Car vs. hotel
Who is winning? If you drive a brand-new super SUV such as the KIA EV9 to a brand-new top hotel such as the Postresidenz amSee in Arosa, then you also have to do a comparative test. Such a tough one. Or? Everyone does! No? No one does that? What Then it's high time! Car vs. hotel. Good conversation.
TEXT Thomas Senn PHOTOS Thomas Senn, postal residence at the lake | WALTER MAGAZINE
Hopefully my room in Arosa is bigger than the KIA. That was my first thought when the gigantic KIA EV9 GT-Line got in front of me before the start of the business trip to Switzerland. I certainly already had hotel rooms that could have been hiding in the KIA. So off you go with the new electric luxury flagship from the Koreans to the newest luxury hotel on Obersee in Arosa.
Well, that's actually where the comparative test starts right away. With its nominal range of 505 kilometers, the KIA must therefore reach the Postresidenz am See because the Postresidenz did not want to move a single meter away from the lake. But it's understandable: You don't give up on the best location in Arosa. The first point nonetheless clearly goes to the KIA.
When the two grandees meet for the first time in Arosa, it's all about the design. Wow How nice is this hotel please? Both are boldly designed in their areas; both the Postresidenz and the KIA stand out of the ordinary in their natural living space with an unusual design. And that is certainly positive. Both rely on an asymmetrical mix of edges and curves, both have a modern typeface, there can be no winner here. Both in particular, point for both.
Let's go in, we finally want to know whether the room is bigger than the over five meters long super SUV (message to Wikipedia: Super SUV is from me). Since we were confronted with a general e-car problem when we got off (when is the car on, when is it off, why can't any manufacturer make that clear, why are there always screens on, whether on or off?) , we came across a user problem with KIA door handles. Car on: Remove door handles! So you can't pick up your bag from the back seat and push it into the hands of the hotel staff. The door handles only extend when the car is also off. We thought so. After two days, however, we found a button that also releases the door handles from the inside. Our mistake, correct grips, would still be more correct. Just like when you first came into contact with the hotel room door: wonderful. Massive and beautifully curved designer stainless steel handle on a thick solid wood door, ready to hand all day long. I feel at home here. Post residency point. Dot.
Now things are getting a bit unfair for the car: since the hotel did not give the publisher and me two single rooms as announced, but a magnificent shared suite, the sizing comparison for the KIA is very obviously lost despite all his efforts. There is nothing to be gained for an opulent 67 square meter, as much as you have stretched the EV9. Another point for the hotel.
7 to 7 seats
Let's check the seats directly. The hotel offers a generous five at the dining table and two on the fine couch. The KIA has five seats in the first two rows and another double bench to fold up from the 828-liter giant trunk (which remains a standard SUV trunk even after setting up the third row or can grow 2,318 liters after moving all seats to stadioneske). But it's about the number: 7 to 7 seats, point for both.
Trunk space has already been mentioned: both luxury contractors fit more suitcases than I have and could borrow from friends or neighbors. A draw here too.
The door comparison goes to the room: entrance door, two bathroom doors, two bedroom doors and a balcony door (the information applies to the room). 6 against 5 of the KIA, that was close.
In the case of windows, on the other hand, the EV9 clearly draws out the suite in the Postresidenz am See. Three in the room must bend eight plus the Kia's panoramic double roof. Even though the hotel's windows, some of them floor-to-ceiling, are much larger: point for the KIA, more is more. And one more extra point for the car afterwards: even if you had a wonderful view of half of Arosa and the entire Obersee from our three-room suite: from the KIA, you can see the whole world when you drive there. So colon.
In a comparison of materials, the KIA offers painted sheet metal, leathery, plastic, rubber and glass. The Postresidenz am See resists with solid wood, expensive tiles, ceramics, glass and thick fabric. Warm wood cuts cool sheet metal, a feel-good point for the hotel.
When it comes to e-entertainment, KIA is beating the hotel up and running. Yes, the hotel's television is monumentally larger than the screen in the KIA, but the EV9 has several and displays all sorts of more on them. Of course, as with any e-car, a bunch of useless, confusing and distracting stuff, but that's no different with television programs.
In addition, as expected, the 14-speaker system in the KIA sounds more entertaining than the already very good room television, and with its cameras, the car once again shows the environment even to hard-sighted people, for whom the eight windows absolutely do not seem to be enough.
