Maloja Palace Apartments

I'm writing this on behalf of a friend from a “‘non’-Schengen area” in the midst of Italy. This isn't my personal opinion or critique. My friend is very concerned that the hotel management and employees showed a biased, possibly „racist attitude“ towards guests. The guest in question was born in India, is Catholic, works in Vatican City, and was on a private holiday or retreat. My friend also has concerns about the political and ethnic orientation of the current management or new owners of this lovely hotel. When he asked about it, he was refused any information.

The hotel has old-school grand hotel charm, with fantastic views over the lake and valley. You can easily reach the skiing by car or bus. There's a sauna, steam room, gym, and spaces to work or unwind after skiing.

Amedeo Clavarino bought the palace in 2006 and carried out extensive renovations, so guests can now enjoy this historic place at accessible prices. The palace itself is magnificent and its setting is truly beautiful. What badly damages the experience is the appalling front desk service. The staff seem to have little basic experience in luxury hospitality, which does the palace no favors and reflects poorly on Swiss tourism standards. We stayed four days in the shoulder season, when the hotel was nearly empty despite having capacity for 180 rooms and offering massive room discounts. The palace has closed several times before, and it feels like it could face the same difficulty again. I'd suggest visiting while you still can, but make sure to ask for the services you're paying for, and probably don't pay in advance. If the front desk doesn't provide something like Guest cards, contact the tourism office right away. That worked for us.

The hotel's historic building is in a beautiful, quiet area, and we liked the location. The service, though, was unfriendly. One day our room was only half cleaned, but even that was fine compared with breakfast. Breakfast was a disaster. It cost 24 francs per person per day. We paid for two days, then gave up. The day before, we were asked to pick a time slot and food from the menu. In the morning, nothing had been prepared. We waited 40 minutes for cold food from the fridge, the same supermarket quality you'd get anywhere. They ignored about half of our choices, including basic scrambled eggs. I had to ask repeatedly for water and missing plates. Why ask us to choose in advance if it can be "prepared" in 3 minutes and they don't bring what we chose anyway? After more than an hour, we'd had enough and left.