What makes a great mountain hotel? It is not just luxury, though many of these hotels are among the most luxurious in the world. It is the feeling of a place that could exist nowhere else: a pool that faces the Matterhorn, a glass room beside a Norwegian river, a stone cottage on the edge of a volcano where mountain gorillas live. The best mountain hotels bring you closer to the mountains than you thought possible, and send you home changed.
Our editors have reviewed more than 200 mountain hotels on six continents. These are the 10 we consider the very best in the world, each chosen for its setting, its character and the experience it offers. For a longer list, see our 25 best mountain resorts in the world.
The 10 best mountain hotels in the world at a glance
- Riffelalp Resort 2222m, Zermatt, Switzerland: the Matterhorn from the pool
- Badrutt's Palace, St. Moritz, Switzerland: the original Alpine grand hotel
- FORESTIS, Dolomites, Italy: design and forest wellness
- Cheval Blanc Courchevel, France: the ultimate ski hotel
- Juvet Landscape Hotel, Norway: glass rooms in the wilderness
- Singita Kwitonda Lodge, Rwanda: gorillas and volcanoes
- Zaborin, Hokkaido, Japan: a private onsen in the snow
- Awasi Patagonia, Chile: Torres del Paine, privately
- Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, Canada: the most famous view in the Rockies
- Matakauri Lodge, New Zealand: Lake Wakatipu and the Remarkables
1. Riffelalp Resort 2222m, Zermatt, Switzerland
Best for: couples, skiers, hikers and families
There are many hotels that look at the Matterhorn, but few that feel as though you could reach out and touch it. Riffelalp sits on a sunny plateau 2,222 metres above Zermatt, reached by the Gornergrat railway and then Europe's highest tram, and its heated outdoor pool faces the most famous mountain in the world. In winter it is ski-in ski-out; in summer, the trails lead straight from the door. Zermatt itself is car-free, and arriving here, high above the village, feels like entering another world. Read our review of Riffelalp Resort 2222m.
2. Badrutt's Palace, St. Moritz, Switzerland
Best for: special occasions, families and lovers of Alpine glamour
The Alpine winter holiday was born in St. Moritz in 1864, when Johannes Badrutt bet his English summer guests that they would love the Engadine in winter. His family's Palace, still owned and run by the Badrutts, has been the symbol of Swiss mountain glamour for well over a century, its turreted silhouette rising above the frozen lake. With restaurants including a Nobu Matsuhisa winter outpost and a sixteenth-century farmhouse, a private ice rink and a kids' club, it remains the grand hotel against which all others are measured. Read our review of Badrutt's Palace.
3. FORESTIS, Dolomites, Italy
Best for: couples, design lovers and wellness seekers
High on the Plose above Brixen, surrounded by forest and facing the jagged peaks of South Tyrol, FORESTIS combines a historic early-twentieth-century building with three slender timber towers that rise like trees. Its 2,000-square-metre spa, forest cuisine and floor-to-ceiling views make it the most compelling of the new generation of Alpine wellness hotels. Guests must be 14 or over, and it is a place to slow down completely. Read our review of FORESTIS.
4. Cheval Blanc Courchevel, Courchevel 1850, France
Best for: skiers, food lovers and families
In a resort famous for luxury, Cheval Blanc still stands apart. The original Maison of LVMH's ultra-exclusive collection has just 36 rooms and suites, ski-in ski-out access to the Three Valleys, the largest linked ski area in the world, a three-Michelin-star restaurant, a Guerlain spa and some of the best children's clubs in the Alps. It opens in winter only, and for many skiers it is the hotel of a lifetime. Read our review of Cheval Blanc Courchevel.
5. Juvet Landscape Hotel, Valldal, Norway
Best for: design lovers, couples and photographers
Often described as Europe's first landscape hotel, Juvet is less a building than a series of glass-walled rooms scattered through a forest beside a rushing river, near the fjords of Geiranger. Designed by Jensen & Skodvin to sit lightly on the land, it became famous as the main location of the film Ex Machina. Lying in bed, with nothing between you and the mountains but a sheet of glass, is one of the most extraordinary hotel experiences anywhere. Read our review of Juvet Landscape Hotel.
