As we discovered, a week in this Alpine playground with miles of cross-country skiing, ice skating and sledding, plus five major nearby mountains and glaciers for downhill skiing, was competitive - if not cheaper - than a ski trip out West.
And then there was the food.
We arrived here on a crisp February afternoon after an overnight flight to Zurich and a scenic three-hour ride in a panorama train with sun streaming through wraparound glass windows.
Hoping to fend off jet lag with a brisk walk, we set out to explore town before dinner.
Walking 15 minutes toward the edge of St. Moritz, we came across young racers trying to hold the course on the historic Cresta bobsled run, where the world's first race was held in 1885.
On the way back, we came upon the outdoor ice rink, with views onto the two snow-covered valleys that meet here - the Engadine and the Val Bernina, which ends in the Bernina Pass, dropping over into Italy.
At a simple konditorei, or bakery and cafe, we perked up on some dark Swiss coffee and slices of Engadiner nusstorte - the dense nut cake found only in this region.
So far, so good.
But the first major test of our vacation would be dinner that night at our hotel, the Saluver. We'd opted for the half-pension plan, including dinner, hoping the food would be great and we'd avoid a hassle with restaurant reservations.
Choosing the Hotel Saluver had taken a bit of research - guidebooks and travel Web sites offer few details about Celerina. So, I e-mailed the Celerina tourist bureau, asking for recommendations of hotels with good kitchens. From their short list, I picked the Saluver, largely because its owner, Christian Jurczyk, had trained as a chef.
That first night, we were surprised to find two large dining rooms, a far larger capacity than needed for this small hotel's guests. Jurczyk's cuisine, it turned out, was a major draw for the locals.
