Why Glorious Gstaad Is A Smart Ski Choice

The Gstaad Palace hotel, a soaring five-star landmark high above the Swiss town from which it takes its name, opened its doors in 1913. In the intervening years, its crenellated towers have welcomed a glittering roll call of A-list celebrities, including Madonna, Louis Armstrong and Diana, Princess of Wales, as well as two James Bonds: Roger Moore and Sean Connery. Brigitte Bardot was snapped here wrapped in furs, and Hollywood superstars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton danced the night away at GreenGo, the hotel’s nightclub. Indeed, Taylor was such a fan that she reportedly brought five of her husbands to the Palace over the years.

The Michelin Guide describes the hotel as a “glamorous winter fantasy brought to life”, full of “old-fashioned grandeur” – a description that could equally apply to the town itself. What was once a small farming village in southwest Switzerland has been transformed into one of the most prestigious resorts in the Alps.

“Originally, Gstaad was just a hamlet, and Château-d’Oex, 15 kilometres down the valley, was more of a resort,” says Sebastian Devenish, a professional photographer and lifelong resident. “The hotel, then the arrival of the Aga Khan, who built a superb chalet in 1962, helped it to become the upmarket and special place it is today. And, of course, the railway line plays a crucial role in Gstaad’s iconic history.”

That railway was built between 1901 and 1905 to connect Montreux, at the eastern end of Lake Geneva, and Zweisimmen in the Bernese Oberland. A station was added in Gstaad. The town also has an airport in Saanen-Gstaad – but what else has arrived over the years?

“Money,” says Devenish. “A great deal of money. Also, visionary people like the Matti family, superb craftsmen whose firm, Chaletbau Matti, built many of the beautiful wooden chalets here. Then we have the local Swiss authorities to thank for the strict building regulations imposed since the 1950s. Unlike many other prime ski resorts, there are no big concrete apartment blocks here. Gstaad is one of the few chalet-only resorts, and the beauty that provides is priceless.”

Beauty is also inherent in Gstaad’s location in a valley at the foot of the high Alps, an especially scenic landscape. The town’s old-world elegance means that despite the 21st-century designer boutiques that line the cobbled streets, replacing the butchers and cheesemakers once there, it still has a feeling of charm at its core.

“The local community is strong – the Swiss love traditions, and you certainly feel that in Gstaad,” says Devenish. “It’s another big advantage of the valley. In the autumn, when the farmers bring the cows down from the Alpine pastures, they crown them with flowers and walk through the villages with the cowbells ringing loudly. It’s a wonderful show. This is a fabulous place to live year-round, with so many facilities – curling rinks, indoor tennis courts and swimming pools.”

There’s also plenty of culture. In the 1950s, famed violinist and conductor Yehudi Menuhin instigated the annual classical music festival that still bears his name – the 2024 event welcomed more than 25,000 guests. Planning is under way for a state-of-the-art concert hall, sports and culture arena at a rumoured cost of £90 million. Designed by award-winning architects Herzog & de Meuron, it will be the new venue for the Menuhin Festival and will provide facilities for the entire community throughout the year.

Gstaad’s well-established calendar of events includes an elite beach volleyball tournament, a country music festival and the Hublot Polo Gold Cup. In July, the EFG Swiss Open is held on clay courts in the centre of town, attracting some of the world’s best male tennis players – including national hero Roger Federer.

Members of the Eagle Club, established by the Earl of Warwick in 1957 and catalogued over the years by society photographer Slim Aarons, have met at the top of a “private mountain”, Wasserngrat, since 1957. More surprising – for a landlocked mountain town – is the flourishing Gstaad Yacht Club, founded in 1998 with the aim of creating a unique global hub away from the water. It now has more than 400 members from 35 countries, and affiliations with yacht clubs from Australia to the Bahamas. 

Gstaad is less packed with celebrities than it once was, according to Devenish, but even when Bardot and the European royals were regulars, it was discreet rather than showy. Many visitors still come because their children are educated locally. Gstaad is the winter campus for Institut Le Rosey, one of the most prestigious international schools in Switzerland, and home to the John F Kennedy International School.

“Come up and slow down” is Gstaad’s motto, and its laid-back lifestyle, natural beauty and traditional architecture still encourage visitors to do just that.

Property values
The Savills Ski Report for 2024-25 shows average asking prices for prime properties in Gstaad at €23,700 per square metre, putting the Swiss town in sixth place on the residential index, behind Aspen, Courchevel 1850, Val d’Isère, Verbier and St Moritz. It came ninth last year, so has overtaken Vail, Lech and Zermatt in the Savills league table. Looking at ultra-prime rates – based on each market’s highest available prices and the number of current listings – typical values per square metre are €38,000, up from €30,100 last year, again putting Gstaad in sixth position.

Read The Ski Report – Winter 2024/25