When it comes to lighting, I would give it a draw. Yes, the KIA's dual LED light is days brighter than the one in the Postresidenz am See, but there the nicer lamps spread it with appropriate dimming. Especially in the stairwell (why doesn't the KIA actually have a stairwell at this size?) There are beautiful designer lamps. We like!
The topic of catering is a home run for post-residency. Even if we would leave the excellent and in-house restaurant Airmail out of the rating, the suite still has a tasteful kitchenette with dishwasher, washing machine, stove and coffee machine. As large as the interior of the EV9 is, as many sockets and spaces it would offer for coffee machines and electric stoves: it simply doesn't have them with him, it's just the butter pretzel on his knees, thermo cups in the holders and a dot for the hotel.
wellness area. This is where it gets difficult. The Postresidenz offers three great saunas with different temperatures of up to 85 degrees. This will be difficult for the KIA to achieve even with the windows closed after eight hours in the summer sun. And even though there would be room for a hot tub in the back of the KIA, it simply doesn't have it. Close point for the hotel.
One stop strategy
We must suspend electricity consumption until the year-end statement from the hotel's local electricity provider flutters in in spring '25. But we're pretty sure that this point would then go to the room. You can't use that much electricity even with all lamps on. Even though the KIA really surprised us, how relaxed it makes you move forward. A single short stop on the route from Arosa back to the editorial office in Erfurt. 99.8 kW/h battery, 800-volt technology and downhill runs made it possible. But out of rating for now.
When it comes to seating comfort, no hotel beats the KIA, not even in Arosa. There is a reclining seat function for the driver and passenger with ventilation, massage (ok, it's even available from people in the hotel) and extended lower leg rest (the reclining seat position for the passenger side can be activated creepy from the driver's seat: “Schätzelein, make yourself cozy and slip into something comfortable.”) that the best designer sofa doesn't do.
Even in the back seats, the backrests can be brought back to the reclining function. Alternatively, you could lie stretched out in the trunk, safely three side by side and four on top of each other. EV9 makes the point.
Now we're on to the prize. Hmm. How do you calculate that? By the day? The point very certainly goes to the KIA. He will probably be leased for a month with one and a half overnight installments. Even when buying, the most expensive and luxurious KIA of all time, worth a remarkable 72,490 euros (our GT line from 82,380 euros), is not the very first choice for low-wage earners, yet the money does not buy a suite at the Postresidenz am See (suite purchase), probably not even a garage in a Swiss industrial area. Point for the KIA.
Who is winning?
Before we get to the sum up, a few more felt impressions. Let's start with the KIA. People are asked about it. People have never seen him before but feel drawn to him even in the Arosa car paradise. Because he is so big? Yes Because he has so much space? Yes Because it has an unusual design? Yes Because despite its 2,700 kilos thanks to the 385 hp with 700 Nm of torque and all-wheel drive, it starts like a spring bar when changing a Swiss watch strap improperly? Yes One is amazed at the total amount of luxury in the car, even though this recently apparently internationally ordered white content in the interior did not have to be there. Not on the cheeks and certainly not on the key (which by the way has more buttons and switches than the room). Is Europe the market for this super SUV? Let us be surprised. In any case, there is currently no alternative from anyone. On the other hand, there are theoretically plenty of alternative hotels in Arosa. There are as many beds as there are inhabitants. However, the Postresidenz am See has the most modern. Everything is just new. Nice house, really. And run with love and commitment by an unusually young hotelier couple. What you also perceive in the most positive sense. Many things could have been done one way or another, but the Consanis, together with the owners, always opted for quality and modern design. A beautiful mix of materials with very contemporary details. The suites can be rented or bought. At the Arosa Classic weekend, such a purchase from an enthusiastic guest from Sylt went straight across the stage. He loved it there. Very much. Us too. Very very much indeed. We are definitely not double rooms (who wants to stay in a hotel room with their boss or even me?) , but honestly: easygoing. The solid wooden doors not only create comfort, they also erase snoring noises. Who was that? Let's not betray.
Let's get to the conclusion (and I swear I didn't count during the letter or even come up with Solomonic tie nonsense from the outset so that no one would be offended). But: it turned out 10 to 10. God damn it. So we didn't help you decide whether you should buy a KIA EV9 or book a vacation at the Postresidenz am See. We're sorry about that. Now you have to decide for yourself. We have also decided within the editorial department. One for the car, one for the hotel. No help either? Yes my goodness, then just try both.
