Le Grand Bellevue Gstaad

Gstaad

Gstaad, located in the Swiss canton of Berne at an altitude of 1050 meters is a village of 3200 inhabitants surrounded by rounded shaped mountains, adding to the town’s seemingly gentle and peaceful atmosphere. Today however, Gstaad is internationally famous as a high class ski resort for celebrities and jet setters. Far from the hyperactivity and glitz of a mountain area Saint Tropez, Gstaad’s greatest qualities are discretion and a typical, authentic alpine “art de vivre”. This way of life is the reason for Gstaad’s success, and in the words of actress Julie Andrews: “Gstaad is the last earthly paradise in a world gone mad!” The idyllic Eden like scenery is reinforced by 200 working farms and 80 mountain pastures still in use, with the presence of 7,000 grazing cows. Gstaad is a perfectly preserved dream like site. It’s interesting to note that the village’s reputation is in part due to the presence of numerous prestigious international schools including the Institut Rosey which since 1917 has established its campus here for 10 weeks every winter, the John F. Kennedy School in Saanen and the Gstaad International School. The students here and their parents are actually the leading ambassadors, attesting to the charm of the village, which lies in its pastoral occupations and way of life, its gentle mixture of celebrities and an active agricultural world. Gstaad can be described as being somewhere between glamour and the labors of the soil in a magnificent setting where vacationers can re-energize themselves. And nothing seems to disturb this subtle balance.

A palace revisited

The Grand Bellevue in the heart of Gstaad is a palace built in 1912 which was totally transformed by its young owners, Davia and Daniel Koetser into a out of the ordinary hotel that invokes the great traditions of the mountains, while offering guests luxury and an informal atmosphere in a surprising and modern setting. The tone is set at the entrance with a contemporary lobby, tablet check-in at the reception desk, pastel colors and large spaces. And for a humorous touch, the room keys are hung on pineapples, not to mention Leonard, the English tweed dromedary named after the owner’s grandfather. The atmosphere is both chic and cozy. The Grand Bellevue is a resolutely different sort of hotel, a unique venue which plays with the traditional codes of luxury hotels in a clever and amusing manner. Humor, lightness, conviviality and luxury accompany guests throughout their stay here. Lots of surprises await them including unusual but always tasteful colors, hanging cage chairs, a double fireplace and many other incongruous details that characterize the charm of this inviting site. The Hemingway bar has a timeless, almost classical ambiance were it not for the impressive 17 meter long Chesterfield couch, the longest in the world! The rooms and suites are designed in the same playful and chic spirit. Some are duplexes with magnificent views of Gstaad and especially the Diablerets Glacier. The hotel’s spa proposes numerous alpine inspired treatments. The key words here are purification, rest and relaxation. One of the treatments, a laconium, inspired by Ancient Rome, consists of a sudation wrap that purifies and regenerates the body. Another is an ice cave, an ideal method for improving blood circulation and the cardio-vascular system. The Leonard gastronomic restaurant has earned a star in the Michelin Guide and proposes a chic version of bistro and traditional gastronomic cuisine. But for those who want to take full advantage of the mountain spirit, there’s Le Petit Chalet in the hotel’s park, an intimate venue which serves typical Swiss specialties.