Gstaad Palace

About Gstaad Palace

By the ULTIMATE Ski Resorts Editorial Team

Editor-in-Chief: Jai Michael

The Gstaad Palace has looked down on the village since 1913 and is still run by the Scherz family, now in the third generation. Behind the turrets are 90 rooms and suites, a 1,800 m² spa, six restaurants, four bars and the GreenGo nightclub. The winter season runs from 15 December 2026 to 7 March 2027.

The castle on the hill

Few hotels own their skyline as the Gstaad Palace does. Its towers stand on the hill above the car-free village, and three generations of the Scherz family have run it for well over a century. The hotel collects you from Gstaad station, and Gstaad’s small airport, 5 km away, takes private jets. It opens for two seasons only: in winter from 15 December 2026 to 7 March 2027, and in summer from 20 June to 5 September 2027.

The Palace Spa

The spa covers 1,800 m². At its centre is an indoor pool kept at 29 °C, with an open-air jacuzzi at 36.5 °C that runs all year. Saunas and steam baths are separated for men and women, and there is a private spa suite with its own sauna, steam bath, large bathtub and lounge. The hammam follows its own ritual: foot washing, steam, an “endless room”, a soap-foam massage, a floating pool and an oil massage.

“It’s not a fairy tale, it’s real,” in the hotel’s words.

Treatments include Japanese Kobido facial massage and Cellgym oxygen training, with products by I.D. Swiss Botanicals, Sisley, Jardin des Monts, Augustinus Bader and Shiva Ananda. There is also a gym, tennis and a hairdresser. Children under 14 may not use the sauna, steam, fitness or relaxation areas; children aged 4–14 may use the jacuzzi from 9.30am to 5pm with an adult, and the indoor pool is open to families all day.

La Piscine

In summer the life of the hotel moves outside, to the open-air pool. Built in 1928 as a 50-metre pleasure pool, it is, as the hotel puts it, Art Deco glamour in Olympic shape, with a bar serving summer food and cold drinks at your lounger.

Rooms and suites

There are 90 rooms and suites. Cosy rooms start at 28 m², Classic rooms at 33 m², and Deluxe rooms with mountain views measure 46–55 m². Among the suites, the Alpine Suite is 72 m², the Corner Suite 92 m², and the Tower Two Bedroom Suite 190 m². At the top sits the Penthouse Suite: 240 m², with 360-degree mountain views and a 150 m² roof terrace that the hotel says gets fourteen hours of sun.

Eating and drinking

The Palace counts six restaurants and four bars. Le Grand and La Terrasse look over the garden to the mountains; Le Grill is an open-kitchen rôtisserie; Gildo’s Ristorante brings Italian evenings to the Alps; and La Fromagerie serves truffle fondue and raclette in a former bunker where, the hotel tells us, a Swiss bank stored gold bars during the Second World War. Above the village, the Walig Hut sits at 1,700 metres. The Lobby Bar does light dishes, afternoon tea and signature cocktails, and the GreenGo Club has been part of Gstaad’s night life for decades.

Families

The Kids’ Club takes children aged 5–12, with a weekly programme; younger children from 3 can join with an adult. Between Christmas and New Year there are parties for “very important kids”, baking sessions with the head chef, and visits from St Bernard dogs in the garden.

Our advice: ask for a mountain-view room facing the Wildhorn, book La Fromagerie for one fondue night, and use the spa in the late afternoon, when the light goes gold on the Palace garden.

Opening hours, prices and seasonal openings change, so please check with Gstaad Palace before you go.