Step inside Chesa Marchetta, Hauser & Wirth’s 16th-century guest house

Fifteen minutes from the glitz of St Moritz lies Sils Maria, a small Swiss town nestled in the Upper Engadin valley. Chesa Marchetta is the latest offering from Hauser & Wirth’s hospitality wing, Artfarm.

The genre-defining art behemoth, founded by Iwan and Manuela Wirth in 1992, has moved into the hospitality sphere in the past decade with food retailers, bars and restaurants popping up in London, Los Angeles, Menorca, New York, Scotland and Somerset.

Its latest foray marks the Wirths’ first foothold in their native Switzerland. The original pensione was acquired by the Wirths four years ago and served as the backdrop to the art duo’s first date. The guesthouse once attracted a string of art luminaries including Gerhard Richter and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

Artfarm was renovated by Laplace, a Paris-based practice that took its cues from the site’s 16th-century beginnings. The interiors of the 13-key hotel are imbued with the perfumed warmth of the Arolla pine cladding and dotted with antique furniture.

Art is a key consideration: works by Richter, Louise Bourgeois and Philip Guston grace the walls. In the restaurant, Italian-accented mountain dishes such as gnocchi in truffled brown butter and roasted artichoke fondue sit next to local favourites such as Engadiner nusstorte (nut cake). Good food, museum-worthy art and spellbinding scenery await.
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