Putting on St Moritz

Clare Milford Haven has some hot tips for those lucky enough to be celebrating Cartier Polo World Cup on Snow’s silver jubilee in St Moritz

Packing for a week in St Moritz during the Cartier Polo World Cup on Snow is no mean feat. Not only do you need at least three different ski suits with all the paraphernalia these entail, but you will also need black tie/long dress, blazer/cocktail dress, swimming trunks/bikini and, most importantly, a full-length fur. Without a fur coat, you are likely to get that same “down the nose” disapproving look you would get if you attempted descending the sacred stairs to Annabel’s in a pair of jeans or entering the hallowed doors of White’s without a tie. Everyone is in mink or chinchilla, darling. CAFT (Coalition to Abolish the Fur Trade) wouldn’t know where to start.

The last time I went to St Moritz, we were flown in a private jet, courtesy of a pre-credit-crunch friend, from Farnborough to Samedan, a small airstrip a few kilometres away from the town of St Moritz. It only took 1.5 hours, which gave us just enough time to drink a bottle of champagne, leaf through Tatler and take the fur out of mothballs.

We stayed at Badrutt’s Palace Hotel. The colossal lobby was teeming with ladies of a certain age, faces as taut as guitar strings, head to toe in floor-sweeping sable and with miniature dogs peering, as wide-eyed as their owners, out of giant Gucci handbags. I had the impression that, although they might head up the mountain for lunch at the very exclusive members-only Corviglia Club, it was unlikely they would be heading back down on skis.

St Moritz is definitely a ski resort with a difference; some might say it’s an acquired taste. Perhaps the most alarming aspect of it is how it defies all those picture-postcard images of a sleepy Alpine ski village – all wooden huts with painted shutters and a one-stop shop selling everything from sauerkraut to lederhosen. Shopping in St Moritz is akin to a wander down Bond Street or Fifth Avenue – just much less stressful. Because here, in the unchallenged fashion metropolis of the Alps, vogue victims will find all the must-have brands in a small area: Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, Tod’s and Bottega Veneta are only a Jimmy Choo step away from each other.

But for those whose buttons don’t get tweaked by high-altitude retail therapy alone, there is, thankfully, the annual Cartier Polo World Cup on Snow which has over the years become the pinnacle of the Swiss winter social calendar.

In 1899, the first polo field was built in St Moritz for members of the British Army whose cavalry regiments played the sport as part of their training as much as for the fun of it. Now the players and up to 20,000 spectators travel from all over the world to compete at and witness this amazing high-goal spectacle on ice at 1,800m above sea level. The heated sponsors’ marquee next to the polo field is the chicest thing ever: cow-hide rugs on the floor, leather sofas, a fully stocked bar and a choice of food so extensive it almost makes Harrods Food Hall look inadequate. The big names in UK polo – the Schwarzenbachs, Vesteys, Hanburys – are all there too. If it weren’t -10°C outside, you could almost imagine you were at Cirencester Park.

For four days in a row, from 29 January – 1 February 2009, the world’s polo elite will be packing their thermals and heading back for the 25th jubilee polo tournament on the frozen lake just below the Palace. The sponsors – Cartier, Maybach, Brioni and Julius Bär – will once again put together some of the best international players. At the moment, the teams are still unconfirmed, although two Swiss players, Guy Schwarzenbach (Brioni) and Philipp Maeder (Maybach), have indicated that they will be appearing.

The horses adapt well to the cold conditions and have the luxury of heated stables mirroring the comforts of the five-star accommodation just across the lake. From a sporting point of view, playing polo on snow is similar to “arena” polo with a large red rubber ball causing havoc with a normally steady swing in windy conditions. The horses have special rubber soles on their shoes to prevent slipping and sliding. For the players, the only addition to the usual kit is ski goggles, an essential in bad conditions – though, historically, the weather has always been great during the week of polo.

After the games, the first stop for après polo is at Mario’s bar in the Palace for one of his special (and lethal) St Moritzino cocktails. Later, the energetic move on to either the King’s Club (also in the Palace), the Dracula Club at the top of the Bob Run, or Chesa Veglia (and its famous private members’ club, Club Privé), which also serves the best pizzas in town. For a nightcap, head to the Steffani Hotel for a bracing cup of Irish coffee.

On bad days, or non-polo days, long lunches of foie gras and caviar are a must at Mathis at the top of the Corvigliabahn, or at the Chasella at the bottom of the chairlift at Suvretta. If you feel you haven’t had enough of the little black eggs, then more caviar and vodka can be had at Glattfelder in the centre of town. In the evening, you can be driven from Sils into the Fex Valley in a horse and carriage or attempt the 6km toboggan run down the Preda Bergün.

And for those who find polo is just not their cup of tea, the Kempinski Grand Hotel des Bains, the new official tournament hotel, has an amazing spa with indoor pool and outdoor Jacuzzi. Or there is skating at the Kulm Hotel and, for the very brave (such as Finch’s Quarterly Review’s very own Henry Sands and Rolf Sachs), the Cresta Run and the Bob Run. Oh yes, and of course, there is always skiing…

– The Marchioness Milford Haven is a contributing editor of Tatler magazine and a polo player

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