh fruit selection was a bit limited (no grapefruit, no mango). On Sundays, the offer a brunch starting at noon, unfortunately we only found out about this after breakfast.

Dinner is à la carte, with a large selection of Western, Indian and Asian items on the menu. 


Setup for Sunday brunch

As already mentioned, the Japanese restaurant was unfortunately closed during our visit. We also received conflicting information about this, ranging from ‘closed because of low season’ to ‘visa problem’, where the latter seemed most plausible. I hope it will be open when vuittonsofstyle visits in April 


Japanese restaurant (closed)

There were a lot of external visitors trying to walk around the hotel, which is why there were “greeters” at the front door, who directed people to the side (bar) entrance. The bar was very popular (crowded) with external and hotel guests in the afternoon and the evening, so we choose to stay in the lobby for more peace and quiet.


Popular bar


The bar in the morning

An individual rooms service order (just a plate of prosciutto, parmesan cheese and grissini) was executed perfectly and to our utmost satisfaction. 

F&B costs are – for Swiss standards – quite reasonable:


Service
Service throughout the hotel was excellent. We were surprised about the large number of Swiss nationals working in all departments of the hotel, who were all very attentive and caring. They were complimented by a lot of international staff members, who had worked at other GHM properties. 

Facilities
The pools (4 of them, 1 large for swimming and 3 spa pools with different temperatures) and spa facilities are stunning. Unfortunately we had no time for any spa treatments (@vuittonsofstyle: products are REN and Alpienne). The main pool will get an outdoor swimming area as well, which is still under construction. 


Main pool


Welcome to the pool area


Outdoor swimming area

In winter, the hotel is of course focusing on skiers. The Nätschen ski lift is a few minutes walk from the hotel, and the hotel offers a shuttle service to the Gemsstock gondola. The Andermatt ski region is however not yet able to compete with the larger ski resorts like Zermatt or Flims. This will be much better once the ski resorts of Andermatt and Sedrun have been connected, which will take a few more years.

The Chedi certainly has the most beautiful ski room we’ve ever seen, where ‘ski butlers’ store and prepare your equipment arrange transfers and give recommendations. While it does look great, it does however still smell like a ski room…


Ski room (evening setup)

There should have been an outdoor ice skating rink in the courtyard according to the hotel renderings (it is actually still mentioned on the GHM website) which Mrs. vienna-resident had been looking forward to, which is not there, we could not find out if it will be added later on.


Hotel from the back side (no ice skating yet)


View from Nätschen towards Andermatt, note the new apartment buildings under construction


Front of the hotel

Verdict:
Considering that the hotel has only been open for 3 months, the level of service is more than impressive. Everything worked smoothly, and all staff members seemed to be very proud of ‘their’ hotel. Apart from some minor issues (like lack of signage in the hallways and the other things mentioned above), Chedi Andermatt is certainly one of Switzerland’s best hotels already. We enjoyed our time and will probably return in summer to see the green side of Andermatt.