Switch mode

Like a Fairy Tale - White Turf

In 1907, an exclusive international event took place on Lake St. Moritz for the first time. Now, carried out every year, White Turf is one of Switzerland’s top events. Horses and jockeys from all corners of the globe compete on the frozen lake. It’s a place to enjoy a stroll, clink glasses with friends and acquaintances, to see and be seen a small, elegant world filled with energy, passion and leisure.

Swiss Deluxe Hotels Stories Winter 2020 Like A Fairy Tale White Turf 05 Swiss Image SWS33757 Sw T150 Ecirgb

Everything has its own rhythm. There is a time for everything. Day turns to night. The earth circles the sun. Autumn turns into winter. High tide follows low tide. Similarly, the racing days at White Turf in St. Moritz enjoy their own rhyhm. It changes every half hour. At every full and every half hour, hundreds of visitors pour out of the VIP tents and relocate to the grandstands or the rails of the racecourse. Jockeys warm up with their horses. Bets are made. Tension rises. Shortly before the start you can hear a pin drop. The opening of the start boxes unleashes untamed energy. A murmur goes through the stands. At the rails, spectators cheer on the jockeys and their horses. Jubilation breaks out. The winner is named. Then, everyone returns to the tents. Laughter, chatter and clinking of champagne glasses abounds. And then, again, everyone pours out of the VIP tents and returns to the rails of the racecourse.

Everything has its own rhythm. There is a time for everything. Day turns to night. For guests at the Carlton Hotel St. Moritz, night becomes a fairy-tale experience. Each of the 60 suites faces south with a view of the lake. The evening sky over the opposite mountain range is turning violet and orange, and from the window you can observe last-minute preparations for White Turf on the frozen lake. Each suite is decorated in a different way, colourfully and in a wide range of fabrics. Chic and dreamy, entirely in agreement with the distinctive style of the designer, Carlo Rampazzi. His motto is: when on vacation, if you expect the same drab interior as at home, why not stay home in the first place? However, if you decide to take time out at a five-star hotel, you should be enchanted and feel the magic. Like in a fairy tale, time to feel like a king or queen.

Related Stories

A family legacy, a decade of creation, and a new chapter where fashion meets haute perfumery.

Discover more

Staying in a suite always feels a little like moving into a brand-new home. Small, yes. Temporary, yes. But entirely yours. And best of all, without the planning or the headaches over big questions and tiny details. No delays, no years of waiting. Someone has already arranged everything, planned it all, and executed it to perfection.

Discover more

Spending a summer weekend on the shores of Lake Lucerne is always a good idea. And if you get to check in at the Park Hotel Vitznau, you’re pretty much guaranteed an unforgettable experience. Grab your most glamorous sunglasses and join me!

Discover more

The first time I really noticed, it must have been around 2022. It was during one of the first post-pandemic years, when many of us had been forced – often for the very first time – to ease up on the gas pedal we’d been flooring for decades.

Discover more

There are mornings in Zurich when the lake feels like a mirror held up to the sky, silver grey and perfectly still. The kind of morning that urges you to slow down and look around, to enjoy. And on the second floor of one of the city’s most quietly spectacular hotels, the guests of La Réserve Eden au Lac Zurich will find a new reason to do exactly that.

Discover more

When you think of Bucherer, you think of watches, Swiss precision, and exceptional service. What you might not expect is what lies behind all of that: a living atelier in the heart of Lucerne, where goldsmiths, stone setters and gemmologists have spent their days in quiet, devoted pursuit of some of the finest gemstones on earth – every single day since 1888.

Discover more

Anyone strolling along Lake Geneva on a summer evening feels the magic of the Montreux Jazz Festival. In 2026, it celebrates its 60th anniversary with retrospectives, unique collaborations and exclusive concerts. With freshly renovated venues and new stages, Montreux remains a vibrant meeting place for music lovers and a celebration of sound, soul and spontaneity. Image: MJF Emilien Itim

Discover more