Winter Getaways
Snow & Spa: A Winter Escape to the Alps
Luxury car rental across five of the Alps' most sought-after winter destinations, from Christmas markets to spa days
Zeus Prestige offers luxury car rental in five of the Alps' most sought-after winter destinations: a Mercedes G-Wagon in Zurich, a BMW X7 in Munich, an Audi Q7 and SQ7 in Geneva, a Lamborghini Urus SE in St. Moritz, and a Maserati Grecale in Courchevel.
Snow changes how a city sounds before it changes how it looks, tires going quiet on Bahnhofstrasse before the first flakes have even settled. The Mercedes G-Wagon doesn't care either way, that boxy stance built for exactly this, the door shutting with a thunk that promises it'll still be shrugging off ice in March.
The road up to the Dolder Grand climbs just enough to leave the city noise behind, the G-Wagon barely noticing the grade. The hotel's spa spreads across 4,000 square meters of hillside, built around a Swiss idea of winter wellness that has nothing to do with sitting still: a snow room and an ice room sit right alongside the saunas, the whole point being the shock of cold after the heat, not avoiding it. The pool holds a view wide enough to take in both the lake and the Alps at once, steam lifting off the water into air cold enough to see your breath.
Step off the train at Hauptbahnhof and the Christkindlimarkt is waiting in the main concourse, a fifteen-metre tree wrapped entirely in Swarovski crystal, this year's theme turning the whole station hall into something closer to a planetarium: Polarzauber projects the Northern Lights across the ceiling, dancing aurora colors sweeping over a hundred-plus stalls below. Walk ten minutes and the Dörfli takes over the Niederdorf Old Town instead, medieval squares strung with lights around the Grossmünster, raclette served straight out of converted ski gondolas, weekend fire shows lighting up Zwingliplatz after dark. Bahnhofstrasse runs its own show between the two, a light display locals have nicknamed Lucy without a trace of irony. Zurich's Christmas markets run to December 24th, earlier than the Epiphany cutoff in southern Europe. The G-Wagon can wait at the curb for all three; nobody's rushing in weather like this anyway.
Kaufleuten has hosted Prince, Madonna, Amy Winehouse, and Lenny Kravitz over the years, the kind of lineup that doesn't need repeating twice to make the point. Behind an unmarked door inside, the Library looks exactly like what its name promises, red wood, tall shelves, warm lamplight, right up until the bass drops and it's unmistakably a nightclub instead. Or skip it entirely: a glass of Krug by the fire and a book that's actually meant to be read does the job just as well, and the G-Wagon isn't going anywhere until morning either way.
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Munich is BMW's hometown in the most literal sense, the X7 built a short drive from BMW Welt, the glass-and-steel delivery center where new cars still get handed over to their owners for the first time. South of the city, the A95 toward Garmisch drops its speed limit entirely for long stretches, snow banked along the shoulders, the X7 settling into a cruise well past the point where most cars would start asking for a break.
The Christkindlmarkt at Marienplatz traces its roots to the 14th century, open this year from November 20 through December 24, and still draws close to three million visitors most seasons. Mulled wine carries its scent across the whole square before you spot the stall it's coming from, cinnamon and clove thick enough to taste on the cold air, angel hair catching the light on every stall around the 25-metre tree. Live Bavarian folk music drifts down from the Town Hall balcony most evenings, and on December 13th the market gets considerably stranger: a 500-year-old Krampus run sends horned, straw-clad figures weaving through the crowd, a tradition old enough that nobody's quite sure anymore whether it's meant to charm visitors or unsettle them.
P1 occupies the basement of Haus der Kunst, one of the world's leading contemporary art museums, a nightclub built directly into the same building where serious exhibitions run by day. Dinner first at Tantris, unchanged since 1971 and still holding two Michelin stars in a room the color of a dare, then across town to a club that's spent decades proving a museum and a dance floor aren't as incompatible as they sound.
Lake Geneva turns the color of pewter in winter, and the Audi Q7 traces its edge without a single complaint about the cold, Bang & Olufsen's sound filling the cabin well enough to make the radio feel like an afterthought. Six seats or seven, depending on whether the second row comes as a bench or a pair of captain's chairs, there's room for however the day's plans actually shake out. For anyone who wants the same composure with sharper reflexes, the SQ7 carries the same shape and a noticeably shorter fuse, its sport seats in Nappa leather doing double duty as a massage chair once the lake loop is done.
Noël au Quai, Christmas on the Quai, takes over the Quai du Mont-Blanc from mid-November through December 24th, more than 150 wooden chalets and close to 30 restaurants strung along the water. The Grande Roue climbs high enough to take in the lake, the Jet d'Eau, and the whole glowing market at once, worth the ride for the view alone. Down at street level, a dedicated fondue chalet faces the Fairmont across the quay, and next door the Christmas Pub claims to be the only one personally baptized by Santa, known for a weekly night the locals call Karaoclette: karaoke and raclette, served together without apology. The lake makes the cold feel sharper than it is; the Q7's heated cabin makes that someone else's problem.
Le Baroque has sat on Place de la Fusterie since 1993, the kind of room where, by local reputation, deals still close over magnums of Cristal before the night's done. It's as good a reason as any to order a glass yourself rather than just hear about it secondhand.