6. Singita Kwitonda Lodge, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda
Best for: couples, honeymooners and families
On the boundary of Volcanoes National Park, with the forested slopes of the Virunga volcanoes rising behind it, Singita Kwitonda is the most luxurious place in the world to stay for gorilla trekking. Each suite, built of dry stone and timber, has a heated plunge pool and floor-to-ceiling windows, and the lodge has planted tens of thousands of trees to restore the forest edge. An hour with a family of mountain gorillas, followed by an evening by the fire here, is one of the great travel experiences on Earth. Read our review of Singita Kwitonda Lodge.
7. Zaborin, Niseko, Hokkaido, Japan
Best for: couples, food lovers, skiers and wellness seekers
Zaborin reimagines the Japanese ryokan for the twenty-first century. Its name loosely translates as 'a place among the trees to sit and forget', and each of its 15 villas, in a quiet forest on the edge of Niseko, has its own indoor and outdoor hot-spring bath. Soaking outdoors as Hokkaido's famous powder snow falls around you, then sitting down to chef Yoshihiro Seno's Kita Kaiseki, is mountain hospitality at its most refined. Read our review of Zaborin.
8. Awasi Patagonia, Torres del Paine, Chile
Best for: couples, hikers, photographers and wildlife lovers
Awasi is the most private way to experience Torres del Paine, one of the wildest mountain landscapes on Earth. On a 15,000-acre reserve on the edge of the national park, it has just 14 villas, each with an outdoor hot tub facing the granite towers, and every villa has its own guide and 4x4 for the whole stay, so you explore on your own schedule. It is a member of Relais & Châteaux. Read our review of Awasi Patagonia.
9. Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, Banff National Park, Canada
Best for: couples, families and first-time visitors to the Rockies
Few hotel views anywhere are as instantly recognisable: the turquoise water of Lake Louise and, at its far end, the Victoria Glacier hanging between the peaks. The Canadian Pacific Railway built a log chalet here in 1890, and it grew into the grand château that stands on the shore today. In winter, the frozen lake becomes a floodlit skating rink, and the new BASIN Glacial Waters adds hydrotherapy pools and saunas. Read our review of Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise.
10. Matakauri Lodge, Queenstown, New Zealand
Best for: couples, honeymooners, food lovers and skiers
On the shore of Lake Wakatipu, just outside Queenstown, Matakauri looks across the water to the jagged Remarkables. Sister to the celebrated Kauri Cliffs and Cape Kidnappers lodges, it combines intimate suites, an infinity pool, a spa and outstanding food with easy access to the adventures of New Zealand's Southern Alps, from skiing to helicopter flights over Milford Sound. Read our review of Matakauri Lodge.
How we chose
Every hotel on this list has been reviewed by our editors against the same standards: a genuinely spectacular mountain setting, a strong sense of place, exceptional hospitality and an experience you could not have anywhere else. We do not accept payment for inclusion in our editorial selections. Read more about how we choose our hotels.
More of the world's best mountain hotels
For a longer list, from Yosemite to Bhutan, see the 25 best mountain resorts in the world. For each region, see our guides to the Alps, the USA, the Canadian Rockies, South America, Africa, Japan and New Zealand and Australia.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the best mountain hotel in the world?
Our editors' top pick is Riffelalp Resort 2222m, above Zermatt in Switzerland, for its unforgettable view of the Matterhorn, closely followed by Badrutt's Palace in St. Moritz and FORESTIS in the Dolomites.
What are the best mountain hotels in the world?
Our top 10 are Riffelalp Resort 2222m, Badrutt's Palace, FORESTIS, Cheval Blanc Courchevel, Juvet Landscape Hotel, Singita Kwitonda Lodge, Zaborin, Awasi Patagonia, Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise and Matakauri Lodge.
Which mountain hotel has the best view?
Riffelalp Resort 2222m, with its pool facing the Matterhorn, and Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, facing the lake and the Victoria Glacier, have two of the most famous hotel views in the world.
How were these hotels chosen?
Our editors reviewed more than 200 mountain hotels on six continents against the same standards: setting, sense of place, hospitality and a unique experience. Hotels do not pay to be included.
