History of St Moritz collated with the gratefully received help of Mr Peter Tuthill, local historian.
In the early 1930s an enthusiastic young couple, Mr and Mrs Richard Underwood, commissioned a striking large house be built on a piece of land called the ‘Greenaway’ above Daymer Bay in North Cornwall. The situation of the house was stunning, affording views over the mouth of the River Camel and to Stepps Point beyond.
During the war, the Underwood’s decided to convert the house into a boarding school for boys, housing evacuees from many cities across the UK. Following the war, the Underwood’s decided to close the school and open it as a Hotel and Guest House.
Mr Underwood was especially passionate about food and
the highest standards of cuisine and in the 1940s he travelled to St
Moritz in Switzerland. Such was his passion for the place and the high
tradition of service and attention to detail there, he decided to name
his hotel after the Swiss town and impart the caché of the foreign
destinations upon his own enterprise.
The Underwood’s developed a hotel concept that led with international
trends in terms of hospitality, interiors and gastronomy and before long
St Moritz had developed a significant reputation and following amongst
the highest levels of UK society. Politicians, film stars, business
leaders, bishops and poets and writers flocked to St Moritz every year
as an annual pilgrimage, escaping the stresses of city life to admire
the stunning views, frolic in the surf and enjoy the highest levels of
personal service and care courtesy of the Underwood’s and their St
Moritz team.