Gstaad Palace

If you’re familiar with the Swiss Alps, you don’t need to read any further: the Gstaad Palace name tells you more or less all you need to know. Gstaad is one of the most exclusive ski areas in the world — Gstaad, the very same that Ernest Hemingway wrote about so lovingly during the Paris years, the one where Elizabeth Taylor spent Christmases in the Sixties — and this landmark hotel is a proper palace, a historic one that recently celebrated its hundredth birthday. Let your imagination run wild. Whatever you’re picturing is probably about right. Truffle fondue, charming wood-vaulted ceilings and glittering chandeliers, champagne by the fireside, cheese plates at La Fromagerie, dressing for dinner.

Gstaad Palace is, in short, a glamorous winter fantasy come to life. Lit up at night, looming high above the hamlet from its hilltop perch, the turreted structure looks like a castle. The interior is much as it was in the palace’s early days, though fresh renovations, some timed with the hotel’s centennial celebration, have added or improved upon a range of amenities geared to the modern jet-setter, including a sprawling, state-of-the-art spa with hammam and a massive granite wall cut from fifty tons of locally sourced rock. Of course, there are pros and cons to updating. Guest rooms and suites, though perfectly elegant and cozy, have a somewhat blander look than they once did — think beige and pale blue, plaid duvets, botanical prints. Superior rooms and suites offer more classic luxuries, with refined seating areas, beautifully tiled steam baths, and, of course, magnificent views.

At the end of the day, it’s the old-fashioned grandeur of the Gstaad Palace, the historical mystique, that make it so special. And the family who runs it has wisely retained many of the hotel’s original features, including GreenGo, the discotheque where Liz Taylor herself used to dance the night away with her fourth husband, Richard Burton. What makes Gstaad Palace feel doubly rare and special is the fact that it’s only open for select months of the year, through the heart of winter’s ski season and in the blooming height of summer. This feels about right for a place of this pedigree: in past days, as in the present, the most well-heeled travelers don’t travel on the off-season.

How to get there: Gstaad Palace is located approximately 81 km by car from Bern Airport via A6 and Route 11. Alternatively, Geneva International Airport is approximately 156 km away by car via A1, A9, and A12.