Celebrities recommend Gstaad

Hollywood Glamour

“The last paradise in a crazy world” is how British actress Julie Andrews described Gstaad. She first visited the resort in 1968 and was so taken with it that she bought the Fleur de Lys chalet three years later. For 12 years, the actress decorated the village with a thousand Christmas lights and founded a film music festival here.

Julie Andrews is an honorary resident of Gstaad, but she is far from its only famous admirer. Peter Sellers and Michael Jackson were also among its devotees. Roger Moore posed for photographs while milking cows. Brigitte Bardot and Gunter Sachs strolled through the resort's streets. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton made a cosy home in a two-storey chalet, where they kept their collection of Oscars. Burton called Gstaad the most beautiful place in the world, while Liz enjoyed dining at the Olden, a hotel that welcomes stars and local farmers with equal warmth.

Valentino Garavani is another admirer of the resort. Swiss billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli, himself a Gstaad resident, said he fell in love with it at first sight. Paris Hilton called Gstaad “an oasis of calm” and listed what impressed her: picture-perfect chalets, good ski slopes for someone who loves skiing, excellent boutiques and an exceptional evening scene. The resort exceeded her expectations.

We will return to the rich and famous fans of this Alpine village in the canton of Bern shortly. They are not the only people who come here: visitors also prize the peace and quiet of this picturesque town, which looks as if it belongs on a holiday postcard. Everyone seems to agree that it offers a genuine escape from the bustle of everyday life. Few resorts can claim quite the same atmosphere.

Things to do

Gstaad sits at an altitude of 1,050 metres, combining style, warm Swiss hospitality and tradition. There is plenty to enjoy, with hotels and restaurants each offering something memorable. At Le Grand Bellevue, for instance, you can take a ride in a Bentley once owned by Roger Moore, with a chauffeur at the wheel. More on the hotel later; first, the winter sports.

Skiers have 220 kilometres of blue, red and black runs at altitudes of 1,000–3,000 metres, as well as Glacier 3000. Wispile mountain, at 1,900 metres, is a favourite for families, with skiing and tobogganing for children. Sledging runs range from gentle to challenging. On the resort's rinks and lakes, you can skate, play hockey or try curling. Other options include a ride in a horse-drawn carriage, a husky sled or a snowcat. Heli-skiing offers a chance to explore wide, uncrowded expanses of snow.

Art lovers can visit the contemporary art galleries Maddox, which also has locations in London and Los Angeles, and Hauser & Wirth. The shopping is suitably luxurious, too.

Less than 20 minutes from the resort lies Château-d’Œx, the Alpine capital of hot-air ballooning. It traditionally hosts the International Balloon Festival in January. That year's festival was postponed and rescheduled for 21–29 January 2023. You need not wait for a festival to fly, though: clean air and a favourable microclimate make flights over the Bernese Alps possible on many days. For the full experience, stop for a picnic amid the snow-covered mountains.

The Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad classical music festival was scheduled for 28 January to 5 February. A highlight of the winter music calendar, it brings together young talents and internationally renowned performers.

From 18 to 22 August, the resort was also due to host the international Hublot Polo Gold Cup Gstaad. Polo is often called the sport of kings, and this tournament is held at a higher altitude than any other polo competition in the world.

A taste of Gstaad

Visit Eggli, the Michelin-starred restaurant of chef Martin Bieri. Its straightforward, appealing cuisine uses wholesome ingredients, mostly sourced locally, and there is even a children's menu. That season's programme included evening food events, such as a cheese evening with traditional music and dinners by Michelin-starred chefs. Thomas Bühner, holder of three Michelin stars, was scheduled for 14 January; Armin Amrein, with one star, for 28 January; Robert Speth, with one star, for 11 February; and Dieter Koschina, with two stars, for 25 February. In January and March, guests could dine beneath the stars in an Eggli cable-car gondola, with food prepared by Martin Bieri and his team.

At La Bagatelle, seasonal dishes are made with ingredients bought at the local market and prepared the same day. The restaurant has received 16 Gault&Millau points. With around 130 restaurants in Gstaad and the surrounding area, many offering excellent wine lists, you could make a culinary tour as long as you please.

Be sure to visit Molkerei Gstaad, the “cheese cathedral” 25 metres underground. More than 3,100 wheels of cheese are stored here, including rare examples. The oldest is said to be more than 150 years old. Together they weigh 30 tonnes; stacked in a tower, they would reach 270 metres. The cheeses mature on shelves that rise almost to the ceiling. In the dim light, with candles and hymns, it feels like a cathedral—or, if you prefer, a library of cheese. They come from different regions and producers, and from cows grazing at different altitudes; the mix of grasses shapes each cheese's flavour. You can learn about these differences during a tasting accompanied by white wine, then head back upstairs for fondue.

