My long weekend begins in Geneva and unfurls east by train along one of Switzerland’s most quietly seductive routes. The line hugs Lake Geneva through Vevey, home of Nestlé, then Montreux, where jazz legends linger and Freddie Mercury still seems to prowl the waterfront. Olympic Lausanne flashes past before the vineyards tighten into the vertiginous terraces of Lavaux, a UNESCO-listed masterpiece of vine cultivation. I doze off and the train eventually slips into Visp, a workaday Alpine hub, whose chief claim to fame is being the birthplace of FIFA technocrat Sepp Blatter. From here the road climbs steadily through the Saastal until, almost theatrically, Saas-Fee appears.
Car-free, pristine and improbably poised at 1,800 metres, Saas-Fee sits on a high plateau surrounded by glaciers and some of the Alps’ most commanding peaks. Electric taxis hum softly through the village, preserving the clean mountain air and lending the place a civilised calm. It was also famously used by Wham! when filming ‘Last Christmas’ in 1984.
Saas-Fee’s credentials are serious. With year-round glacier skiing and around 150km of pistes, it has long been favoured by elite race teams drawn by altitude, consistency and snow reliability. There are 13 ‘Four-Thousanders’ encircling the village – led by Dom (4,545m), Switzerland’s highest peak entirely within the country. It’s an extraordinary natural amphitheatre, earning Saas-Fee its sobriquet: Die Perle der Alpen.
At its heart sits The Capra, a five-star boutique hotel that has quietly become one of the Alps’ most respected luxury addresses. Opened in 2014 by the Norwegian-Greek Letrou family, it was born not of corporate ambition but of a love for Saas-Fee’s authenticity, setting out to create a mountain retreat that felt like a home – only better run!
With just 38 rooms and suites, The Capra is intimate by design. Service is personal, observant and refreshingly unscripted. The family remains hands-on, with daughter Phaedra steering operations, supported by a team that genuinely cares. Ronald ‘Ronnie’ Exenberger, front of house, is exemplary: calm, attentive and effortlessly warm. There are more than 50 staff for those 38 rooms, and you feel it in the small courtesies and anticipations. Phaedra’s ambition is simple: guests should feel less like customers and more like friends staying in an elegant Alpine home.
Interiors balance contemporary Alpine design with deep comfort: wood, stone, wool and leather, beautifully lit and never overwrought. Every room has a balcony – essential when the views are this commanding. The name Capra, from the Latin for mountain goat, nods to the sure-footed Walliser black-neck goats and to a philosophy of harmony with the landscape.
Food plays a central role. The all-day bar menu is a triumph of comfort. Classics are done properly: Swiss onion soup with Gruyère croutons; Barsch, the delicate Swiss lake fish; and crisp Greek salads, a quiet nod to the family’s heritage. It’s the kind of menu that understands skiers – digestible, satisfying, unfussy.
Then there is the cellar. On selected evenings, guests descend for Nonna’s raclette and fondue night, a convivial ritual cooked to secret recipes learned from an elderly local woman in the village. Cheese is scraped and wine flows – all gloriously unforced and exactly what Alpine hospitality should be. ‘Ronnie’ is proud that around 80% of the wine list comes from Valais, forever committed to local producers. The Capra was recently recognised with two Michelin Guide Keys, with commendations for food at both The Wine Cellar and Brasserie 1809.
The Peak Health Retreat spa is where The Capra truly hits its straps. It is respected as one of the Alps’ finest hotel spas. Pool, sauna, steam room, cold plunge and serene relaxation spaces are complemented by expert treatments designed for altitude recovery and ski-weary limbs. Few pleasures rival floating in warm water while snow drifts past the windows.
Our group were cajoled into an 8am ‘face-mask’ yoga session. In partnership with chic Parisian cosmetics brand Biologique Recherche, a revitalising mask helps with the altitude and normalises your skin pH. I have never felt so stretched and warmed up for skiing. But three espresso macchiatos normally do the trick!
Spa manager and yoga teacher Ann-Kathrin Brüggemeier says, ‘The Peak Health philosophy is about re-setting. We tailor the treatments completely to the needs of the individual.’ Therapies focus on nutrition, integrating Alpine medicinal plants (harvested in the nearby forests traditionally used to ease inflammation, respiratory issues, insomnia and joint pain), traditional massage techniques using local honey and aromatherapy. Ann-Kathrin expertly administered the most complete, 90-minute mixed massage I’d ever had, quickly correcting my travel-disturbed digestion and sleep.
Skiing logistics are handled with similar aplomb. The Capra has its own heated ‘ski locker’ hut by the nursery slopes. Boots are warm and ready each morning and there’s no lugging heavy kit back to the hotel at teatime. If you’re feeling lazy – or simply civilised – the hotel’s own electric taxi ferries guests discreetly around the village. More fresh coffee awaits in the hut if you struggle to function adequately with these Swiss start times! On the mountain, Saas-Fee doesn’t disappoint. Lunch might be at Allalin, high and dramatic; Spielboden, sunny and sociable; or the historic Schäfferstube.
Coincidentally, I celebrated my birthday here, which felt less like indulgence and more like whole body and mind realignment. Between the journey, the peaks, the spa, the skiing and the people, The Capra delivered my kind of relatable luxury at every turn. It kept tempting me off the mountain with crackling fires, nourishing food, a blissful spa and staff who somehow remembered everything. Missing first lifts has rarely felt so entirely justified.
