Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby (2017–…): Season 2, Episode 3 - Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, Switzerland - full transcript
Monica and Giles travel to the foothills of the Swiss Alps to visit this luxury spa hotel that also offers guests sleep therapy, Olympic-standard sports facilities and even surgery.
All over the world,
there are remarkable hotels.
Born of bold vision and daring endeavor.
Wow. This is how I want to live.
Whether it's one of the remotest hotels
on Earth hidden on a Pacific island…
Or a sumptuous resort on one of
the highest mountains in the Middle East.
What an incredible view.
The people running these hotels
strive to create the perfect sanctuary.
But what does it take
to offer once-in-a-lifetime experiences
in stunning locations?
Construction was a logistical nightmare.
No water, no source of power.
I'm a restaurant writer,
newspaper columnist, and critic.
I have opinions on just about everything.
He's not a very good driver is he?
-Crazy!
-Crazy!
-Crazy!
-Crazy!
And I'm a chef who's worked
at the top end of the hospitality industry
for, well, over 20 years.
This is awesome. Whoo!
We'll travel to amazing hotels
in every corner of the world.
Enjoy.
To spend time getting to know
the people working away behind the scenes.
I polished Elton John's fruits.
You polished Elton John's fruits.
Do you recall life under an apartheid?
Has it changed for you?
Nelson Mandela
was the first black president.
…gives me more inspiration
to achieve what I want in life.
-Join us as we venture inside…
-The world's most extraordinary hotels.
Switzerland. One of the most
mountainous countries in Europe.
A landscape of towering beauty.
Those peaks with the sun dappling them and
green underneath that's like, pure ideal.
It's beautiful.
Lots of cheese to be had. Clean.
-Possibly some beers.
-Cheese and beer and cleanliness.
-Yes.
-These seem to me like Swiss expectations.
-Chocolate.
-Chocolate.
But where we're going,
it's not about pure indulgence.
We're in the foothills of the Alps
on our way to the spa town of Bad Ragaz.
Overlooked by the spectacular
Tamina Gorge, visitors have flocked here
since the 13th century to take advantage
of the mineral rich thermal water.
Tapping in to that local asset
is the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz,
one of the world's most
exclusive health and wellness hotels.
It should be a mind
and body rehabilitation for us.
-Right, we can do this.
-After our stressful life in other hotels.
-Welcome to Grand Resort Bad Ragaz.
-Hi. Thank you very much.
There's been a hotel here since 1868.
Nowadays, there are two luxury spas.
Two golf courses,
and Olympic standard sports facilities
to boost fitness and endurance.
This modern-day temple to wellness
sprawls across an 187-acre site
with three separate hotels.
The most expensive rooms
are the top suites,
costing up to 10,000 pounds a night.
For those guests who want
a more indulgent break,
there's a wine cellar,
a cigar lounge, and nine restaurants
including the innovative
Michelin-starred IGNIV.
But ultimately, it's the hotel's wellness
credentials that make it stand out.
It has an inhouse team of 80 medical staff
offering everything from sleep therapy
and dietary advice to surgery.
Presiding over a staff of 777
ranging from doctors to porters,
is general manager
and local boy Marco Zanolari.
It's much more than just a hotel.
It's a destination in itself,
it's a lifestyle. The combination
of medical, hospitality,
sports, water, are much appealing
to a lot of guests
than just a hotel and a nice beach.
Before we start work, I want to know
what has lured the well-traveled Marco
-back to Switzerland.
-Hello.
-Giles, how are you?
-Very well, how are you?
-Good thank you, please come in.
-What's all this on the wall?
-These are all your holidays?
-It's all the places I worked at.
The Middle East, the US,
Greece, Maui, Los Angeles, Miami.
I have a long relationship with
this hotel. I grew up here, I'm a member.
Did you use to come here
as a child really?
Yes. I've been a member
at the golf club for 33 years.
So for me, it's truly a coming home.
The position was published
in the newspaper,
my mother saw it and told me,
-"Why don't you come home?"
-Still at your age, after 33 years
in the golf club, your mom
is getting you the job.
-So, is she around here?
-My parents, my brother,
everybody lives in one town over.
But it seems the hotel's
distinctive focus on health
was a big part of the attraction.
So how does it compare, coming back here?
Do you think you have an ethos?
It's a different expectation of luxury,
I think truly people will get to a point
in their lives where you ask yourself,
"Can I become more energetic?
Can I be healthier?"
True luxury is time for yourself,
true luxury is how much quality time
you spend with your loved ones,
and what can you do to increase
your time with your loved ones.
I think it comes down
to this unique question.
I'll be able to help people,
to help out do some stuff and maybe
-I can have some treatments as well.
-I'm sure you will.
I'm sure you will,
you will look so much younger.
Do you think? Surely that's not possible.
Whilst we are working here,
we will be staying in the spa suites.
It feels like a healthy place to be,
being away from the city,
and a village that's so green,
you can imagine people hiking.
I kind of feel like I should yodel.
Here, health considerations are built in.
The bed's gradiated firmness can be
altered at the touch of a button.
-Legs are going up, look at that.
-And there is a pillow menu
as the hotel strives
to ensure the perfect night's sleep.
Anti-allergy pillows, right.
A pine pillow,
I want to try a pine pillow.
Filled with 100% pine wood. Maybe I don't.
Beneficial for the heart,
soporific, and revitalizing.
-Water is piped directly from the gorge.
-Shower. Thermal water.
It's also clearly a steam room,
load of controls, so you can come and have
a proper schvitz.
Jacuzzi, massive, thermal water again.
Loo, thermal water?
Possibly not. Who cares?
And here, there is my own personal sauna.
Literally like cut off the corner
of a pukka sauna. I don't ever have
to leave my room and I can have
the healthiest holiday I've ever had.
Of course a spa in your bathroom
is a typically efficient Swiss innovation.
It starts in banking,
it starts in watches,
I think the reputation of Switzerland
being very exact and precise
has helped us as a brand in Switzerland
to attract guests to come and visit.
And it's that precision that the team
attempts to bring
to every morning meeting.
We have Mr. Fogarly arriving. Evian.
Just Evian, no other water inside.
We have people in this resort
that have been here for the last 45 years.
We are able to create
the family environment
yet with all the amenities
one would wish for.
As for her, she was a little bit sick
the last few days.
Thanks to Andy, we will play golf with her
as her husband passed away last year
so she feels a little bit lonely.
Make sure it's not an easy competition
but make sure she wins.
Meticulous pre-arrival planning
is just one element
of attending to guests' well being.
Once they're on site,
there's a team of five butlers
providing 24-hour room service.
-Hello?
-My first job is to work alongside Irina.
-Hi.
-Hi, Monica.
-The hotel's very own pillow butler.
-I'm really good.
-You're looking very good.
-Yeah?
I never get used to the amount
of tunnels under hotels.
The butlers can walk up
to 25 kilometers per day.
We don't need to go to the gym
because we always…
You're always constantly
walking through here.
-Walking.
-Wall of fame.
That's what I said.
Please you can go in.
This is our pillow stock.
So then the guests,
they can request a pillow?
Guests call us and order the pillow
or they just said, "I can't sleep",
we bring pillow during the night as well.
The hotel believes good sleep is key
to a healthy life.
-And offers 14 different kinds of pillows.
-Eucalyptus.
Each one is supposed
to have different benefits.
Eucalyptus to help your breathing.
Lavender to prevent migraines,
-and thyme to alleviate coughing.
-Yes, oh my gosh.
It really does smell like thyme.
That's amazing.
And of course,
the guests' most requested option.
-That is the anti-aging pillow?
-Yeah.
Now we're talking, it's no wonder
this already looks like a magic pillow.
-Yes and I give you also.
-I need it?
It's loosely stuffed
and treated with vitamin E
supposedly allowing the guests face
to breath whilst they sleep.
I can feel the effect already.
We have guests now, she called me
and she ordered anti-aging pillow.
The anti-aging pillow,
they must be high in demand.
Do a few of them go missing?
-Sometimes, yes. But…
-I like the way you held back on that.
Anti-aging pillow coming through.
Of course, choosing where to rest
a weary head at night
is important for guests.
But the real star attraction
is the thermal water.
Locally known as blue gold,
it's everywhere you look.
Flowing out of drinking fountains,
in the hotel's very own beer.
And of course, the hotel's centerpiece,
the eight-and-a-half thousand
square meter spa.
Over seven million liters pour
into the nine pools every single day.
The hotel believes
the water helps circulation
and can ease conditions
such as rheumatism and arthritis.
275,000 guests and locals benefited
from the water last year,
all under the watchful eye of spa manager
Robert Heinevetta.
This is quite special. All this water
the mountain is giving to us,
we all use it. Everybody, from us,
the hotel, the workers,
everybody here
is only because of the thermal water.
It's really blue gold.
Along with running this spa,
Robert is a well renowned
sauna infusion specialist.
But there is one job here that he thinks
really sets the place apart.
-And he wants me to give it a go.
-So, what we have here,
this is actually, for me,
the most important thing also in Termina
because this is the long tradition
we're giving the guests a hot sheet.
-Okay.
