Chalet Eugenia

The Chalet Eugenia is a chalet in Klosters[1][2] which has been used by members of the British Royal Family for over three decades.[3][4][5]

Chalet Eugenia
Founded by Baron Bentinck
Chalet Eugenia in Klosters-Serneus
General information
TypeChalet
Architectural styleSwiss Alpine Chalet
LocationKlosters Graubünden
Switzerland
Coordinates46°53′35.66″N 9°53′0″E
Elevation1,179 m (3,868 ft)
Construction started1958
Renovated2014
OwnerRolf Theiler
Height
Top floor5
Technical details
Floor area12,500 square feet (1,160 m2)
(300 m2 Spa Facility)
Design and construction
ArchitectBentinck
Other information
Parking8 cars (Underground)

History & background

Chalet Eugenia was built after World War II and was completed in 1958 by Baroness Thyssen-Bornemisza. It was subsequently bought by the Bentinck family and later sold in 2012 to the Swiss businessman Rolf Theiler.[6]

Style & interior
Chalet Eugenia's stone kitchen & original wood fired oven.

The chalet's interior design dates from the 1950s, and has been largely retained.[7][8][9] The drawing room has a central pillared stone log fireplace leading onto an oak beamed and paneled dining room. The second dining room is equipped with the original wood fired oven.[10][11] Most rooms have their own balconies and terraces with views of the Gotschna mountainous region.[12] In 2006 Tom Robbins described the chalet as "the poshest pad in the Alps".[13] The chalet overlooks the village of Klosters,[14] described by Harper's Bazaar as "the ski resort beloved of the royal family".[15]

Skiing

Chalet Eugenia has a 'Ski in & Ski out' children's Heid Ski Lift[16] directly next to the northwesterly side of the chalet, allowing access to the T-bar lift powered slope.[17][18][19]

Klosters & society

The Klosters ski resort has long been a winter destination for the British Royal Family. Prince William and Prince Harry learnt to ski in the village.[20] Other celebrities who have vacationed at the resort include Paul Newman, Audrey Hepburn, Diana, Princess of Wales, Winston Churchill, Howard Hawks, William Wyler, John F. Kennedy's sister Patricia Kennedy Lawford, Kenneth More, Major Hugh Lindsay, Vivien Leigh, Lauren Bacall, Stavros Niarchos, Carol Thatcher, Georgina Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk, Gregory Peck, Yul Brynner, Kay Kendall, Juliette Gréco, Roger Vadim, David Niven, Robert Capa, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, Greta Garbo and Gene Kelly, who danced on the tables in the hotel bar of the Hotel Chesa Grischuna where Rex Harrison discussed his musical notes for "My Fair Lady" with the hotel pianist.[3]

Producer of 'Gone with the wind', David O. Selznick and his wife Jennifer Jones along with Julie Andrews, Peter Sellers and Britt Ekland were all regulars in the sixties. Irwin Shaw had a street named after him. Billy Wilder came to ski and party in the village every winter, Julie Andrews wrote; "I could have danced all night!" Baroness Joanna von Schenk's chalet has the following quote carved into the wood; "If you were very good in a previous life, God will give you Klosters in the next." Peter Viertel described Klosters as "Hollywood on the Rocks" in his autobiography 'Dangerous Friends' and in 1960 he married Deborah Kerr in the village.[3][21][22]

More recent visitors include Lord Mandelson, billionaires Nathaniel Philip Rothschild,[23] and Peter Munk[24] Benjamin Wegg-Prosser, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, Sir Simon Robertson, Rupert Everett, John Fairchild,[25] Nicholas Wheeler, Chrissie Rucker[26] and Swiss movie producer Marc Forster.[27] In 2009 and 2010 Prince Andrew rented Chalet Eugenia during the Davos World Economic Forum, [28][29] hosting Lord Mandelson and George Osborne during his first visit.[30][31]

See also

References
  1. "The most expensive chalet holidays in Europe". premiumeurope. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  2. "Five Best: Luxury Ski Chalets". The Independent. 3 December 2005. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  3. "High Altitude Society". (March 2013). Vanity Fair
  4. "The best luxury chalets in the Alps". ski-concierge.com. Archived from the original on 2014-08-14. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  5. "chalet eugenia klosters". Leotrippi.com. 2014-08-04. Archived from the original on 2014-08-15. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  6. "Catered Ski Chalet Klosters: Chalet Eugenia". Leotrippi.com. Archived from the original on 2014-08-14. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  7. "How to spend a million". Telegraph. 2003-02-04. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  8. "Klosters and Davos: Conan Doyle and the height of cool". Telegraph. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  9. "Luxury Ski Chalets & Hotels". Ultimate-ski.com. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  10. "Luxury Ski chalet Chalet Eugenia - Luxury Chalets Klosters - The Oxford Ski Company". Oxfordski.com. 2013-01-01. Archived from the original on 2014-11-23. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  11. Fair, Vanity. "Princess Firyal's Friends Defend Her Against Gold-digger Accusations". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  12. "Royal-Group - Chalet Eugenia". Royal-group.fr. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  13. Robbins, Tom. "Tom Robbins: Inside the poshest pad in the Alps | Travel | The Observer". Theguardian.com. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  14. "Chalet Eugenia in Klosters, Switzerland". White Blancmange. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  15. "Chalet Eugenia, Klosters, Switzerland | Harper's Bazaar". Harpersbazaar.co.uk. 2010-08-11. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  16. "Meeting Points/Times – Skischule Klosters". Sssk.ch. 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  17. "Children's ski paradise Davos Klosters". Davos.ch. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  18. "View image: Chalet Eugenia with Princess Diana & Prince Will". Postimg.org. Archived from the original on 2014-08-17. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  19. Raphael, Isabelle. "Growing Up Royal: Childhood Photos of William, Harry, the Queen, and More". Parade.condenast.com. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  20. Bird, Simon (2013-12-17). "Klosters remains a ski holiday resort that's fit for a king - Mirror Online". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  21. "Hollywood on the Rocks Davos Klosters". Davos.ch. Archived from the original on 2014-10-05. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  22. "Royal playground Davos Klosters". Davos.ch. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  23. "Nathaniel Rothschild". Forbes. 2014-07-30. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  24. "Peter Munk: A mining magnate nears the end of his golden reign". The Globe and Mail.
  25. Gordon, Meryl. "John Fairchild, Fashion's Most Angry Fella". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  26. Grainger, Lisa (19 January 2015). "Klosters, Switzerland: inside the White Company's ski chalet". The Telegraph.
  27. "Tara Palmer-Tomkinson's Klosters". Simonseeks. 2009-12-11. Archived from the original on 2014-08-11. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  28. Hardy, Felice (2010-12-01). "Royal resorts - Travel - Life & Style - London Evening Standard". Standard.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  29. Boniface, Susie (2012-01-29). "Prince Andrew represents UK at Davos despite trade envoy role axe over friendship with sex offender - Mirror Online". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  30. "Royal ski resorts: Share a chair with royalty". OnTheSnow. 2012-11-20. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
  31. "World's Sexiest Resorts in Hotel on". Concierge.com. Archived from the original on 2014-08-14. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
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