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The Lamborghini Urus SE arrives at altitude the way most cars arrive at sea level, unbothered, and St. Moritz has never been a place that rewards arriving quietly anyway. Winter tourism itself began here more than 150 years ago, the story goes, as the result of a bet. Mornings still start early, the Chantarella funicular and Marguns gondola carrying people up Corviglia to freshly prepared slopes. For anyone who would rather skip the skis, the same mountain hosts a Yoga on Snow class on what is billed as the world's first yoga slope.
The village runs on small, long-kept rituals. Conditorei Hanselmann is a 19th-century coffee house behind a painted sgraffito facade, known for hot chocolate and Engadin nut cake, where Thomas Mann and members of royal families have stopped in over the years. Down the pedestrian street, the smell of coffee and tea fills Glattfelder, a small shop that has been selling caviar and fine tea for more than ninety years. The real spectacle comes after the new year: the Snow Polo World Cup in late January, and White Turf in February, horse racing run directly on the frozen surface of the lake, three weekends that have drawn the same crowd back for decades.
A short drive up the valley in Sils, the Waldhaus spa sits largely underground, daylight dropping through tall shafts onto the pools and off glass-mosaic walls, snow-white in winter. The stone-pine relaxation pool gives itself away by scent before you reach it, and the wellness area runs from a 90-degree Finnish sauna through steam baths to Kneipp and plunge pools. The loungers are built from the larches that once stood where the spa now sits, and phones are switched off throughout the spa. For two, there is a private treatment suite with its own steam bath and a pair of loungers, two therapists, and a cup of tea to finish. The spa welcomes visitors who are not staying at the hotel, by advance reservation.
King's Social House, in the basement of Badrutt's Palace, bills itself as the oldest nightclub in Switzerland and has never had much trouble filling a room. Or stay in: a glass of Armand de Brignac by the fire, snow still falling outside a window that doesn't let any of the cold through.
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The road into Courchevel 1850 climbs in long, tight switchbacks with snow banked high on both sides, and the Maserati Grecale takes each one on all-wheel drive without any fuss. Inside, the cabin falls quiet, leather under your hands and the engine barely audible on the climb, a selector on the steering wheel ready for Comfort, GT or Sport as the gradient changes.
As dusk comes down on Christmas Eve, Courchevel 1850 gathers at the Front de Neige. Ski instructors carry torches down the slope in a long line of flame, Santa arrives to cheers, and fireworks burst over the snow front while mulled wine steams in the cold air. The neighbouring villages of Le Praz and La Tania hold torchlit descents of their own over the holidays, so the celebration is never far from wherever you have parked.
Le Strato sits ski-in, ski-out at the foot of the Cospillot piste, five minutes from La Croisette. Its spa spreads over more than 900 square metres across two levels, slate and exotic wood throughout, a heated pool beneath a Murano glass chandelier more than two metres tall, floor-to-ceiling windows framing the mountain. Two saunas, a hammam and a jacuzzi wait nearby, and the spa welcomes outside guests by reservation. The hotel's restaurant, Baumanière 1850, holds two Michelin stars. Across the resort, the hotels read like a directory of the spa houses the luxury world knows: Guerlain at Cheval Blanc, La Prairie at L'Apogée, La Mer at Les Airelles, Nescens at Le K2 Palace. Back at the chalet, most luxury terraces keep a hot tub of their own, steam lifting into the snowfall.
New Year's Eve typically fills the Front de Neige with an open-air party, DJs and the La Folie Douce live band, then midnight fireworks bursting above the hotels of 1850. Afterward, Les Caves de Courchevel, widely described as the resort's most exclusive nightclub, keeps the night going. Later in the winter, an international fireworks festival turns the slopes into a stage for teams from different countries. Or stay in: a glass of Dom Pérignon by the fire, snow still falling outside, the Grecale parked and finished for the day.
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Winter roads reward a capable SUV, and the fleet carries a wide range of them beyond the five named above, from plush cruisers to quick performance models.
Prefer sunshine? Sun & Sea follows the Mediterranean coast through Málaga, Barcelona, Alicante, Lisbon and Naples, and Italian City Breaks covers Rome, Milan and Florence.
A Mercedes G-Wagon suits Zurich well in winter, a capable SUV for a city that takes snow in its stride.
A BMW X7 is a strong match for Munich, spacious and composed for a city built around order even in the coldest months.
An Audi Q7 or its sportier SQ7 sibling both suit Geneva well, equally composed along the lakeside or further out toward the mountains.
Late January through February is St. Moritz's signature season, home to the Snow Polo World Cup and White Turf, horse racing held directly on the frozen lake.
A Maserati Grecale handles Courchevel's altitude and switchback roads with ease, a practical choice for a resort built on steep terrain.
Courchevel has more than fifteen hotel spas and wellness centres, including Cheval Blanc Spa by Guerlain, Spa L'Apogée by La Prairie, Airelles Spa by La Mer, Goji Spa at Le K2 Palace, and Six Senses Spa. Access varies by property. Le Strato's spa accepts outside guests by reservation only, while Les Thermes du Carlina is reserved for hotel guests.
Yes. The fleet carries a wide range of SUVs beyond the five named above, including the Range Rover Sport, Porsche Cayenne, Audi Q8, Bentley Bentayga, and BMW X5.
Zeus Prestige is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any of the brands, venues, events, or public figures mentioned on this page. All names are referenced for descriptive purposes only.