-But it's like that normally.
-Right.
-Now this is important
-that we're giving the sheet like this,
-Yeah.
and we have a small contact.
It was nice, you feel good, this is nice.
You can contact again, okay.
It's not that we're doing like this
and say, "Have a nice day."
This is not nice.
You need to do it from your heart.
Before each sheet can touch
a guest's shoulders,
-it's heated to a cozy 85 degrees.
-Did you have a good time?
-Yeah. Thank you.
-Is that all right?
All right, off you go.
Okay.
I'm going first to do something,
and you can stay here a little bit.
-You trust me to do this on my own?
-Yeah.
Hoopla.
Okay?
Welcome.
Who knew it was so stressful
to open a sheet for people?
Oh, no. I'm getting busy.
I've got another one.
Voila.
All is good?
Okay?
I've done many jobs throughout hotels now,
but I've never been made
a chief hugger in a spa.
A warm sheet,
give them a hug, send them off.
Makes you feel good, I feel good. Next.
Monica may be embracing her work,
but I'm going to meet
chief engineer Reto Schwengeler
for something a lot less touchy feely.
-Hey.
-Hi. How are you?
This is the brain of the whole hotel.
The water for the hotel
comes from the nearby Tamina Gorge.
Reto regulates the all important flow
into the complex.
-What is this?
-This is the source of the thermal water.
This is the gorge, and that's the shape.
It's a sort of cavern.
Here you can see the actual levels.
That's the bottom of the reservoir, is it?
-If the water is here.
-You're in trouble.
-Yeah.
-Does that ever happen?
No never. We hope that never goes.
-That's the big no-no.
-Yeah.
Then this whole thing just comes
crumbling to the ground.
Can you show me the button you have
to push to stop all the water?
So he's going to get the guy out
who's going to log in
and show me the button
where you can actually stop all the water,
which is basically pure
James Bond-villain territory.
Turn off the water and then charge
a million pounds to turn it back on again.
-If I hit the okay…
-Hit it.
-Really?
-You can see it, yes.
No percent water, really? That's like
I've cut off the water to the resort.
The way it is, half an hour,
you have time now.
Half an hour, now is when I make
my call to the manager to say
if you don't deposit in my Swiss account
a billion francs, yeah. Cool.
Reto having talked me
out of my dastardly scheme,
we're heading up the gorge
for the weekly check on the source itself.
-It's very beautiful.
-Yep.
-Are there bears? Bears?
-Bears? No.
-No bears.
-No.
-Okay, fine. It's just amazing.
-It is. I love it.
In the 13th century, the sick
were lowered down in baskets
to bathe for days on end
in the steaming pools.
In 1840, they decided to make it
a bit more convenient and wooden pipes
were used to channel the warm water
in to Bad Ragaz itself.
For 120 years, these wooden pipes
supplied the hotel,
finally being replaced only in the 1960s.
Reto's futuristic system
was installed in 2014.
And this must have been a huge endeavor
to put this pipe in.
Yeah, it was really strong guys.
They put it there by hand.
I guess you can't get a machine
down here, can you?
-This was all hand work.
-I think there's a leak there.
Our first job is to check the pH balance.
Too much acidity will corrode the pipes,
turning the hotel pools green.
Too much alkalinity, and the guests
will have stomach complaints.
-Blip. Perfect.
-Perfect.
We have tested the neutrality of the water
and it is pretty much neutral at 7,3.
Perhaps no surprise,
given we're in Switzerland.
-I mean, does the water change?
-No. Then we know something is wrong
because Switzerland is like a watch.
After all this clinical efficiency,
the raw power of nature
is even more stunning.
Yeah, that's amazing.
That is like the Bat Cave.
Yeah. Around 1240,
the hunting man saw the steam
on the top of the gorge,
and he was wondering
and thinking what's down here.
And he comes down and found the hot water.
And he goes back to his guys,
tell them "I found hot water",
and they think he is crazy
or really scared to go down here.
Some of it's closed, and then some of it
you can see right up to the light.
Imagine Swiss hunters look down
and they see hot water
which you can't have in the 13th century
without boiling it over a fire, amazing.
And they thought immediately being Swiss,
"We build a huge, very efficient hotel."
It doesn't matter how high tech
the system, Reto still checks in person
-that the water is flowing freely.
-I love to go behind
-and get to the real stuff.
-Yes.
As we're near the source
you can feel the heat rising.
-That's hot.
-It's hot water, yeah.
-That's really hot.
-36,5.
-36,5?
-Yes.
Get in close, with your hand.
It's amazing that the water is just
so clear and hot, and just quite spooky.
It's not just in the hotel spa
that water plays a central role.
-A Manhattan.
-I will have a G&T please.
I'm sorry I've got only mineral water.
Butler Irina also works
as a water sommelier.
So this one is called Henniez.
Sparkling.
The hotel believes water
is not just beneficial to bathe in.
Heated by geothermal activity, it rises
from deep within the earth's crust.
Passing through rocks, and collecting
health giving minerals en route.
We have still, medium sparkling
and sparkling water.
I've never heard of medium
sparkling water.
Petillant? Isn't that
what they call in France?
-Oh, is it?
-Yeah.
That's more… It's more… I haven't
really got the words to describe water.
Irina serves over 30 different varieties,
some from the source,
including bicarbonate-rich waters
which can help with a hangover,
and those high in sulphur,
good for curing indigestion.
I like sparkling water. I don't drink
a lot of it, but main reason is
-I burp a lot.
-That's a good thing.
It depends. When you're in the middle
of a restaurant, it's not good.
If the water has low bubbles
actually, it doesn't.
-So, this is for me.
-Yes, and also this water is a best
-dinner or lunch companion.
-Why?
It's medium mineralizated, and it's just
a good companion with the food.
Don't disturb the taste of food.
Is there a correct temperature
for drinking water?
-I mean, I like nice, cold water.
-If we drink warm water
or 36,5 degrees water, it means
it's the same body temperature
so the body feels calming.
Irina can even recommend the right type
of water to accompany different wines.
So you reckon the water is going
to change the taste of the wine?
Exactly. Because of the minerals.
Each mineral has a different taste.
-I drink this first.
-First, water. Please make a big sip.
And then wine,
and then after wine, water again.
I'm getting the lemony-ness
of the Riesling at the moment.
There's slightly this sort of acidity.
It had more of this
sort of a fuller Riesling flavor.
-Excuse me.
-It's a bit embarrassing.
See, that happens to me if I drink it.
Chin chin, thank you.
Switzerland is one of the healthiest
countries on earth
with the highest male life
expectancy in the world.
The Swiss spend more money on health
than any other European nation.
But the hotel's facilities also attract
a high number of international guests
including some permanent residents.
We can take the elevator.
One of the hotel's most valued guests
is about to arrive.
And VIP butler Karina needs to make
sure everything is fit for a king.
Normally, I'm faster.
Her guest is a Middle Eastern Prince,
and she has served him
on each of his last three visits.
It's a banana chocolate cake
because he loves bananas and chocolate.
It's a top VIP. We never know it exactly,
but they will come with
about 300 pieces of luggage.
As always, he will occupy
the entire top floor of the spa suites
where for 10,000 pounds per night
he would get 600 square meters
of floor space, 360 degrees of balcony,
and a thermal water jacuzzi.
It's hot. And it's clean.
When he's here, I will be here to care
about the preparations for the breakfast,
then I will serve the breakfast,
then I will guide him
through all the appointments.
I'm with him till he gets back
to the suite and then he will tell me,
"I don't need you any longer, Karina."
And then it's time for me to go home.
Before the Prince's arrival,
General Manager Marco checks the rooms
to ensure everything is up
to the hotel's exacting standards.
It's the little touches
that we try to get right.
For example, if your sunglasses are out,
it's nice if they're cleaned.
Do you see it? Maybe, maybe not.
But you see the world a lot clearer
when you walk out.
Okay, what's the…
The strength of the bed?
Does he prefer hard or soft?
-He's always taken it hard.
-Okay, so that's pre-programmed.
Put the initials on one side
of the pillow, please.
That would be a nice touch, so he has
a nice pillow memory from Bad Ragaz.
-Yeah.
- Overall, if a guest feels comfortable
and you come home and you felt, "Wow,
that was a very unique experience
and I would like to return",
we have definitely done our jobs.
One of the most important and unusual ways
the hotel keeps high-end guests
coming back is their ultra
modern medical center.
No sausage dogs.
Clinic Bad Ragaz.
Yeah, so you've got sort of allergology,
allergies, Schlafmedizin's sleep medicine,
Lungenkrankheiten, lung disease.
But then gynaecology,
special gynecology and oncology.
I mean, cancer doctors.
Yes, dermatology, skin care,
lasering and stuff, but neurology?
Perfect smile.
Got one of those, don't need one.
But it's a radiology unit, it's plastic
reconstructive surgery, orthopedic.
I mean, that's more than they've got
in my local hospital, let alone a hotel.
For the Swiss, good living
is a national obsession.
Their insurance-based health system
is one of the best in Europe.
Combining a medical center and a hotel
is at the end of the day,
adding another experience.
