Swiss Exceptionalism

Tourism is rebounding vigorously after the pandemic, and we are reminded once again that nobody does tourism and especially Hotels quite like the Swiss.

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AS I AM TYPING THIS — it took me an hour to type that very phrase — I am seated on dry-wood benches, fixated by the same view for an hour. I am near the summit of Mount Pilatus. Behind me stands one of the most exquisite Swiss institutions: Hotel Pilatus-Kulm. Before me, the Swiss Alps fill my view, rugged, a blanket of white with hints of the rocky mountains underneath. The sun has just pierced the horizon, filling the deep blue sky with hues of yellow and pink. It was the most magical sunrise of my existence.

The temperature is -11℃ — the coldest this sea-level, tropical island man has ever experienced. But that does not take away from the profound awe and veneration, bordering on stupefaction, that I felt.

And the more I travel in Switzerland, the more familiar I am with this feeling — that they’ve mastered the art of heightening, both literally and figuratively, the human experience. And that’s why tourism was pioneered here.

And at the heart of Swiss tourism are its exceptional hotels, exceptional in the fact that you’d be hard-pressed to find establishments that can provide similar experiences outside of Switzerland.

In The Mountaintops

HOTEL PILATUS-KULM

Pilatus-Kulm, situated some 2,132 metres above sea level at the top of Mount Pilatus, and a short cable car ride from Luzerne, was built in 1890 and has since grown into one of the most famous names in Swiss hospitality.