The Belgian Count Camille de Renesse, married to the wealthy Malvina de Kerkove von Denterghem, visited the Engadine in 1880 where he developed his vision to establish an extravagant tourist resort in the canton of Graubünden.
In 1880 he bought 140 hectares of terrain in Maloja and in 1882 the construction of the Maloja Palace began. An average of 500 house-builders were working on the site, which was designed by the architect Jules Rau in beautiful neorenaissance style. The project of the Maloja Palace was very ambitious. The Neue Zürcher Zeitung, a renowned Swiss newspaper, reportet from the building site: »Its aim is to become the gathering point of the highly-aristocratic conservative world. No cost was feared - also, without a doubt, in order to keep the lower classes out from the outset.” The Grandhotel was to be situated in the centre, surrounded by exclusive maisonettes, smaller hotels, restaurants, spas, two churches and above all the Belvedere, the residence of the Count, of which the tower can still be visited today.
What is more, a golfcourse, riding arena, steamships on lake Sils, ski jump and ice skating rinks for the sports-loving guests were to be complemented by a representative railway station at the international railway passage Paris-Milan-Innsbruck-Vienna, via lake Como and the Malojapass. The interior of the Grand Hotel was equipped following the newest technical standards. Lifts were installed and a very complex air conditioning system would transfer salubrious substances to each room. The count even placed a ozone-producing machine in the main hall. At this time ozone rich air was considered healthy. Only the best and most expensive was considered good enough by the Count.
After two years of construction, the Grandhotel finally could open its doors in July 1884 under the name “Kursaal Maloja”. The grand opening was frequented by many aristocrats from the whole world, reaching from the Russian prince Kotschubey over the Esterhazy from Vienna to the Prussian countess Yorck von Wartenberg.
The happiness for the new opening was, however, very brief, 2 months later the Counts wife suddenly died. Furthermore, Swiss borders were shut because cholera was spreading rapidly in Italy. In December the count was already facing bankruptcy; in the following years the hotel changed different directors and owners.
Despite the Counts failure, the Hotel Kursaal Maloja remained a reference point for Europe’s old money. 250 bedrooms, a dining room which could serve 300 guests (500 if needed), a separate restaurant, breakfast hall, conservatory, smoking room, business premises and even a hotel own newspaper were at the sophisticated guests disposal. Entertainment was provided through concerts and balls with orchestras from the Scala di Milano and the Metropolitan Opera New York. Even Cinema projections where shown. Rumors say, the big ballroom was occasionally flooded staging a real Venetian night in Venitian gondolas, where dinner was served from smaller boats waiting on the gondalas. The most prosperous period was only when Sir Henry Lunn bought the Hotel in 1925 and named it “Maloja Palace Hotel”.
In the guest book, after the firsts two guests (The Count de Renesse and his wife), we can find many aristocrats from all over the world such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Von Sherlock Holmes, the Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin, Lady Churchill and Mac Namara.
After the second world war the Hotel was abandoned until 1957 when a Belgian government organization used it as a summer holiday camp for young people.
In 2006 Amedeo Clavarino purchased the Maloja Palace to fulfil a vision of maintaining its glamorous heritage while offering individual visitors a place of beauty to relax and pursue outdoor activities. Today one of the most important Swiss sporting events, the Engadine Ski Marathon, starts in front of the Maloja Palace Hotel.
Amedeo Clavarino is passionate about the environment (his Foundation Ambiente Milano www.ambientemilano.it is promulgating efforts to clean up the air in Milan). He is involved in a number of global initiatives on improving urban enviroments and the ongoing refurbishment of the Maloja Palace includes making the entire complex carbon-neutral.