The combination that you can improve
your wellbeing, your energy level,
your performance within
a beautiful environment, it's a win-win.
The hotel's clinic employees 30 doctors.
This medical one-stop shop also offers
cosmetic treatments and surgery.
For the guests, receiving treatments
away from the prying eyes of neighbors
can have its advantages.
I think confidentiality is the backbone
of any hotel operation
or any medical operation. It's the trust
of your guests, you cannot betray.
You go on a vacation,
you can visit a doctor,
and not your whole neighborhood knows
what you have done.
So, you could just come back
and you look much better
that was just
the beautiful water of Ragaz.
I'll be working with
Dr. Christian Hoppe, hotel doctor,
and head medic of
the Swiss Olympic Medical Center.
He is a specialist in sports
medicine and rehabilitation,
he's been practicing for over 20 years.
We have people from China,
from India, Brazil,
all over the world. But the main part
coming from Middle East,
they're looking for a different approach.
It's a fact that people work hard,
and if people have only
four weeks' vacation every year
then they should use this four weeks
to make progress.
Retired banker Rolf Baumann
and his wife Joy have been coming here
for more than 30 years.
-It's very important. We met here.
-Yes, exactly. We met here.
-We met here.
-She came in,
I knew I have to make something.
I shouted over the bar,
she was ordering a coupe,
a glass of champagne.
And then I said, "That's on my bill."
Very rude, you know. But I went to her,
introduced myself, and then it starts.
-Then it was okay for me, yes.
-And we decided to get married.
Here.
-Mr. Baumann?
-Hi, come in.
Currently, Mr. Baumann
is concerned about his weight.
-Morning.
-Morning.
You're especially interested
in losing weight a little bit.
-Yes.
-How old are you?
Seventy-four.
What was your highest weight
you've ever had?
-Eighty-seven.
-And now?
Eighty and a half.
And I was down
about one and a half year on 76.
-Seventy-six, I think it's too low.
-You were 87, and you're now 80 kilos.
You want to lose weight,
but 76 kilos is too little.
-Yes, actually.
-So, you want to lose two kilos?
But I would like to keep 78 for example.
We can go now and measure your weight.
-Okay, what's your first name?
-Rolf.
-Rolf Baumann?
-Yes.
-Sir, how tall are you?
-182.
You see, I'm 178 and I weigh
the same as you, so I'm the fat one.
-You are too heavy.
-Yeah, I'm the fat one.
We need to disrobe, don't we?
It's telling him
he's got to stand still, and not speak.
It's the music
the computer is playing while it thinks.
Magermasse der Beins?
Das Bein is a leg. Is it telling you
the weight of the legs?
-Yep. It will show you.
-His weight, his legs weigh 19 kilos.
-Does that mean finished?
-Yes.
-Yes. Okay.
-100% now.
Oh, look.
What does that mean, print?
You don't really need doctors
with this kit, do you?
I mean. I could…
Danke schön, Herr Baumann.
-Can I go on this later?
-Yeah.
This is his InBody test,
and he's stood on there,
it's passed electric currents through him,
it's broken down his body,
the weight of his right arm,
left arm, trunk, right leg, left leg,
I've often told myself
when I come up as 12,5 stone
"I've just got heavy legs."
But we're going to find
that out about Mr. Baumann.
His body composition in water
and everything else, muscle, fat analysis.
It's brilliant.
Fortunately for Mr. Baumann,
Dr. Hoppe has good news.
Oh, man. I want to have this test.
Mr. Baumann has a BMI of 24
that's just perfect.
You even could have two, three kilos more.
So, you're really
in a comfortable situation,
I will be happy in your age
if I have the same levels.
But it's cost 1,000 pounds
to find that out.
I'm very glad to have this information,
I'm on the right direction.
I can't help wondering if having
all these examinations on tap
has the potential to prey
on guest's anxieties.
-Do you get a lot of hypochondriacs in?
-Yes. No, really.
It's a problem,
but it's our job to tell them
that they don't have
to spend their whole money.
Because I know people who, if they came
to somewhere like this they'd go,
"God, I could have an MRI scan, I could
have little operations here and there."
Yeah. People, they say "I pay
for myself." I guess this king,
he or she can have what they want,
but it's my job as a doctor,
when I like my patient,
to tell him or her what really makes sense
and what's "spend money for nothing".
For patients like Mr. Baumann,
food and diet are central to their stay.
In this hotel, there's a choice
of nine restaurants staffed by 85 chefs
and overseen by executive chef
Renato Wüst.
Renato has created a bespoke
health menu called Cuisine Equilebree.
It has over 700 carefully-balanced recipes
and that no meal exceeds 600 calories.
He works hand in hand
with hotel nutritionist Sonja Ricke.
As a nutritionist, I have
a special relationship to the kitchen,
I'm somehow a ping pong ball
between the guests and the kitchen.
Sonja's job is to police the chefs,
ensuring the desire
to please their guests' taste buds
is not to the detriment
of the rest of their bodies.
There is really no unhealthy food,
and there is really no healthy food.
The only thing is that there is food
we have to manage the quantities.
I'm helping Sonja and Renato
prepare one of their menus.
We always have a three-course menu
within Equilibree.
Starters, a main dish, and a dessert.
And all the three courses
have less than 600 calories.
-600 calories?
-All together.
-All three courses.
-Oh, wow. That's impressive.
The starter is an asparagus soup
with ginger, at just 137 calories.
Renato is only allowed to add
five grams of olive oil to start it off.
Very good, chef. Good try.
I was trying to, you know, distract her.
It's very good. That's very good.
The main course
consists of lean veal steaks
containing roughly half the calories
and 75% less fat than beef.
This is accompanied
by a Swiss potato rosti.
In the recipe you have 20 grams.
It's quite funny.
There's Renato who's cooking,
and everything he is adding,
a bit of oil, a bit of cream,
Sonja has got her eye on it.
Nice.
For dessert, guests will be served
an exotic fruit salad
with a papaya and champagne smoothie.
-So, champagne in here?
-Yeah.
Champagne smoothie,
I like the way you're thinking.
So, you're allowing a bit of indulgence
at the same time, a little bit?
Even the lemon thyme garnish
has medicinal qualities.
This is a herb to digest very well,
so you can eat the herbs
and the digestion is also activated.
They control me. I don't put so much oil,
not so much butter,
not so much cream inside.
Thank you, my dear.
-Well done, guys.
-I guess what it is
that the people are looking for in their
stressful lives, is they come here
and the worry of trying to eat healthy
is taken out of the equation.
Someone else is doing it for you
behind the scenes,
and you get to sit back, relax, and enjoy.
Whilst guests may rely on Renato's
600-calorie menu to keep the pounds off,
he uses a scooter to get
from one restaurant to the next.
I have a restaurant,
I make only Swiss cuisine.
Hello.
I have another restaurant
where I make only Thai cuisine.
And then here we have
Michelin star restaurant IGNIV.
-IGNIV means "the nest".
-The nest.
For those guests seeking
the ultimate indulgence,
IGNIV, overseen by the three
Michelin starred chef Andreas Caminata,
is a shared plate fine dining experience,
and is the talk
of the Swiss culinary scene.
Of course, its about more than food here,
and the hotel's scientific approach
to looking younger is almost
as well known as its cuisine.
I'm meeting lead dermatologist
Brigitte Bollinger.
When you look in the mirror,
what are you seeing?
What it's not right in your face?
I think eventually I'm going to start
getting more and more wrinkles
-as life goes on.
-Yeah.
For your age I think you can start it
with a kind of treatment
to improve the quality of your skin.
Brigitte thinks natural fillers
might be the best thing for my face.
The best areas are the stomach
or the bottom.
-That's the premium fat?
-Yes.
Okay this will be like Galetti fat,
I'll have to charge premium for that
-if anyone's going to use that.
-Okay. We don't need too much.
-We need 30 milliliters.
-Instead of having chemicals,
you take your own booty fat
and separate it.
-And put it in your face.
-You take your own filler.
-That's so interesting.
- Who knew you could check yourself
in to a hotel, have face implants,
and then check out, and no one would know.
Whilst last year the hotel
provided over 200 guests
with facial fillers, it's not one for me.
I'm going to settle
for the facial for now.
The hotel offers a full body health check,
it's a barrage of examinations
including specimen tests for your organs
as well as cardiovascular monitoring.
It costs 1,500 pounds,
and is designed to give you
a sense of your life expectancy.
Is there something specific
you would like to know?
Basically, how long have I got, Doc?
It's what I'd like to know.
I go away from my family to come
to these fancy hotels and, you know,
I think they might worry that
the lifestyle is taking its toll on me.
I'd like to be able to go back
and tell them it's okay, I'm fine.
What makes sense is to know
about your cardiopulmonary performance.
Is that good or bad?
And therefore, I would suggest
that we do a stress test.
A Dr. Hoppe stress test involves
having my own body composition measured.
Before being wired up to
an electrocardiogram, and made to cycle.
This is fascinating, this is brilliant.
I can see why people do this on holiday
because it's all about me.
It's much better than lying on a beach
-drinking Piña Coladas.
-Absolutely.
But it's not long before things
get a little bit tougher.
