Chalet Eugenia

History & background

Chalet Eugenia was originally built after World War II and was officially completed in 1958 by the late Baroness Thyssen-Bornemisza of the Thyssen family. It was subsequently kept within the Bentinck family until 2012, after which point it was sold for an undisclosed sum to Swiss entrepreneur and philanthropist, Rolf Theiler.

Style & interior

The Chalet's grandeur and majestic attributes are from the era of the 1950s which have been kept intact by the Bentinck family. The interior design has an opulence of European blend and serene Swiss alpine decadence. The main drawing room consists of a central pillared stone log fireplace leading onto an oak beamed and panelled dining room. The second dining room is equipped with the original wood fired oven with an en suite panelled study. Most rooms have their own balconies and terraces with panoramic southerly views of the Gotschna mountainous region. In 2006 Tom Robbins wrote;

The master suite occupies an entire floor and boasts uninterrupted 180° views over empty snow clad fields to the summit of the Gotschna. The Chalet itself is located in a prime position overlooking the village of Klosters. In 2010 Harper's Bazaar wrote;

Journey time from the property to the centre is a two-minute drive, alternatively it has direct 'ski in & ski out' access. It is also extremely private with its own gated driveway guarded by stone lions and several acres of open space between it and the nearest chalets to the south.

Skiing

The Klosters region has extensive and unparalleled skiing terrain, including access to the 12 kilometre Parsenn run from Weissfluhgipfel down to the outlying villages of Küblis or Serneus. Klosters is also well known for being Prince Charles' favourite ski resort, subsequently the cable car to the top of Gotschnagrat is named the "Prince of Wales".

Chalet Eugenia has a 'Ski in & Ski out' children's Heid Ski Lift directly next to the northwesterly side of the chalet, allowing direct access to the T-bar lift powered slope. This unique feature is ideal for families who wish to survey their children as they learn to ski from the comfort of their own home, just as Prince William and Prince Harry both learnt to ski on the Heid Ski Lift whilst their mother Diana, Princess of Wales could keep an eye on them from any of the chalet's balconies or terraces.

Klosters & society

The Klosters ski resort has long been the winter destination for the British Royal Family for over 3 decades. Prince William and Prince Harry grew up in the village learning to ski and were often spotted at their usual haunt Casa Antica. Among other historic notable usuals include the likes of Paul Newman, Audrey Hepburn, Diana, Princess of Wales, Winston Churchill's directors Howard Hawks & William Wyler along with John F. Kennedy's sister Patricia Kennedy Lawford.

Others include Kenneth More, Major Hugh Lindsay, Vivien Leigh, Lauren Becall, Ivor Braka, Stavros Niarchos, Carol Thatcher, Georgina Fitzalan-Howard, Duchess of Norfolk, Gregory Peck, Yul Brynner, Lauren Bacall, Kay Kendall, Juliette Gréco, Roger Vadim, David Niven, Robert Capa, Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, Greta Garbo and Gene Kelly, who famously danced on the tables in the hotel bar of the legendary Hotel Chesa Grischuna where Rex Harrison discussed his musical notes for "My Fair Lady" with the hotel pianist as described in the 2013 edition of Vanity Fair Magazine over a 6-page spread.

Producer of 'Gone with the wind', David O. Selznick and his wife Jennifer Jones along with Julie Andrews, Peter Sellers and Britt Ekland were all regulars in the sixties. Irwin Shaw was such a habitué he even had a street named after him. Billy Wilder came to ski and party in the village every winter, Julie Andrews wrote; "I could have danced all night!" Baroness Joanna von Schenk's chalet has the following quote carved into the wood; "If you were very good in a previous life, God will give you Klosters in the next." Peter Viertel described Klosters as "Hollywood on the Rocks" in his acclaimed autobiography 'Dangerous Friends' and in 1960 he married Deborah Kerr in Klosters.

In more recent history other regulars include, Lord Mandelson, billionaires Nathaniel Philip Rothschild, and Peter Munk Benjamin Wegg-Prosser, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, Sir Simon Robertson, Rupert Everett, John Fairchild, Nicholas Wheeler, Chrissie Rucker and Swiss movie producer Marc Forster. In 2010 Prince Andrew rented out Chalet Eugenia for 2 consecutive years during the Davos World Economic Forum. He reportedly hosted Lord Mandelson and George Osborne in 2009.