A dream come true - a visit to the luxurious Gstaad Palace hotel. With its stunning design, impeccable service, and a range of world-class facilities, the Gstaad Palace is one of the top hotels in Switzerland. We explored the hotel's many offerings, from its cozy Lobby Bar to the extensive Palace Spa area, completed with an outdoor pool and jacuzzi. With something to suit every member of the family, the Gstaad Palace is the perfect place for a pampering getaway, and we can't wait to share our experience with you.
The dream came true on Saturday when we were invited to visit the glorious Gstaad Palace hotel.
We arrived in the morning in a dramatic late winter snow flurry and were greeted by Flore who took us for a tour of the hotel. This was really helpful as it enabled us to learn about all of the amazing facilities on offer as well as plenty of historical facts about the construction of the hotel. We visited the restaurants (there are plenty to choose from!), the cosy bar area known as the Living Room of Gstaad (The Lobby Bar) and they even have a nightclub "GreenGo" which has hosted many famous faces over the years and celebrated this winter season "50+2 year season".
There is a large kids club which organises lots of fun activities for little guests and the Palace Spa area is large and really beautifully designed.
We would be coming back to the spa later so it was nice for the children to have a sneak preview. We visited some of the bedrooms and were impressed with the design, layout and comfort of the different designs. We finished the tour in the bedrooms they had allocated for us which were two beautiful, large connected rooms. We didn’t have Elio with us on this trip so Jude and Alba took one room, leaving the other for Jean and I. The children soon discovered the sweets and fruit which had been left to welcome us.
We unpacked our bags and decided to head to the bar for a bite to eat. It’s easy to see why the bar area has the nickname of the Living Room of Gstaad (The Lobby Bar) , there were so many groups of people together enjoying a drink and something to eat, it really felt like a bustling meeting point. We ordered some sandwiches and the children shared some chicken while we talked about the plan for the afternoon.
We had a special treat organised for the afternoon which was a private family spa session! We had had a very busy week with the children swapping colds and lots of work so this was absolute heaven for all of us. Jude and Alba were trying a giant bubble bath with toys, water squirters, rose petals and bath bombs. They were beside themselves with excitement and hopped into the warm water as soon as we arrived. In the same room Jean and I were having massages while the children played next to us and we agreed that they were some of the best massages we have ever had. This is a really practical idea and meant that we could relax knowing the children were safe. Our aching muscles relaxed, we went to try the Palace Spa area including the outdoor pool area with jacuzzi. It’s always lovely being outside in the warm water when the air is cold and the children had a wonderful time showing us the progress they had made in their swimming lessons.
Back in the room and we had some time to chill before dinner. Jean decided to have a bath while watching the rugby on the TV in the bathroom (he was extremely excited about that), Jude and Alba found a cartoon to watch and I read my book for a while before getting ready for the evening. Jude and Alba decided that they wanted to try the movie night at the kids club instead of joining us for dinner so we ordered them some food from room service before dropping them off and heading to the restaurant. We were having dinner in Le Grand Restaurant which offers a romantic atmosphere and extensive menu accompanied by live music. It was hard to choose our food because it all looked so delicious but in the end we both opted for tuna carpaccio then I picked the cod and Jean had some steak. We decided to ask the children if they would like to join us for dessert so they were with us in time to see the soufflé arrive and the birthday candles for Jean who had celebrated his birthday the day before. After a delicious meal, we headed up to our rooms where we flopped happily into bed after a beautiful day.
We all had a good night sleep and were up early and thinking about breakfast so we got ourselves ready and headed downstairs. The breakfast choice is large with plenty of options including lots of fresh fruit and cereals, cakes and viennoiseries, cold meat and fish, eggs and cheese. We are all big fans of breakfast so we piled our plates and sat down to enjoy it.
Sunday was the last day of the hotels winter season, after which they are closed until June and Flore had asked if Alba would like to “help” by closing up some parts of the hotel. Alba felt very proud to be given such responsibility and took the role very seriously (thankfully she stopped short of ordering people out of the Palace Spa area :-)). With her work complete (see the last stories), it was time to load up the car and head back home to reunite with Elio.
What a place, and what a visit! The hotel manages to combine high end luxury with a relaxed feel that means the palace feels cosy and welcoming whilst catering expertly to your hearts desires, so it’s not hard to see why the Gstaad Palace is one of the top hotels in Switzerland. It has everything you could need for a wonderful family trip and Gstaad itself is such a busy town, you will never be bored. It’s the perfect place for a pampering trip and we came out of our Palace Spa treatments walking on clouds. Add to that great food, excellent service and plenty to keep the children busy and you have a recipe for success.
Information
Gstaad Palace
Palacestrasse 28
3780 Gstaad