I'm just breathing hard
for stage effect, it's not really bad.
You still talk and talk.
I can't believe it.
Now it's up to you, you can continue
or you can… Keep going.
Sleep is also seen
as being vital to good health
so the final stage of assessment
happens at night.
Just bring my dinner through
and put it anywhere.
-Hey, good evening.
-I'm going to be wired up
for a sleep assessment by the hotel's
very own sleeping specialist,
Dr. Mark Daeppen.
A close colleague of Dr. Hoppe.
So, how does this work?
Why do you need to know about my sleep?
It's very important if you want
to live long that you have a good sleep.
So why am I doing this
in a hotel, not a hospital?
Hospital, it's still a hospital
where they have their routines,
ward rounds during night shifts,
and nurses are stepping in.
And so you don't really get
the quality of sleep.
You sleep much better
and we have better results.
Okay. Good.
My sleep patterns will be recorded
throughout the night
by 60 electrodes stuck to my head
to measure my brain activity.
I feel like I'm being prepared
for a lobotomy.
My heart rate and breathing patterns
will be measured through pads on my chest.
And sensors on my legs will gauge
how much I move in the night.
Okay, very gently.
Finally, I am forced to wear
this cotton mesh cap.
Purely for fashion reasons.
-Your night cap.
-Yes, night cap.
How do I look?
Better and better.
We'll see you tomorrow,
have a great sleep.
I will. I'm actually going to nip out
for a couple of drinks, is that okay?
Of course and then, I'll come back.
If you think of all the things that go
with the idea of spending a night
in a hotel, all the things from relaxation
to me time, to fun to naughtiness,
this is about as far away as what
people mean as you can possibly get.
While guests slumber,
the hotel never stops working.
Every night the main pool's 312,000 litres
are drained and replenished.
And in the kitchens,
they're busy doing room service
perhaps surprisingly for a health hotel,
spaghetti bolognese
and not salad, is the most requested dish.
There is certainly no
spaghetti bolognese at IGNIV,
the hotel's premier restaurant.
Head Chef Andreas wants to introduce me
to his Michelin Star understudy Silvio.
I'm helping out on a lunchtime service.
Whilst Monica will no doubt
feel at home in the kitchen,
I will be doing my best not to embarrass
myself with head waiter Francesco.
I have a jacket for you.
I thought you were going
to show me to my table.
Yes. No, I'm sorry.
Francesco and I will be looking after
a table of ten diners,
paying upwards of 130 pounds a head.
Expectations will be high, and we have
less than an hour before they arrive.
-This looks beautiful, no?
-I think so, yeah.
So, the next step. To iron a table.
They use a bright white, crisp, ironed
tablecloths as a dust sheet. That's posh.
Super.
Okay.
-Closed side to the guest.
-Closer to the guests, yeah.
They're just redoing the cloth that I did
because in the ironing
I left two little tiny, off my gloves,
two tiny little black marks
from the brass polish
so they whipped the whole thing off,
and they're going again.
Its impressive stuff.
Monica, you can just
finish two with the apple.
Finish two with the apple, yep.
Okay, thank you.
It's quite a calm kitchen, so far.
And when it's like this it's quite nice
to make something look so pretty.
You imagine when you've got
five, six tables on.
We prepare the canister,
it's for our guests,
if they like something sweet
for the coffee, or to take away then.
-Do you put them in a row?
-The idea is here to have
the high and then we go…
High at the back
and low at the front, okay.
And yeah, we do
a little bit freestyle, you know.
Oh really? You do this a bit freestyle.
Suddenly now, you tell me
you do it freestyle.
I was trying to do it Michelin.
-So, I'll put it there and then we…
-Yeah.
I suggest you put this on the right side.
You need a lot of place here.
-Yeah?
-Yeah.
Yeah. That looks good.
-Is that good?
-Yeah, it looks good.
I'm going to turn my back,
and you're going to move it.
-Those are beautiful.
-Oh, yeah.
-Is that pink chocolate?
-Pink chocolate, yeah. Probably.
-Probably?
-Probably, yeah.
My opinion, do you want
to know what I think?
You know the chocolate,
it feels so good here, in this area.
-Well, in that case.
-With our bird you know.
-Yeah, is that your special…
-Yeah, our special bird.
Your paradise bird. Lovingly fondled.
Joking aside, the prep
and everything can all be done
and nothing hinges on it,
but the actual service,
I've never actually done that.
There's quite involved fiddly stuff,
it's not just slapping down egg and chips.
It's a bit nerve wracking,
and given that I'm a restaurant critic,
there's an extra edge
there's more at stake,
I could look a double fool.
They're here.
Frances, the other waitress,
has just crossed herself
as she saw me carrying these glasses.
It's okay, perfect.
On the right of the water glass.
The lady looked so unimpressed
with something that I did,
the way I reached whatever it was. It was
not excellent, it was not acceptable.
Genuinely stressful, genuinely.
People aren't very nice
to waiters, are they?
-I've always been nice.
-Really?
-Is that so?
-They're nice to chefs, aren't they?
Here's hoping I can do better
with the starter.
Okay, we're getting this out
and this has got to have a…
a beetroot vinaigrette poured around it
and then I've got to smash
this little bonbon
with a spoon when he winks at me.
How'd it go?
It was great, it was…
I mean, it's not rocket science
but I was worried, I was stressed
that if I do it too gently it wouldn't go,
and if I did it too hard it would go splat
and go all over these lovely ladies.
And, you know, we looked at each other,
boom, and it worked.
-You got it. Oh, fab.
-Yeah.
Little hurdles, Monica. Aim low
and succeed. That's my motto.
This is gonna be the first surprise
after the main,
after the appetizers,
and there are the nuggets in, too.
-There will be nuggets under there?
-Chicken nuggets.
And we are serving this together.
And then we are looking in our eyes.
-Another time.
-Really deeply.
Very deeply. And by three,
we take off the cloche
and we do this move.
-Cool.
-Okay.
Nice.
Nailed it.
Grabbing the opportunity
to end on a high note, I make my escape.
-You give up?
-How did it go?
-Really good.
-Yeah?
-Lots of fun, yeah. Did you enjoy it?
-Yeah, it's jolly, it's nice,
it's fun things to do as opposed
to just spanking plates down.
-There's a bit of drama to it?
-Yeah, it's fun.
-Hey, Marco.
-Giles, how are you?
Our time at this health-fixated hotel
is drawing to a close.
But before I leave, manager Marco
has invited me to hit some golf balls.
I go to lots of hotels and you,
it's rare that you find,
I finish feeling really good.
We try to have
a luxury that is very familiar.
Here it's all about yourself,
it's about taking time for yourself.
The only problem remains is my golf.
Come on.
Oh, man. Come on.
Right. I'm just going home, bollocks.
-Thank you very much.
-And for me, it's time to say goodbye
-to butler Irina,
-It's chocolates, Swiss chocolates.
-and nutritionist Sonja.
-Stay happy and well.
That's a wonderful thing to say.
When they leave the hotel,
many guests are given a health plan.
Before we go, I want to get my results.
Giles? Please. Looks good. How are you?
I don't know, you tell me.
Let's start with body com measurement
and in fact this that you have…
More muscle, much more muscle than fat.
So, you're an athlete.
-Is that what that shows?
-That, yep.
That's perfect.
Just perfect with your body.
My word. Imagine hearing
that from your doctor.
But then the results from your sleep test.
You wake up 18 times during the night.
-What's more than usual.
-Really?
-Yeah. And what's not normal is…
-18 times?
We know that there are a couple of things
they are not good for,
for the deep and healthy sleep
so one thing is too much alcohol.
-I think in your case that was evident.
-In that sleep?
Yes. Too much food,
and what we know is that
the blue light
from iPad, iPhone, whatever,
is definitely not good.
How's my life expectancy
compared to normal?
I think all the results I've got,
it's at least normal
maybe a little bit higher than normal.
I hope you'll keep going strong
with daily exercise.
Hope? Hope isn't enough.
The consultation over,
there is plenty to ponder.
That's strange to be told in a hotel,
isn't it? You go and see the doctor
and he says your sleep is dodgy,
you're not going to live
an especially long time,
that could be said to have put
a bit of a downer on a holiday.
But that is an incentive to do something
and it makes me absolutely resolved,
not just in the moment, going to forget
about it, to try and exercise every day.
Because if you can do something
about your health
it's sort of stupid not to.
Has it changed what you think
about what a hotel ought to be?
I've been pleasantly surprised
to discover such a hotel actually exists.
I never knew you could go into a hotel,
get your teeth done,
get your face done,
have a detox, and recover.
If you go on holiday
and want it to be all about me,
and I want to go to the beach,
and I want to have that avocado.
And here it's the same thing, it's me.
But it's just slightly different.
You get to have a doctor on you,
all the time you get to have nurses,
you get to have massages, it's another way
of being waited on hand and foot,
-which is just a bit healthy.
-You also have the option
to sit back, enjoy a glass of wine,
and go and have a burger if you want,
and they don't judge anybody by it.
Do you feel healthy
after spending a week here?
I do, and I'm looking forward
to moving on to our next hotel
and making a bit of a mess of myself.