Where to stay

For the season from 25 December to 10 April 2022, Iglu-Dorf Gstaad opened its doors at an altitude of 2,000 metres. This snow hotel offered a wellness area with a sauna and hot tub, a restaurant serving fondue by the fire, and a snow bar. Guests could also help make ice sculptures or build an igloo. The snow rooms provided an unusual setting for a proposal—or even a wedding.

With more than a century of history, Gstaad Palace is a cornerstone of the resort. Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery held parties here, bringing them to an end at precisely ten in the evening with the reminder that gentlemen should sleep at night. In the 1960s, the family-run hotel hosted gala evenings featuring Louis Armstrong and Marlene Dietrich. Margaret Thatcher, Kofi Annan, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Diana Ross, Sean Connery, Sophia Loren, Quentin Tarantino and Jimmy Carter are just some of its celebrated guests. At La Fromagerie, expect truffle and Champagne fondue alongside other traditional local dishes; Gildo's serves Italian cuisine. The hotel's GreenGo nightclub has welcomed guests including Madonna and Princess Diana. Its wellness centre also features Cellgym, a system that regulates oxygen levels during exercise.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Tiger Woods and Madonna have stayed at The Alpina Gstaad. Madonna chose the three-bedroom Panorama Suite, complete with a contemporary kitchen, professional wine cellar, fireplace, gym, spa treatment room, steam bath, sauna and outdoor hot tub.

The Alpina Gstaad has plenty more to discover. Food lovers will appreciate Sommet, awarded a Michelin star and 18 Gault&Millau points. Megu, celebrated for its Asian cuisine, serves Japanese specialities and offers one of the country's largest sake collections. Swiss Stübli serves fondue, raclette and other dishes inspired by recipes from across Switzerland. The wine cellar holds more than 1,700 bottles from leading wineries around the world, including Swiss vintages.

The Alpina Gstaad is home to a Six Senses Spa. Facilities include indoor, grotto and outdoor pools, hot tubs, experience showers, a hammam, ice fountains, colour therapy, a salt room, heated water mattresses and singing bowls. There is also a colour-therapy sauna for men. Activities range from qigong and Tibetan healing yoga to tai chi, vinyasa flow and hatha raja yoga.

Until 13 March 2022, the spa also offered programmes focused on Tibetan healing, holistic rejuvenation, detoxification, immune support, better sleep and stress relief.

Le Grand Bellevue puts considerable effort into surprising its guests. Its programme included an evening devoted to the cuisine of Abruzzo on 27 January and a cinema evening with a tasting menu on 6 March. Its wine cellar holds 10,000 bottles, while the wine list runs to 55 pages.

You could spend an entire day here moving between main courses, desserts and tea ceremonies.

Leonard's serves international cuisine, with dishes made from local ingredients among its additions. There is even a water sommelier. Settle into one of the bar's Chesterfield sofas and order from a full restaurant menu that includes schnitzel, carpaccio, teriyaki, caviar, oysters, risotto, pasta and other dishes from around the world. Le Petit Chalet serves raclette and fondue, including versions with truffles, cashews or goat's cheese.

The hotel's 3,000-square-metre Le Grand Spa has 17 wellness areas, including steam baths, ice fountains, herbal, infrared, Finnish, hay and bio saunas, a salt grotto, hammam, laconium, Kneipp path, experience showers and fragrant outdoor hot tubs. Services include health checks and three-day wellness programmes, alongside Jivamukti yoga, Allegro Pilates, restorative yoga, physiotherapy, massage, and face and body treatments. You can bathe in goat's milk and honey, try a seaweed wrap or choose Cellcosmet skincare. The Alpine Spa Suite offers treatments for two.

The hotel also has a 20-seat cinema and offers floristry workshops and shopping excursions. You can sample Cuban cigars, picnic in the hotel gardens, play cricket or take to tennis courts used for international championships, to which Le Grand Bellevue guests have exclusive access. Lessons with professional tennis instructors are available, and the hotel even has its own yacht club.

Ultima Gstaad works with Swiss clinic La Prairie to offer advanced wellness treatments. Its aesthetic medicine clinic provides detox programmes, health checks, Botox, laser therapy and DNA tests. Ultima Spa offers treatments using Swiss Perfection products. The restaurant serves Nikkei cuisine. Accommodation ranges from rooms to residences with two to four bedrooms, private kitchens and Bulgari toiletries. The interiors feature leather, fur and marble.

At Park Gstaad, Chubut serves dishes inspired by Argentine Patagonia, particularly meat grilled over an open flame with spices. The hotel's spa offers a broad selection of massages, including lymphatic drainage, lomi-lomi, Thai yoga massage, Kobido, Indian head massage, several Ayurvedic options and treatments with Alpine herbs.

Gstaad's oldest hotel is Posthotel Rössli, which had been welcoming guests for 177 years at the time of writing.

You can also rent luxurious chalets favoured by Hollywood stars who have fallen for the resort itself.

And if skiing is not your favourite pastime, Gstaad offers more than enough to enjoy in its hotels and beyond. There really is something for every taste.