Nestled deeply amongst the formidable backdrop of the Alps is Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, Switzerland’s answer to ‘uber wellness’. Just a short and scenic train ride from Zurich, this leading spa resort sits pretty against the picturesque Tamina Gorge. A 4km hot spring, first discovered in 1242, has provided neighbouring villages with its healing thermal waters for centuries. Renowned for its world-class spa facilities, luxury dining and vitality-focused medical centre, Grand Resort Bad Ragaz guarantees that you check out feeling truly well.
When choosing where to rest your head, the whole resort boasts two five-star establishments, sprawling over beautiful Alpine grounds and gardens, with the windows of each room framing either snow-capped mountains or the lush green hills of the surrounding valley.
The Grand Hotel Quellenhof & Spa is the more modern offering. Contemporary and cool by design, the rooms, suites and penthouses are doused in fresh natural tones and use the nearby thermal water as inspiration, with countless fluid curves and lines reflected within the furniture and decor, creating a new kind of ‘casual luxury’. Many open up to balconies, where a cup of herbal tea can be enjoyed in a fluffy white robe, as you breathe in the freshest alpine air. All while watching the morning sun peak out over the impressive mountain ridge.
For those in search of something authentically Swiss, the Palais Bad Ragaz suites are grand, elaborate and ooze historic charm. The plump furnishings, delicate frieze ceilings and gold-hued marble bathrooms all feed into the luxurious magic of the hotel. A pillow menu is available in each room, where you can select from an ‘anti-ageing pillow’ (down-filled and infused with Vitamin E) or perhaps a ‘pine pillow’ (filled with 100% natural pine wood) to secure the best night’s sleep of your life. Even the bathroom amenities are formulated with the hotel’s thermal water, so you can take the spa feeling back to the privacy of your suite.
Gastronomy is all part of the wellness experience at Grand Resort Bad Ragaz; it’s the only resort in Europe to combine 6 Michelin stars and 1 Green Michelin star under a single roof. Impressive enough? Home to seven restaurants, a bistro and café, each thoughtful plate of wholesome goodness has been curated around the theme of wellness, using only nutrient-dense foods.
Memories (proudly owning 3 Michelin stars) is the food lovechild of chef Sven Wassmer. The elegant restaurant serves up bold Swiss-inspired dishes that form a forever-evolving menu, guided entirely by the seasons. Sven cleverly uses the Alpine forest as his pantry to create the most indulgent sauces you’ve ever tasted – a must-visit.
After something more traditional and charming? Zollstube is a chalet-style restaurant with warm wooden tables and checked café-style curtains. Serving up national specialities such as salty rösti’s, classic fondue and smooth barley soup, all need to be savoured over frosted glasses of Swiss beer.
verve by sven (holding 1 Michelin star) is the meeting place for health-conscious foodies, serving up Alpine-style cocktails and 80% Swiss wines. All ingredients are fair trade and sustainably sourced with flavours that simply dance across your tongue. Highlights include pike perch fillet with beurre blanc potatoes and fern mayonnaise, followed by honey crémeux filled with rhubarb compote and sorrel sorbet.
Exploring the thermal spa at Grand Resort Bad Ragaz is an unmissable experience. Here is where you can immerse yourself in the power of thermal spring water from the Tamina Gorge, feeling the stress unravel, muscles relax and brain fog dissolve. Float around the 19th century Helenabad Thermal Spa, built in luxurious marble. Here the water is 35° celsius, so the specialised mineralisation and specific temperature can trigger positive anti-inflammatory reactions within the body. There is also a sports pool, ideal for the active swimmer, which is maintained at a slightly more refreshing 29° celsius. Or relax in the open air Garden Pool, surrounded by breathtaking views of the Graubünden mountain scenery.
It’s not just hotel guests who can reap the benefits of thermal water. The hotel’s public thermal bath, the Tamina Therme, is integrated within the resort and offers a luxurious assortment of indoor and outdoor pools, hot and cold water baths, textile-free saunas and Nordic kelo houses. This unique hamlet of spas mixes traditional Swiss bathing culture with modern sauna offerings. Cosy up in a log cabin, breathe in essential oil-infused steam and feel the toxins drip from your body one by one, all while gazing out at the snow-capped Alps.
Starting to feel recharged and regenerated? Grand Resort Bad Ragaz also houses a state-of-the-art spa, with a wellness-led menu of treatments. Whilst offering chakra massages, La Prairie facials and seaweed body wraps, a must-try is the Cellcosmet Swiss Back Relax. A deep tissue massage followed by an algae magnesium wrap to redefine and firm the contours of your body. The most delicious 60 minutes of relaxation for the mind, body and soul.
To continue your wellness journey, the resort offers the unique experience of Alpine water tasting. Here, the hotel’s in-house water sommelier guides you through a sensory tasting of spring and thermal waters. Discover the optimum water suited to you and your body as you identify the subtle, unique flavours and textures (yes, there are different water textures) within each glass. Both fascinating and deeply hydrating, it’s a Swiss education unlike no other.
Grand Resort Bad Ragaz is also home to one of the leading healthcare and nutrition centres in Europe. As a guest, you have access to a laboratory of doctors specialising in Orthopaedics, Dental, Pneumology, Vascular medicine, Neurology and Radiology, all right on your doorstep. Serious wellness enthusiasts can enrole in the hotel’s NEWYOU Method® programme, which creates personalised packages based on each guest’s lifestyle, blending holistic practices with preventative medical therapies. The hotel is redefining health retreats, building your transformation around their six pillars of health (harmony, balance, movement, nutrition, power source nature and inner vitality). So it’s really no surprise that the chill seekers flock here to truly rehabilitate in a sanctuary of wellness, medical and culinary expertise.
Words by Sarah Barnes
@resortragaz
Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, Bernhard-Simon-Strasse 20, 7310 Bad Ragaz, Switzerland
Nightly rates £296 based on two people sharing.
