Hotel Waldhaus am See, St. Moritz, Switzerland

St. Moritz, SWITZERLAND, is not the sort of place where you expect to spend a budget holiday. That said, an off-season visit allows you to enjoy its glorious setting, soak up its posh ambience and relax at a reasonable cost.

In May ’08 my wife, Paula, and I spent two nights in the 3-star Hotel Waldhaus am See (Via Dim Lej 6, 7500 St. Moritz, Switzerland; phone +41 [0] 81 836 60 00, fax 60 60 or visit [in German only] www.waldhaus-am-see.ch).

Situated on a hill, this hotel offers unobstructed views of the town, its eponymous lake and the surrounding snowcapped mountains and forest. It’s only a 5-minute walk from the train station (the eastern terminus of the Glacier Express), but you can save yourself a hike by arranging for a free pickup by the hotel shuttle. The hotel does have a parking lot.

Our comfortable, clean and quiet lake-view room featured three large windows which could be fully opened for photography or fresh air (there was no A/C) but still provided a tight seal against the unexpected cold and wet weather that arrived several hours after we did.

The room was a bit more spacious than the typical European double room and well furnished with a large and comfortable bed, a desk, a table, three chairs and armoires that provided huge amounts of storage space. There also were a TV, DVD/CD player with a selection of CDs, a radio, a free safe and a mini-bar.

The large bathroom was equipped with a hair dryer, oversized towels, a radiator/towel rack (great for drying laundry) and plenty of countertop and shelf space.

Including breakfast and an extra CHF20 per night for the lake view (absolutely worth it), the rate for our room in off-season, October through May, was CHF210 ($200) per night; add taxes and fees.

Beginning at 7 each morning, an elaborate buffet breakfast in the large dining room provided gourmet coffees and teas, juices (including a noisy juicier with which to squeeze your own orange juice), a cook-it-yourself egg station and many types of breads, cheeses, cereals, yogurts and fruit.

The hotel has an elevator, a PC in the lobby with free broadband Internet access, a sauna, an excellent (albeit pricy) restaurant and, purportedly, the world’s largest whisky bar. Other than a smoking room in the whisky bar, the hotel is nonsmoking. Be advised that we observed several guests with dogs (and often in the restaurant).

STEPHEN O. ADDISON, Jr.

Charlotte, NC