-Shall we go and have a burger for dinner?
-That sounds ideal, maybe two.
Maybe two.
there are remarkable hotels.
Born of bold vision and daring endeavor.
Wow. This is how I want to live.
Whether it's one of the remotest hotels
on Earth hidden on a Pacific island…
Or a sumptuous resort on one of
the highest mountains in the Middle East.
What an incredible view.
The people running these hotels
strive to create the perfect sanctuary.
But what does it take
to offer once-in-a-lifetime experiences
in stunning locations?
Construction was a logistical nightmare.
No water, no source of power.
I'm a restaurant writer,
newspaper columnist, and critic.
I have opinions on just about everything.
He's not a very good driver is he?
-Crazy!
-Crazy!
-Crazy!
-Crazy!
And I'm a chef who's worked
at the top end of the hospitality industry
for, well, over 20 years.
This is awesome. Whoo!
We'll travel to amazing hotels
in every corner of the world.
Enjoy.
To spend time getting to know
the people working away behind the scenes.
I polished Elton John's fruits.
You polished Elton John's fruits.
Do you recall life under an apartheid?
Has it changed for you?
Nelson Mandela
was the first black president.
…gives me more inspiration
to achieve what I want in life.
-Join us as we venture inside…
-The world's most extraordinary hotels.
Switzerland. One of the most
mountainous countries in Europe.
A landscape of towering beauty.
Those peaks with the sun dappling them and
green underneath that's like, pure ideal.
It's beautiful.
Lots of cheese to be had. Clean.
-Possibly some beers.
-Cheese and beer and cleanliness.
-Yes.
-These seem to me like Swiss expectations.
-Chocolate.
-Chocolate.
But where we're going,
it's not about pure indulgence.
We're in the foothills of the Alps
on our way to the spa town of Bad Ragaz.
Overlooked by the spectacular
Tamina Gorge, visitors have flocked here
since the 13th century to take advantage
of the mineral rich thermal water.
Tapping in to that local asset
is the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz,
one of the world's most
exclusive health and wellness hotels.
It should be a mind
and body rehabilitation for us.
-Right, we can do this.
-After our stressful life in other hotels.
-Welcome to Grand Resort Bad Ragaz.
-Hi. Thank you very much.
There's been a hotel here since 1868.
Nowadays, there are two luxury spas.
Two golf courses,
and Olympic standard sports facilities
to boost fitness and endurance.
This modern-day temple to wellness
sprawls across an 187-acre site
with three separate hotels.
The most expensive rooms
are the top suites,
costing up to 10,000 pounds a night.
For those guests who want
a more indulgent break,
there's a wine cellar,
a cigar lounge, and nine restaurants
including the innovative
Michelin-starred IGNIV.
But ultimately, it's the hotel's wellness
credentials that make it stand out.
It has an inhouse team of 80 medical staff
offering everything from sleep therapy
and dietary advice to surgery.
Presiding over a staff of 777
ranging from doctors to porters,
is general manager
and local boy Marco Zanolari.
It's much more than just a hotel.
It's a destination in itself,
it's a lifestyle. The combination
of medical, hospitality,
sports, water, are much appealing
to a lot of guests
than just a hotel and a nice beach.
Before we start work, I want to know
what has lured the well-traveled Marco
-back to Switzerland.
-Hello.
-Giles, how are you?
-Very well, how are you?
-Good thank you, please come in.
-What's all this on the wall?
-These are all your holidays?
-It's all the places I worked at.
The Middle East, the US,
Greece, Maui, Los Angeles, Miami.
I have a long relationship with
this hotel. I grew up here, I'm a member.
Did you use to come here
as a child really?
Yes. I've been a member
at the golf club for 33 years.
So for me, it's truly a coming home.
The position was published
in the newspaper,
my mother saw it and told me,
-"Why don't you come home?"
-Still at your age, after 33 years
in the golf club, your mom
is getting you the job.
-So, is she around here?
-My parents, my brother,
everybody lives in one town over.
But it seems the hotel's
distinctive focus on health
was a big part of the attraction.
So how does it compare, coming back here?
Do you think you have an ethos?
It's a different expectation of luxury,
I think truly people will get to a point
in their lives where you ask yourself,
"Can I become more energetic?
Can I be healthier?"
True luxury is time for yourself,
true luxury is how much quality time
you spend with your loved ones,
and what can you do to increase
your time with your loved ones.
I think it comes down
to this unique question.
I'll be able to help people,
to help out do some stuff and maybe
-I can have some treatments as well.
-I'm sure you will.
I'm sure you will,
you will look so much younger.
Do you think? Surely that's not possible.
Whilst we are working here,
we will be staying in the spa suites.
It feels like a healthy place to be,
being away from the city,
and a village that's so green,
you can imagine people hiking.
I kind of feel like I should yodel.
Here, health considerations are built in.
The bed's gradiated firmness can be
altered at the touch of a button.
-Legs are going up, look at that.
-And there is a pillow menu
as the hotel strives
to ensure the perfect night's sleep.
Anti-allergy pillows, right.
A pine pillow,
I want to try a pine pillow.
Filled with 100% pine wood. Maybe I don't.
Beneficial for the heart,
soporific, and revitalizing.
-Water is piped directly from the gorge.
-Shower. Thermal water.
It's also clearly a steam room,
load of controls, so you can come and have
a proper schvitz.
Jacuzzi, massive, thermal water again.
Loo, thermal water?
Possibly not. Who cares?
And here, there is my own personal sauna.
Literally like cut off the corner
of a pukka sauna. I don't ever have
to leave my room and I can have
the healthiest holiday I've ever had.
Of course a spa in your bathroom
is a typically efficient Swiss innovation.
It starts in banking,
it starts in watches,
I think the reputation of Switzerland
being very exact and precise
has helped us as a brand in Switzerland
to attract guests to come and visit.
And it's that precision that the team
attempts to bring
to every morning meeting.
We have Mr. Fogarly arriving. Evian.
Just Evian, no other water inside.
We have people in this resort
that have been here for the last 45 years.
We are able to create
the family environment
yet with all the amenities
one would wish for.
As for her, she was a little bit sick
the last few days.
Thanks to Andy, we will play golf with her
as her husband passed away last year
so she feels a little bit lonely.
Make sure it's not an easy competition
but make sure she wins.
Meticulous pre-arrival planning
is just one element
of attending to guests' well being.
Once they're on site,
there's a team of five butlers
providing 24-hour room service.
-Hello?
-My first job is to work alongside Irina.
-Hi.
-Hi, Monica.
-The hotel's very own pillow butler.
-I'm really good.
-You're looking very good.
-Yeah?
I never get used to the amount
of tunnels under hotels.
The butlers can walk up
to 25 kilometers per day.
We don't need to go to the gym
because we always…
You're always constantly
walking through here.
-Walking.
-Wall of fame.
That's what I said.
Please you can go in.
This is our pillow stock.
So then the guests,
they can request a pillow?
Guests call us and order the pillow
or they just said, "I can't sleep",
we bring pillow during the night as well.
The hotel believes good sleep is key
to a healthy life.
-And offers 14 different kinds of pillows.
-Eucalyptus.
Each one is supposed
to have different benefits.
Eucalyptus to help your breathing.
Lavender to prevent migraines,
-and thyme to alleviate coughing.
-Yes, oh my gosh.
It really does smell like thyme.
That's amazing.
And of course,
the guests' most requested option.
-That is the anti-aging pillow?
-Yeah.
Now we're talking, it's no wonder
this already looks like a magic pillow.
-Yes and I give you also.
-I need it?
It's loosely stuffed
and treated with vitamin E
supposedly allowing the guests face
to breath whilst they sleep.
I can feel the effect already.
We have guests now, she called me
and she ordered anti-aging pillow.
The anti-aging pillow,
they must be high in demand.
Do a few of them go missing?
-Sometimes, yes. But…
-I like the way you held back on that.
Anti-aging pillow coming through.
Of course, choosing where to rest
a weary head at night
is important for guests.
But the real star attraction
is the thermal water.
Locally known as blue gold,
it's everywhere you look.
Flowing out of drinking fountains,
in the hotel's very own beer.
And of course, the hotel's centerpiece,
the eight-and-a-half thousand
square meter spa.
Over seven million liters pour
into the nine pools every single day.
The hotel believes
the water helps circulation
and can ease conditions
such as rheumatism and arthritis.
275,000 guests and locals benefited
from the water last year,
all under the watchful eye of spa manager
Robert Heinevetta.
This is quite special. All this water
the mountain is giving to us,
we all use it. Everybody, from us,
the hotel, the workers,
everybody here
is only because of the thermal water.
It's really blue gold.
Along with running this spa,
Robert is a well renowned
sauna infusion specialist.
But there is one job here that he thinks
really sets the place apart.
-And he wants me to give it a go.
-So, what we have here,
this is actually, for me,
the most important thing also in Termina
because this is the long tradition
we're giving the guests a hot sheet.
-Okay.
-But it's like that normally.
-Right.
-Now this is important
-that we're giving the sheet like this,
-Yeah.
and we have a small contact.
