The Alpina Gstaad only opened in late 2012, but it's already a favorite of celebrities, in bucolic yet cosmopolitan Gstaad, and won the Travel + Leisure Best Resort in Switzerland for 2016. While much of the year Gstaad is fairly quiet, and home to only slightly over 9000 inhabitants, during the winter it's a major ski resort and popular holiday haunt of the international jet set, from Hollywood A-Listers such as George Clooney to Russian billionaires.
TravelSort Clients enjoy these Virtuoso benefits at The Alpina Gstaad:
- Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability
- Complimentary Full breakfast daily for up to two in-room guests
- $100 CHF Spa Services credit per person to be utilized during stay (not combinable, no cash value if not redeemed in full)
- Early check-in/late check-out, subject to availability
- Complimentary Wi-Fi
The Alpina Gstaad Location and Lobby
The Alpina Gstaad is located at Alpinastrasse 23, about a 15 minute walk from the Gstaad train station or, if arriving by private jet to Gstaad's small airport, about a 10 minute drive.
You arrive to a circular driveway, which wends its way around beautiful hydrangeas.
The handsome lobby also is adorned with gorgeous flowers flanking the staircase, where your eye is drawn upward to the soaring baroque ceiling.
There's seating near a cozy fireplace just off of reception:
Grand Luxe Suite
The Alpina Gstaad has just 56 rooms and suites, although you wouldn't suspect that given the resort's expansive public areas. We were shown a Grand Luxe Suite, of which there are 7, each of them about 1050 square feet. You enter into an open plan, with a dining area for 4-5 yielding to a comfortable living area, with a fireplace, sofa, armchair, and additional seating on an L-shaped sofa beyond it.
While we were there on a rather cool and rainy day, the view of the verdant lawn, pool and mountains was still lovely.
The comfortable king size bed is in the corner:
The master bath features double sinks, a soaking bath with flat screen TV, and separate glass enclosed rain shower. Bath products are by Acqua di Parma.
Private Apartments
If you're with your extended family or entourage, there are also private apartments that may be rented, in a separate building off of the lobby. We were able to view an incredible 5 bedroom apartment with spacious living area and gourmet kitchen, shown later in this video:
Six Senses Spa
If you've ever wanted a spa treatment on arriving at a hotel, yet found it nearly impossible to obtain a massage due to lack of spa treatment room availability, it's unlikely to happen at The Alpina Gstaad, which has the only Six Senses Spa in Switzerland. That's because the spa has 12 treatment rooms for its 56 rooms and suites. The treatment rooms are different, and depending on your treatment needs, they include a hammam, Colour Therapy Room, Salt Room, and a Cave Room for couple's treatments, among others.
There's both an indoor pool and, in warmer weather, an outdoor pool:
The Alpina Gstaad Restaurants
Incredibly, for a hotel with just 56 rooms and suites, The Alpina Gstaad has two 1-Michelin star restaurants, Restaurant Sommet, which has a signature menu of vegetarian dishes to which meat and fish can be added, based on your preference.
The Alpina Gstaad also is home to Megu, which serves lunch and dinner daily except on Mondays. Head Chef Takumi Murase and Head Sushi Chef Tsutomu Kugota both trained at Megu, New York, and you can opt for either an omakase tasting menu or a la carte sushi, sashimi and Asian fusion selections.
The Verdict
While I'm not much of a skiier, I'd love to return to The Alpina Gstaad given its beautiful setting, superb staff, and tastefully appointed suites and common areas. In fact, summer might be a great time for non-skiiers to take advantage of low season rates, since winter is so popular and invites peak season pricing.
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