Vals gets his thermal baths back

The Graubünden mountain village of Vals is not only known for its mineral water, the source of which is used by Coca-Cola. A warm mineral spring also feeds a thermal bath in the wild and romantic high valley. The Graubünden architect Peter Zumthor had designed the bathroom to be of such high aesthetic quality that it was listed as a historical monument. Now the pool should be owned by Vals again, the municipal assembly decided on Friday evening. She buys back the thermal baths for the symbolic price of one franc from real estate entrepreneur Remo Stoffel, who himself comes from Vals. Stoffel bought the thermal baths and the associated hotel years ago from the municipality for 7.8 million Swiss francs. But his business practices were heavily criticized by parts of the village population.

The community now wants to set up its own foundation for the purchase, explains the community president Stefan Schmid on request. This is to ensure that the thermal baths remain accessible to the general public. In addition to Schmid, the board of trustees will also include the managing director of Bündner Heimatschutz, Ludmila Seifert, and the architect Peter Zumthor. He should guarantee that the 25-year-old thermal baths will be renovated in accordance with standards. In particular, the technical systems and the roof of the pool need an overhaul.

fuss about the investor

According to the mayor of Vals, the architect Zumthor is not financially involved in the thermal baths. The real estate entrepreneur and previous owner Remo Stoffel will continue to be responsible for the business side. His company Priora Suisse AG owns the thermal hotel and now has the right to use the thermal baths – free of charge. Because Stoffel alone will bear all costs and business risks in connection with the use of the thermal baths. The municipality has stipulated that the entrance fee for locals should only be 25 francs. Stoffel decides how much day tourists have to pay. In addition, the foundation has the right to operate the Felsentherme on its own in the event of the hotel being closed.

The repurchase option now used goes back to an agreement between the municipality of Vals and the investor Remo Stoffel from 2012. At that time, after a polemical vote, the municipal assembly decided to sell the thermal baths and hotel to the investor Stoffel – and not to the architect Zumthor, who had also shown himself willing to buy.

The contract of sale with Stoffel at the time provided that the municipality could repurchase the thermal baths for a symbolic sum. The municipality felt compelled to sell because it was unable to raise the necessary investments of over 50 million Swiss francs in the infrastructure itself. After the voting campaign and the sale, the mountain village of Vals remained divided. Some of the population mistrusted the investor Remo Stoffel and severely criticized certain processes in connection with the sale.

Corruption in sales?

A high point was reached when a supervisory complaint was filed in 2015 due to suspected defects in the handover of the thermal baths. The Graubünden cantonal government did not respond to the complaint, but filed a criminal complaint against unknown persons on the basis of an external expertise, which concerned the preparation of the sale. The media reported suspicions that the purchase price was too low, improper management and possible corruption. But the Graubünden public prosecutor’s office lacked evidence. She dropped her investigations in 2020.

Five years earlier, a bold vision by the investor Stoffel had caused dissatisfaction among the population. He wanted to build a hotel tower with 82 floors near the thermal baths. However, geological problems emerged during preliminary investigations. When it comes to tower construction, one hasn’t heard from Stoffel for a long time, says the Mayor of Vals, Stefan Schmid. This matter would not affect the new foundation of the thermal baths anyway. The investor Remo Stoffel, who now operates from Dubai, is satisfied with the repurchase of the thermal baths by the municipality. Now his proposal is finally being implemented, he said on Swiss radio SRF. It has always been important to him to enable high-quality tourism for the benefit of the village. The waves in the municipality of Vals seem to have calmed down. A new, positive phase could begin – and peace would definitely return to the divided Graubünden mountain village.