It was nice, you feel good, this is nice.
You can contact again, okay.
It's not that we're doing like this
and say, "Have a nice day."
This is not nice.
You need to do it from your heart.
Before each sheet can touch
a guest's shoulders,
-it's heated to a cozy 85 degrees.
-Did you have a good time?
-Yeah. Thank you.
-Is that all right?
All right, off you go.
Okay.
I'm going first to do something,
and you can stay here a little bit.
-You trust me to do this on my own?
-Yeah.
Hoopla.
Okay?
Welcome.
Who knew it was so stressful
to open a sheet for people?
Oh, no. I'm getting busy.
I've got another one.
Voila.
All is good?
Okay?
I've done many jobs throughout hotels now,
but I've never been made
a chief hugger in a spa.
A warm sheet,
give them a hug, send them off.
Makes you feel good, I feel good. Next.
Monica may be embracing her work,
but I'm going to meet
chief engineer Reto Schwengeler
for something a lot less touchy feely.
-Hey.
-Hi. How are you?
This is the brain of the whole hotel.
The water for the hotel
comes from the nearby Tamina Gorge.
Reto regulates the all important flow
into the complex.
-What is this?
-This is the source of the thermal water.
This is the gorge, and that's the shape.
It's a sort of cavern.
Here you can see the actual levels.
That's the bottom of the reservoir, is it?
-If the water is here.
-You're in trouble.
-Yeah.
-Does that ever happen?
No never. We hope that never goes.
-That's the big no-no.
-Yeah.
Then this whole thing just comes
crumbling to the ground.
Can you show me the button you have
to push to stop all the water?
So he's going to get the guy out
who's going to log in
and show me the button
where you can actually stop all the water,
which is basically pure
James Bond-villain territory.
Turn off the water and then charge
a million pounds to turn it back on again.
-If I hit the okay…
-Hit it.
-Really?
-You can see it, yes.
No percent water, really? That's like
I've cut off the water to the resort.
The way it is, half an hour,
you have time now.
Half an hour, now is when I make
my call to the manager to say
if you don't deposit in my Swiss account
a billion francs, yeah. Cool.
Reto having talked me
out of my dastardly scheme,
we're heading up the gorge
for the weekly check on the source itself.
-It's very beautiful.
-Yep.
-Are there bears? Bears?
-Bears? No.
-No bears.
-No.
-Okay, fine. It's just amazing.
-It is. I love it.
In the 13th century, the sick
were lowered down in baskets
to bathe for days on end
in the steaming pools.
In 1840, they decided to make it
a bit more convenient and wooden pipes
were used to channel the warm water
in to Bad Ragaz itself.
For 120 years, these wooden pipes
supplied the hotel,
finally being replaced only in the 1960s.
Reto's futuristic system
was installed in 2014.
And this must have been a huge endeavor
to put this pipe in.
Yeah, it was really strong guys.
They put it there by hand.
I guess you can't get a machine
down here, can you?
-This was all hand work.
-I think there's a leak there.
Our first job is to check the pH balance.
Too much acidity will corrode the pipes,
turning the hotel pools green.
Too much alkalinity, and the guests
will have stomach complaints.
-Blip. Perfect.
-Perfect.
We have tested the neutrality of the water
and it is pretty much neutral at 7,3.
Perhaps no surprise,
given we're in Switzerland.
-I mean, does the water change?
-No. Then we know something is wrong
because Switzerland is like a watch.
After all this clinical efficiency,
the raw power of nature
is even more stunning.
Yeah, that's amazing.
That is like the Bat Cave.
Yeah. Around 1240,
the hunting man saw the steam
on the top of the gorge,
and he was wondering
and thinking what's down here.
And he comes down and found the hot water.
And he goes back to his guys,
tell them "I found hot water",
and they think he is crazy
or really scared to go down here.
Some of it's closed, and then some of it
you can see right up to the light.
Imagine Swiss hunters look down
and they see hot water
which you can't have in the 13th century
without boiling it over a fire, amazing.
And they thought immediately being Swiss,
"We build a huge, very efficient hotel."
It doesn't matter how high tech
the system, Reto still checks in person
-that the water is flowing freely.
-I love to go behind
-and get to the real stuff.
-Yes.
As we're near the source
you can feel the heat rising.
-That's hot.
-It's hot water, yeah.
-That's really hot.
-36,5.
-36,5?
-Yes.
Get in close, with your hand.
It's amazing that the water is just
so clear and hot, and just quite spooky.
It's not just in the hotel spa
that water plays a central role.
-A Manhattan.
-I will have a G&T please.
I'm sorry I've got only mineral water.
Butler Irina also works
as a water sommelier.
So this one is called Henniez.
Sparkling.
The hotel believes water
is not just beneficial to bathe in.
Heated by geothermal activity, it rises
from deep within the earth's crust.
Passing through rocks, and collecting
health giving minerals en route.
We have still, medium sparkling
and sparkling water.
I've never heard of medium
sparkling water.
Petillant? Isn't that
what they call in France?
-Oh, is it?
-Yeah.
That's more… It's more… I haven't
really got the words to describe water.
Irina serves over 30 different varieties,
some from the source,
including bicarbonate-rich waters
which can help with a hangover,
and those high in sulphur,
good for curing indigestion.
I like sparkling water. I don't drink
a lot of it, but main reason is
-I burp a lot.
-That's a good thing.
It depends. When you're in the middle
of a restaurant, it's not good.
If the water has low bubbles
actually, it doesn't.
-So, this is for me.
-Yes, and also this water is a best
-dinner or lunch companion.
-Why?
It's medium mineralizated, and it's just
a good companion with the food.
Don't disturb the taste of food.
Is there a correct temperature
for drinking water?
-I mean, I like nice, cold water.
-If we drink warm water
or 36,5 degrees water, it means
it's the same body temperature
so the body feels calming.
Irina can even recommend the right type
of water to accompany different wines.
So you reckon the water is going
to change the taste of the wine?
Exactly. Because of the minerals.
Each mineral has a different taste.
-I drink this first.
-First, water. Please make a big sip.
And then wine,
and then after wine, water again.
I'm getting the lemony-ness
of the Riesling at the moment.
There's slightly this sort of acidity.
It had more of this
sort of a fuller Riesling flavor.
-Excuse me.
-It's a bit embarrassing.
See, that happens to me if I drink it.
Chin chin, thank you.
Switzerland is one of the healthiest
countries on earth
with the highest male life
expectancy in the world.
The Swiss spend more money on health
than any other European nation.
But the hotel's facilities also attract
a high number of international guests
including some permanent residents.
We can take the elevator.
One of the hotel's most valued guests
is about to arrive.
And VIP butler Karina needs to make
sure everything is fit for a king.
Normally, I'm faster.
Her guest is a Middle Eastern Prince,
and she has served him
on each of his last three visits.
It's a banana chocolate cake
because he loves bananas and chocolate.
It's a top VIP. We never know it exactly,
but they will come with
about 300 pieces of luggage.
As always, he will occupy
the entire top floor of the spa suites
where for 10,000 pounds per night
he would get 600 square meters
of floor space, 360 degrees of balcony,
and a thermal water jacuzzi.
It's hot. And it's clean.
When he's here, I will be here to care
about the preparations for the breakfast,
then I will serve the breakfast,
then I will guide him
through all the appointments.
I'm with him till he gets back
to the suite and then he will tell me,
"I don't need you any longer, Karina."
And then it's time for me to go home.
Before the Prince's arrival,
General Manager Marco checks the rooms
to ensure everything is up
to the hotel's exacting standards.
It's the little touches
that we try to get right.
For example, if your sunglasses are out,
it's nice if they're cleaned.
Do you see it? Maybe, maybe not.
But you see the world a lot clearer
when you walk out.
Okay, what's the…
The strength of the bed?
Does he prefer hard or soft?
-He's always taken it hard.
-Okay, so that's pre-programmed.
Put the initials on one side
of the pillow, please.
That would be a nice touch, so he has
a nice pillow memory from Bad Ragaz.
-Yeah.
- Overall, if a guest feels comfortable
and you come home and you felt, "Wow,
that was a very unique experience
and I would like to return",
we have definitely done our jobs.
One of the most important and unusual ways
the hotel keeps high-end guests
coming back is their ultra
modern medical center.
No sausage dogs.
Clinic Bad Ragaz.
Yeah, so you've got sort of allergology,
allergies, Schlafmedizin's sleep medicine,
Lungenkrankheiten, lung disease.
But then gynaecology,
special gynecology and oncology.
I mean, cancer doctors.
Yes, dermatology, skin care,
lasering and stuff, but neurology?
Perfect smile.
Got one of those, don't need one.
But it's a radiology unit, it's plastic
reconstructive surgery, orthopedic.
I mean, that's more than they've got
in my local hospital, let alone a hotel.
For the Swiss, good living
is a national obsession.
Their insurance-based health system
is one of the best in Europe.
Combining a medical center and a hotel
is at the end of the day,
adding another experience.
The combination that you can improve
your wellbeing, your energy level,
your performance within
a beautiful environment, it's a win-win.
The hotel's clinic employees 30 doctors.
