I never thought I’d swap après ski for a yoga class. Yet here I am at 5pm, horizontal on a bolster, being talked through my heart chakra instead of scanning the cocktail list. I’m a mountains-over-beach person. A ski trip is the pinnacle of holidays for me – and I may just have found my dream abode in Zermatt at CERVO.
Perched above the town, the Matterhorn dominating the background, CERVO is arguably the most surprising hotel I’ve come across in a mountain resort – and I mean that entirely as a compliment. It refuses to play by the usual twee chalet decor rules. There’s no heavy tartan, no overworked chalet clichés. Instead, the design pulls references from further afield – subtle nods to Asia, Africa, the Middle East – all presented in a way that feels subtle rather than themed.
A rocky oom at CERVO Isabelle Shury
Originally a hunting lodge, the bones of the hotel are still visible, but it’s been given quite the makeover. Fifty four rooms and suites – plus three restaurants, a plush boot room and a spa – now stretch out from the original building, arranged across the hillside in what feels like a carefully constructed labyrinth.
It’s an interior-design dream
It didn’t take long to realise CERVO isn’t playing it safe with the design – it’s an amalgamation of cultural influences (Nepal, Bhutan, Japan, and Peru to name a few), and I was wooed from the moment I was greeted with the refreshing combo of a glass of herbal iced tea and a hot towel. Founder Daniel F. Lauber is the creative force behind it all, and the whole place feels like stepping inside a well-travelled scrapbook of his life.
Technicolour Moroccan rugs sit alongside retro Alpine trinkets, and yet the whole thing feels oddly harmonious. The après-ski terrace swaps sheepskins for scattered Moroccan cushions, and everywhere you turn, there are terracotta ceramics, dried blooms and woven fabrics cutting through the chalet timber and stone. His eclectic art collection alone was enough to blow my socks off – modern ski photography beside Tibetan paintings, Victorian portraits holding their own against vintage Alpine posters. It borders on museum territory. Just one you can sleep in.
What’s the wellness like?
The spa Isabelle Shury
CERVO have mastered the art of East-meets-Alps in the form of the Ātman Mountain Spa. Part indoor and outdoor, the space just keeps unfolding with each door and nook revealing a serene spa experience.
My first port of call after a day on the slopes? The Nordic sauna. Heated to a balmy 85 degrees, this is the place to soothe weary legs, and if you’re brave enough, a dip in the ice bath creates the ideal hot and cold therapy contrast – although, pre-warning, you may need to physically break the ice before you get in. The alfresco, Japanese-inspired onsen sits at a blissful 40 degrees and delivers one of the most picturesque soaks I’ve ever had, with an uninterrupted view of the craggy Matterhorn peak.
Spa yurt Isabelle Shury
CERVO is full of unexpected surprises, and the one I revelled in most was the spa yurts. Stepping inside feels almost like wandering into a Mongolian shaman’s house – pouffes and woven quilts scattered about, a wood-burning stove keeping things toasty, and a tea station stocked with herbal blends to sip while reading a book. A touch I particularly enjoyed was being able to order food straight to the yurts. Dim sum in a robe? Sure.
Mountain air is notoriously dry, and my already winter-weary skin was paying the price. The hammam ritual swiftly sorted that out. I went in for the full steam peel with CERVO’s signature scrub, sloughing away every last trace of dead skin before stepping into the steam bath to let it marinate. The calming, essential-oil-infused air did wonders for my sinuses too. I emerged with skin like a newborn baby and clearer airways than I’ve had all season.
The Ātman Mountain Spa treatments are rooted in a nomadic philosophy, drawing on healing rituals that have travelled across cultures and continents. I was intrigued by the Bhutan-inspired herbal hot stone bath and the Alpine herbal facial, but my weary legs and hips were crying out for a deep tissue massage. Melting into the bed, my therapist, Bernadette, began by burning sage to set the tone for this Ayurvedic-inspired ritual. What happened next is a bit of a blur as I drifted in and out of consciousness, only resurfacing when things got a little fiery around my tender quads and knotted shoulders. It was 60 minutes of toe-to-toe heaven – even my knuckles and earlobes were tended to.
Relaxation room Isabelle Shury
I’ve practised yoga in a fair few beautiful spaces, and the ritual room at Ātman ranks high on that list – curved, cocooning, and completely transportive. During my stay, I was lucky enough to have Kinga Toth in residence as the hotel’s ‘travelling yogi’ – a partnership term they’ve coined. Her classes quickly became the bookends to my days. She has one of those honeyed voices that makes you instantly soften and feel grounded. Morning flows limbered up my legs before they hit the slopes, while slow, deep yin in the afternoon coaxed them back into submission.
The holistic weekly schedule reads like a pick-your-own mountain retreat: yoga, meditation, sound healing, breathwork, cacao ceremonies, and even ecstatic dance. I leaned in: 8:30am yoga – ski all day – 4:15pm yin – 5:15pm sound bath – evening spa sess. Repeat. I’ve never left a ski trip feeling quite so restored.
What’s the food like?
CERVO has three restaurants – and crucially, they don’t blur into one another. In the mountains, that’s rarer than you’d think.
Breakfast Isabelle Shury
A predominantly vegetarian menu is hard to come by in the mountains. A Silk Road-inspired one feels almost radical…and yet here I am, ‘Bollywood’ mocktail in hand, performing what can only loosely be described as chopstick technique on tofu and red curry momos, with a black lentil daal on the way.
Bazaar Isabelle Shury
Baazar by name and nature – this all-day resturant takes you on a whistle stop tour around Georgian, Moroccon, Turkish, Lebanese and Asian cuisine with the interiors to match. If, like me, you hit your fondue limit roughly 48 hours into a mountain trip, this feels like a palate-saving pivot. We began with mezze and dim sum, moved on to daal and crispy chilli pumpkin with tempeh, and finished with a scoop of pistachio ice cream and fresh mint tea – a joyful cross-wiring of flavours that left me replete rather than sluggish.
Fondue and raclette have never really been my thing, but in the mountains, it feels almost mandatory. At CERVO, though, they manage to make the whole experience feel less predictable. Ferdinand – their cosy, group-dining Swiss restaurant – does the classics properly: Vals cheese melted to silky oblivion, bread for dunking, baby potatoes, charcuterie, cornichons and pickled onions, plus meats you can grill yourself on the BBQ. Or you can veer off-piste with the sake-infused fondue. The sake cuts through the richness with a sharp yet sweet flavour – don’t ask me how, but it works!
Being right on the Italian border has its perks, and CERVO makes the most of it at Madre Nostra. This traditional Italian restaurant is housed in the original part of the hunting lodge – holding onto that quaint alpine charm. You can do the whole ordeal – antipasti, primi, secondi, dolci – but if you don’t have the stamina, go straight for the pasta. The deer and juniper bolognese was a recurring choice at our table and easily among the best I’ve tasted – and I say that as a self-proclaimed pasta connoisseur whose main credential is having eaten bolognese in Bologna itself.
Verdict
CERVO makes a compelling case for experiencing Zermatt at its best. You can carve through some of the most exhilarating skiing in the Alps, with high-altitude, snow-sure runs and the convenience of being able to ski over the border into Italy for lunch. When the boots come off, it’s entirely your call – après on the deck or hunker down in a candlelit yurt – proof that, in this corner of the Alps, you really can have it all.
Go there
Prices from £1,170 per room per night, including breakfast (winter) and from £320 per room per night, including breakfast (summer) BOOK NOW.
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