Page 66 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SUMMER 2019 PORTUGAL

Story by Amy Laughinghouse

SWITZERLAND007 STYLE

Experience Switzerland at THE OMNIA in Zermatt
here’s something of a cinematic thrill
about traveling to Zermatt, the Swiss vil‐
Tlage cradled in an Alpine cleft beneath the
majestic Matterhorn. My husband and I arrive
by train, sluicing through mountain passes in
deepening twilight, squinting through the dark‐
nessforaglimpseofsnow-cappedpeaksfringed
by firs. We could be extras in Alfred Hitchcock’s
Strangers on a Train or the latest adaptation of
Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express.
Disgorged at last upon a quiet platform on a
chilly autumn evening, a young man in uniform
sweeps us into a stealthy electric shuttle to whisk
us through unfamiliar streets. Within minutes,
we arrive at what seems to be a dead-end in a
hillside…until a set of sliding glass doors whispers
open, and our shuttle shoots through the gap
into a dimly lit tunnel. This cavern leads to an
elevator that efficiently ejects us into the heart
of THE OMNIA, a 30-room boutique hotel set on
a bluff above the picturesque chalets of Zermatt.
Forget Hitchcock and Christie. THE OMNIA is
definitely more 007’s scene—and not only be‐
cause its ALL CAPS moniker sounds like a super-
spy’s secret weapon.
With its exotic location, eccentric entrance,
and Mid-Century Modern aesthetic, the late New
York-based architect Ali Tayar, who designed
this Alpine aerie, may have had a Bond villain’s
lair in mind.
The reception area feels like a chic, contem‐
porary living room, with tailored leather sofas
and armchairs, a stone fireplace with an over‐
sized, industrial-looking flu, and a library niche
that houses a varied collection of whiskies, as
well as tomes on art and photography. One flight
below, there’s a state-of-the-art “Wellness”
area, where guests can bask in an indoor-out‐
door pool (thankfully devoid of the toothsome
The towering Matterhorn is a formidable presence in the Alps near Zermatt, Switzerland. Copyright Amy
Laughinghouse.

66 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE WINTER/SPRING 2024