This medical one-stop shop also offers
cosmetic treatments and surgery.
For the guests, receiving treatments
away from the prying eyes of neighbors
can have its advantages.
I think confidentiality is the backbone
of any hotel operation
or any medical operation. It's the trust
of your guests, you cannot betray.
You go on a vacation,
you can visit a doctor,
and not your whole neighborhood knows
what you have done.
So, you could just come back
and you look much better
that was just
the beautiful water of Ragaz.
I'll be working with
Dr. Christian Hoppe, hotel doctor,
and head medic of
the Swiss Olympic Medical Center.
He is a specialist in sports
medicine and rehabilitation,
he's been practicing for over 20 years.
We have people from China,
from India, Brazil,
all over the world. But the main part
coming from Middle East,
they're looking for a different approach.
It's a fact that people work hard,
and if people have only
four weeks' vacation every year
then they should use this four weeks
to make progress.
Retired banker Rolf Baumann
and his wife Joy have been coming here
for more than 30 years.
-It's very important. We met here.
-Yes, exactly. We met here.
-We met here.
-She came in,
I knew I have to make something.
I shouted over the bar,
she was ordering a coupe,
a glass of champagne.
And then I said, "That's on my bill."
Very rude, you know. But I went to her,
introduced myself, and then it starts.
-Then it was okay for me, yes.
-And we decided to get married.
Here.
-Mr. Baumann?
-Hi, come in.
Currently, Mr. Baumann
is concerned about his weight.
-Morning.
-Morning.
You're especially interested
in losing weight a little bit.
-Yes.
-How old are you?
Seventy-four.
What was your highest weight
you've ever had?
-Eighty-seven.
-And now?
Eighty and a half.
And I was down
about one and a half year on 76.
-Seventy-six, I think it's too low.
-You were 87, and you're now 80 kilos.
You want to lose weight,
but 76 kilos is too little.
-Yes, actually.
-So, you want to lose two kilos?
But I would like to keep 78 for example.
We can go now and measure your weight.
-Okay, what's your first name?
-Rolf.
-Rolf Baumann?
-Yes.
-Sir, how tall are you?
-182.
You see, I'm 178 and I weigh
the same as you, so I'm the fat one.
-You are too heavy.
-Yeah, I'm the fat one.
We need to disrobe, don't we?
It's telling him
he's got to stand still, and not speak.
It's the music
the computer is playing while it thinks.
Magermasse der Beins?
Das Bein is a leg. Is it telling you
the weight of the legs?
-Yep. It will show you.
-His weight, his legs weigh 19 kilos.
-Does that mean finished?
-Yes.
-Yes. Okay.
-100% now.
Oh, look.
What does that mean, print?
You don't really need doctors
with this kit, do you?
I mean. I could…
Danke schön, Herr Baumann.
-Can I go on this later?
-Yeah.
This is his InBody test,
and he's stood on there,
it's passed electric currents through him,
it's broken down his body,
the weight of his right arm,
left arm, trunk, right leg, left leg,
I've often told myself
when I come up as 12,5 stone
"I've just got heavy legs."
But we're going to find
that out about Mr. Baumann.
His body composition in water
and everything else, muscle, fat analysis.
It's brilliant.
Fortunately for Mr. Baumann,
Dr. Hoppe has good news.
Oh, man. I want to have this test.
Mr. Baumann has a BMI of 24
that's just perfect.
You even could have two, three kilos more.
So, you're really
in a comfortable situation,
I will be happy in your age
if I have the same levels.
But it's cost 1,000 pounds
to find that out.
I'm very glad to have this information,
I'm on the right direction.
I can't help wondering if having
all these examinations on tap
has the potential to prey
on guest's anxieties.
-Do you get a lot of hypochondriacs in?
-Yes. No, really.
It's a problem,
but it's our job to tell them
that they don't have
to spend their whole money.
Because I know people who, if they came
to somewhere like this they'd go,
"God, I could have an MRI scan, I could
have little operations here and there."
Yeah. People, they say "I pay
for myself." I guess this king,
he or she can have what they want,
but it's my job as a doctor,
when I like my patient,
to tell him or her what really makes sense
and what's "spend money for nothing".
For patients like Mr. Baumann,
food and diet are central to their stay.
In this hotel, there's a choice
of nine restaurants staffed by 85 chefs
and overseen by executive chef
Renato Wüst.
Renato has created a bespoke
health menu called Cuisine Equilebree.
It has over 700 carefully-balanced recipes
and that no meal exceeds 600 calories.
He works hand in hand
with hotel nutritionist Sonja Ricke.
As a nutritionist, I have
a special relationship to the kitchen,
I'm somehow a ping pong ball
between the guests and the kitchen.
Sonja's job is to police the chefs,
ensuring the desire
to please their guests' taste buds
is not to the detriment
of the rest of their bodies.
There is really no unhealthy food,
and there is really no healthy food.
The only thing is that there is food
we have to manage the quantities.
I'm helping Sonja and Renato
prepare one of their menus.
We always have a three-course menu
within Equilibree.
Starters, a main dish, and a dessert.
And all the three courses
have less than 600 calories.
-600 calories?
-All together.
-All three courses.
-Oh, wow. That's impressive.
The starter is an asparagus soup
with ginger, at just 137 calories.
Renato is only allowed to add
five grams of olive oil to start it off.
Very good, chef. Good try.
I was trying to, you know, distract her.
It's very good. That's very good.
The main course
consists of lean veal steaks
containing roughly half the calories
and 75% less fat than beef.
This is accompanied
by a Swiss potato rosti.
In the recipe you have 20 grams.
It's quite funny.
There's Renato who's cooking,
and everything he is adding,
a bit of oil, a bit of cream,
Sonja has got her eye on it.
Nice.
For dessert, guests will be served
an exotic fruit salad
with a papaya and champagne smoothie.
-So, champagne in here?
-Yeah.
Champagne smoothie,
I like the way you're thinking.
So, you're allowing a bit of indulgence
at the same time, a little bit?
Even the lemon thyme garnish
has medicinal qualities.
This is a herb to digest very well,
so you can eat the herbs
and the digestion is also activated.
They control me. I don't put so much oil,
not so much butter,
not so much cream inside.
Thank you, my dear.
-Well done, guys.
-I guess what it is
that the people are looking for in their
stressful lives, is they come here
and the worry of trying to eat healthy
is taken out of the equation.
Someone else is doing it for you
behind the scenes,
and you get to sit back, relax, and enjoy.
Whilst guests may rely on Renato's
600-calorie menu to keep the pounds off,
he uses a scooter to get
from one restaurant to the next.
I have a restaurant,
I make only Swiss cuisine.
Hello.
I have another restaurant
where I make only Thai cuisine.
And then here we have
Michelin star restaurant IGNIV.
-IGNIV means "the nest".
-The nest.
For those guests seeking
the ultimate indulgence,
IGNIV, overseen by the three
Michelin starred chef Andreas Caminata,
is a shared plate fine dining experience,
and is the talk
of the Swiss culinary scene.
Of course, its about more than food here,
and the hotel's scientific approach
to looking younger is almost
as well known as its cuisine.
I'm meeting lead dermatologist
Brigitte Bollinger.
When you look in the mirror,
what are you seeing?
What it's not right in your face?
I think eventually I'm going to start
getting more and more wrinkles
-as life goes on.
-Yeah.
For your age I think you can start it
with a kind of treatment
to improve the quality of your skin.
Brigitte thinks natural fillers
might be the best thing for my face.
The best areas are the stomach
or the bottom.
-That's the premium fat?
-Yes.
Okay this will be like Galetti fat,
I'll have to charge premium for that
-if anyone's going to use that.
-Okay. We don't need too much.
-We need 30 milliliters.
-Instead of having chemicals,
you take your own booty fat
and separate it.
-And put it in your face.
-You take your own filler.
-That's so interesting.
- Who knew you could check yourself
in to a hotel, have face implants,
and then check out, and no one would know.
Whilst last year the hotel
provided over 200 guests
with facial fillers, it's not one for me.
I'm going to settle
for the facial for now.
The hotel offers a full body health check,
it's a barrage of examinations
including specimen tests for your organs
as well as cardiovascular monitoring.
It costs 1,500 pounds,
and is designed to give you
a sense of your life expectancy.
Is there something specific
you would like to know?
Basically, how long have I got, Doc?
It's what I'd like to know.
I go away from my family to come
to these fancy hotels and, you know,
I think they might worry that
the lifestyle is taking its toll on me.
I'd like to be able to go back
and tell them it's okay, I'm fine.
What makes sense is to know
about your cardiopulmonary performance.
Is that good or bad?
And therefore, I would suggest
that we do a stress test.
A Dr. Hoppe stress test involves
having my own body composition measured.
Before being wired up to
an electrocardiogram, and made to cycle.
This is fascinating, this is brilliant.
I can see why people do this on holiday
because it's all about me.
It's much better than lying on a beach
-drinking Piña Coladas.
-Absolutely.
But it's not long before things
get a little bit tougher.
I'm just breathing hard
for stage effect, it's not really bad.
You still talk and talk.
I can't believe it.
