The Journal
Historic homes in Graubünden: Engadine & Bregaglia valley
By Marguerite & Alexandre · Published on
Graubünden is a canton of passes and valley-worlds: the Engadine with its famous light, the Bregaglia valley already tilting towards Italy. Along these routes, families built grandly — and two of these houses, to our eyes among the most singular in Switzerland, now open their doors to travellers.
Villa Flor — the seven-room house of S-chanf
Built in 1904 in S-chanf, in the Upper Engadine, the Villa Flor is anything but an ordinary hotel. Original, unique and out of the ordinary, it combines decades of tradition with artistic modernity. Each of the seven rooms is furnished in its own way, mixing family heirlooms, flea-market finds, vintage lamps and classic design pieces. The well-stocked library invites you to linger, and in the evening guests gather in the red salon around your hostess, Ladina Florineth.
At 1,700 metres, at the gates of the Swiss National Park, the villa is an ideal starting point in every season: golf and hiking in summer, cross-country ski trails in winter. Rooms for two, from CHF 330 per night.
Palazzo Salis — 140 years of hospitality in Soglio
On the other side of the pass, in the Bregaglia valley, the village of Soglio clings to the mountainside facing the Sciora range. This is where the Palazzo Salis stands, founded between the 17th and 18th centuries, with more than 140 years of history as a hotel. Its historic gardens are splendid, and its rooms — from the "Historic Rooms" to the "Suite von Salis" — look out onto the garden or the mountains.
The house offers six lodgings, from the small double room at CHF 130 per night to the apartment for eight, with a restaurant on site. One night is enough to understand why people have been coming back for a century and a half; a whole stay, to no longer want to leave.
Engadine or Bregaglia?
Both, if you can: an hour's drive separates S-chanf from Soglio, and the contrast is the whole journey. On the Engadine side, wide-open spaces, the National Park, cross-country skiing; on the Bregaglia side, tight lanes, chestnut trees and stone. Two faces of Graubünden, two houses that tell their story.
Booking
As with all our homes, booking is made directly with the owners from each page. To widen the horizon, our full selection of historic places to stay in Switzerland and our Ticino rustici are only a pass away.