Now it's up to you, you can continue
or you can… Keep going.
Sleep is also seen
as being vital to good health
so the final stage of assessment
happens at night.
Just bring my dinner through
and put it anywhere.
-Hey, good evening.
-I'm going to be wired up
for a sleep assessment by the hotel's
very own sleeping specialist,
Dr. Mark Daeppen.
A close colleague of Dr. Hoppe.
So, how does this work?
Why do you need to know about my sleep?
It's very important if you want
to live long that you have a good sleep.
So why am I doing this
in a hotel, not a hospital?
Hospital, it's still a hospital
where they have their routines,
ward rounds during night shifts,
and nurses are stepping in.
And so you don't really get
the quality of sleep.
You sleep much better
and we have better results.
Okay. Good.
My sleep patterns will be recorded
throughout the night
by 60 electrodes stuck to my head
to measure my brain activity.
I feel like I'm being prepared
for a lobotomy.
My heart rate and breathing patterns
will be measured through pads on my chest.
And sensors on my legs will gauge
how much I move in the night.
Okay, very gently.
Finally, I am forced to wear
this cotton mesh cap.
Purely for fashion reasons.
-Your night cap.
-Yes, night cap.
How do I look?
Better and better.
We'll see you tomorrow,
have a great sleep.
I will. I'm actually going to nip out
for a couple of drinks, is that okay?
Of course and then, I'll come back.
If you think of all the things that go
with the idea of spending a night
in a hotel, all the things from relaxation
to me time, to fun to naughtiness,
this is about as far away as what
people mean as you can possibly get.
While guests slumber,
the hotel never stops working.
Every night the main pool's 312,000 litres
are drained and replenished.
And in the kitchens,
they're busy doing room service
perhaps surprisingly for a health hotel,
spaghetti bolognese
and not salad, is the most requested dish.
There is certainly no
spaghetti bolognese at IGNIV,
the hotel's premier restaurant.
Head Chef Andreas wants to introduce me
to his Michelin Star understudy Silvio.
I'm helping out on a lunchtime service.
Whilst Monica will no doubt
feel at home in the kitchen,
I will be doing my best not to embarrass
myself with head waiter Francesco.
I have a jacket for you.
I thought you were going
to show me to my table.
Yes. No, I'm sorry.
Francesco and I will be looking after
a table of ten diners,
paying upwards of 130 pounds a head.
Expectations will be high, and we have
less than an hour before they arrive.
-This looks beautiful, no?
-I think so, yeah.
So, the next step. To iron a table.
They use a bright white, crisp, ironed
tablecloths as a dust sheet. That's posh.
Super.
Okay.
-Closed side to the guest.
-Closer to the guests, yeah.
They're just redoing the cloth that I did
because in the ironing
I left two little tiny, off my gloves,
two tiny little black marks
from the brass polish
so they whipped the whole thing off,
and they're going again.
Its impressive stuff.
Monica, you can just
finish two with the apple.
Finish two with the apple, yep.
Okay, thank you.
It's quite a calm kitchen, so far.
And when it's like this it's quite nice
to make something look so pretty.
You imagine when you've got
five, six tables on.
We prepare the canister,
it's for our guests,
if they like something sweet
for the coffee, or to take away then.
-Do you put them in a row?
-The idea is here to have
the high and then we go…
High at the back
and low at the front, okay.
And yeah, we do
a little bit freestyle, you know.
Oh really? You do this a bit freestyle.
Suddenly now, you tell me
you do it freestyle.
I was trying to do it Michelin.
-So, I'll put it there and then we…
-Yeah.
I suggest you put this on the right side.
You need a lot of place here.
-Yeah?
-Yeah.
Yeah. That looks good.
-Is that good?
-Yeah, it looks good.
I'm going to turn my back,
and you're going to move it.
-Those are beautiful.
-Oh, yeah.
-Is that pink chocolate?
-Pink chocolate, yeah. Probably.
-Probably?
-Probably, yeah.
My opinion, do you want
to know what I think?
You know the chocolate,
it feels so good here, in this area.
-Well, in that case.
-With our bird you know.
-Yeah, is that your special…
-Yeah, our special bird.
Your paradise bird. Lovingly fondled.
Joking aside, the prep
and everything can all be done
and nothing hinges on it,
but the actual service,
I've never actually done that.
There's quite involved fiddly stuff,
it's not just slapping down egg and chips.
It's a bit nerve wracking,
and given that I'm a restaurant critic,
there's an extra edge
there's more at stake,
I could look a double fool.
They're here.
Frances, the other waitress,
has just crossed herself
as she saw me carrying these glasses.
It's okay, perfect.
On the right of the water glass.
The lady looked so unimpressed
with something that I did,
the way I reached whatever it was. It was
not excellent, it was not acceptable.
Genuinely stressful, genuinely.
People aren't very nice
to waiters, are they?
-I've always been nice.
-Really?
-Is that so?
-They're nice to chefs, aren't they?
Here's hoping I can do better
with the starter.
Okay, we're getting this out
and this has got to have a…
a beetroot vinaigrette poured around it
and then I've got to smash
this little bonbon
with a spoon when he winks at me.
How'd it go?
It was great, it was…
I mean, it's not rocket science
but I was worried, I was stressed
that if I do it too gently it wouldn't go,
and if I did it too hard it would go splat
and go all over these lovely ladies.
And, you know, we looked at each other,
boom, and it worked.
-You got it. Oh, fab.
-Yeah.
Little hurdles, Monica. Aim low
and succeed. That's my motto.
This is gonna be the first surprise
after the main,
after the appetizers,
and there are the nuggets in, too.
-There will be nuggets under there?
-Chicken nuggets.
And we are serving this together.
And then we are looking in our eyes.
-Another time.
-Really deeply.
Very deeply. And by three,
we take off the cloche
and we do this move.
-Cool.
-Okay.
Nice.
Nailed it.
Grabbing the opportunity
to end on a high note, I make my escape.
-You give up?
-How did it go?
-Really good.
-Yeah?
-Lots of fun, yeah. Did you enjoy it?
-Yeah, it's jolly, it's nice,
it's fun things to do as opposed
to just spanking plates down.
-There's a bit of drama to it?
-Yeah, it's fun.
-Hey, Marco.
-Giles, how are you?
Our time at this health-fixated hotel
is drawing to a close.
But before I leave, manager Marco
has invited me to hit some golf balls.
I go to lots of hotels and you,
it's rare that you find,
I finish feeling really good.
We try to have
a luxury that is very familiar.
Here it's all about yourself,
it's about taking time for yourself.
The only problem remains is my golf.
Come on.
Oh, man. Come on.
Right. I'm just going home, bollocks.
-Thank you very much.
-And for me, it's time to say goodbye
-to butler Irina,
-It's chocolates, Swiss chocolates.
-and nutritionist Sonja.
-Stay happy and well.
That's a wonderful thing to say.
When they leave the hotel,
many guests are given a health plan.
Before we go, I want to get my results.
Giles? Please. Looks good. How are you?
I don't know, you tell me.
Let's start with body com measurement
and in fact this that you have…
More muscle, much more muscle than fat.
So, you're an athlete.
-Is that what that shows?
-That, yep.
That's perfect.
Just perfect with your body.
My word. Imagine hearing
that from your doctor.
But then the results from your sleep test.
You wake up 18 times during the night.
-What's more than usual.
-Really?
-Yeah. And what's not normal is…
-18 times?
We know that there are a couple of things
they are not good for,
for the deep and healthy sleep
so one thing is too much alcohol.
-I think in your case that was evident.
-In that sleep?
Yes. Too much food,
and what we know is that
the blue light
from iPad, iPhone, whatever,
is definitely not good.
How's my life expectancy
compared to normal?
I think all the results I've got,
it's at least normal
maybe a little bit higher than normal.
I hope you'll keep going strong
with daily exercise.
Hope? Hope isn't enough.
The consultation over,
there is plenty to ponder.
That's strange to be told in a hotel,
isn't it? You go and see the doctor
and he says your sleep is dodgy,
you're not going to live
an especially long time,
that could be said to have put
a bit of a downer on a holiday.
But that is an incentive to do something
and it makes me absolutely resolved,
not just in the moment, going to forget
about it, to try and exercise every day.
Because if you can do something
about your health
it's sort of stupid not to.
Has it changed what you think
about what a hotel ought to be?
I've been pleasantly surprised
to discover such a hotel actually exists.
I never knew you could go into a hotel,
get your teeth done,
get your face done,
have a detox, and recover.
If you go on holiday
and want it to be all about me,
and I want to go to the beach,
and I want to have that avocado.
And here it's the same thing, it's me.
But it's just slightly different.
You get to have a doctor on you,
all the time you get to have nurses,
you get to have massages, it's another way
of being waited on hand and foot,
-which is just a bit healthy.
-You also have the option
to sit back, enjoy a glass of wine,
and go and have a burger if you want,
and they don't judge anybody by it.
Do you feel healthy
after spending a week here?
I do, and I'm looking forward
to moving on to our next hotel
and making a bit of a mess of myself.
-Shall we go and have a burger for dinner?
-That sounds ideal, maybe two.
Maybe two.