From Gstaad to Zermatt

Gstaad Palace

Lobby Bar
The Lobby Bar at the Gstaad Palace is the perfect place to meet for coffee and cake in the winter. Some even refer to it as Gstaad’s living room. Later in the afternoon, Mario Guzzetti conjures up wonderful cocktails, and anyone who starts to feel peckish and prefers a simple meal should order a portion of spaghetti alle vongole, once the favourite dish of Ernst Andrea Scherz, who ran the hotel from 1969 to 2001.

La Fromagerie
The place where Andrea Buschini, the maître d’hôtel, now serves guests a Nespresso after having enjoyed their fondue or raclette was used by the Swiss National bank to store gold during World War Two. Evidence remains to this day in the form of the red vault door through which guests enter the restaurant.

– palace.ch

The Alpina Gstaad

Japanese Whisky Bar
Among the best in the world, Japanese whiskies are extremely coveted. The Alpina Gstaad has an excellent selection of high-quality Japanese whiskies, which it goes to great lengths to buy directly in Japan.

Megu Restaurant
Master sushi chef Tsutomu Kugota from Kobe takes guests on a culinary journey through Japan. At the heart of the Bernese Alps, he set up one of the leading Japanese restaurants in Switzerland. The omakase tasting menu and the chateaubriand of Wagyu beef are true experiences.

– thealpinagstaad.ch

Le Grand Bellevue Gstaad

Entrepreneur, developer and owner of the Grand Bellevue Gstaad. When Daniel Koetser acquired the hotel in 2012, he fully renovated and repositioned the property.

A man full of passion
Daniel Koetser’s eyes are like an open book. Anyone who meets him quickly notices that here is a man who is full of passion. He pursues this passion day in, day out, be that in his work as the owner of Le Grand Bellevue in Gstaad or in his leisure time. We met him at his hotel and accompanied him on an excursion high up into the mountain peaks of Gstaad.

“When we took over the hotel over ten years ago, it already offered the best location and incredible facilities – all the bones were there. And then we started to inject it with a hell of a lot of soul.”

Entrepreneur, developer and owner of the Grand Bellevue Gstaad. When Daniel Koetser acquired the hotel in 2012, he fully renovated and repositioned the property.

The blades are whirring, the helicopter is ready to take off. Daniel Koetser is as excited as a child, his eyes sparkling. He loves the area and knows it like the back of his hand. The chance to enjoy a bird’s eye view of Gstaad and fly up to the towering mountain peaks is a great privilege for him. He can hardly wait to set off. ‘Let’s go!’ he calls out, and within seconds the world on the ground starts to shrink and the mountains begin to reveal themselves.

If you ask Daniel Koetser about his philosophy, some of the answers are pretty unconventional. ‘With our hotel,’ he says, ‘my wife and I wanted to create something distinctive, not something that everybody has to like.’ To do this, he and his team had to take their own path. ‘When others turn right or left, we don’t follow them. What other hotels do is of no significance to us.’ This applies to everything, from the furnishings to the service to the pricing. The objective isn’t simply to be different for the sake of it, but to be true to themselves and their ideas. ‘We don’t want to be a hip hotel – we want to be one with lots of charisma.’ It’s important to him that guests feel at home and are able to relax. This is the feat that the Bellevue appears to achieve with ease: to create a relaxed atmosphere while simultaneously offering maximum luxury.

“I love to have fun. I like to remind people that it is a privilege to be alive. So keep your eyes open and embrace it.”

The job of a hotel owner is to master a wide range of disciplines to perfection while always maintaining a good balance. Lasting success is only possible with consistent hard work and a will to improve every day. At the same time, however, hotel owners must also deliver a product that is fun. Guests want to be aware of their host and perhaps clink glasses, share a laugh or simply have a conversation with them from time to time. Daniel Koetser achieves this balancing act to perfection – probably because it isn’t a balancing act at all for him. It is in his nature to follow his passion uncompromisingly while simultaneously loving life and living it to the full.

The blades are whirring, the helicopter is ready to take off. Daniel Koetser is as excited as a child, his eyes sparkling. He loves the area and knows it like the back of his hand. The chance to enjoy a bird’s eye view of Gstaad and fly up to the towering mountain peaks is a great privilege for him. He can hardly
wait to set off. ‘Let’s go!’ he calls out, and within seconds the world on the ground starts to shrink and the mountains begin to reveal themselves.

Chez Vrony

If you are looking to take a break from skiing in order to visit somewhere with plenty of atmosphere in the middle of the rugged mountain landscape – and enjoy some top-quality fine dining in the process – then be sure to check out the legendary Chez Vrony in Findeln. Together with her husband Max and their team, Vrony has created an unparalleled oasis for people who love to indulge in good food – either inside in the rustic parlour or outside on the lounge terrace to the sound of chill-out beats.

– chezvrony.ch

Mont Cervin Palace, Zermatt

This icon of a hotel is situated at the heart of Zermatt.

The fairytale-like building has been a fixture in the village for over 170 years.

A highlight here– especially after a day outside in the snow – is the spa with its saunas, steam baths, jacuzzis and swimming pools.

– montcervinpalace.ch

Grand Hotel Zermatterhof

Culinary top class at the Alpine Gourmet Prato Borni.

Situated directly on Bahnhofstrasse, the Zermatterhof dominates the townscape of Zermatt. The sun terrace in front of the hotel is the perfect place to have a drink and enjoy the wonderful views of the Matterhorn, and the hotel’s various restaurants offer an exciting range of high-quality cuisine – including Alpine gourmet dining at Prato Borni.

Anyone wishing to sit on Zermatt’s most beautiful terrace should treat themselves to a drink at LUSI, the brasserie at Zermatterhof.

Here, you are well and truly in the thick of things on Bahnhofstrasse. And as the day turns to evening, you can move inside and take a seat at a table in one of Zermatt's most spectacular halls, where you can choose between high-quality French cuisine and a range of classic international dishes.

– zermatterhof.ch

Refreshingly down-to-earth, despite her success

Now 42 years old, skier Fränzi Aufdenblatten already made international podiums from a very young age. As a junior, she won multiple gold medals in the World Championships. Later, she regularly made the top ten in the World Cup. We accompanied her on a ski mountaineering trip in Zermatt. In the process, we encountered someone who has always remained down-to-earth despite all her victories and fame. We put the skins on our touring skis and set off. Aufdenblatten sets the pace, but she goes easy on us, allowing us to enjoy the beautiful, snow-covered landscape. Soon we are far off the beaten track, on a route that takes us through a forest and up to the top of a knoll. As we look down on Zermatt, the former skier begins to sing the village’s praises. It means so much to her, she says: ‘I’ve been on the move my whole life, so Zermatt is incredibly important to me – it’s my home. When I think of the village, I am overcome by a warm feeling.’ She is also proud of the locals: ‘They are hard-working people who had good business acumen from the very start.’ Transforming a small, simple mountain village, as Zermatt once was, located at the end of a remote mountain valley, into such a successful tourist destination is definitely something to be proud of. Zermatt’s success isn’t only related to the presence of the Matterhorn, she says.

As is probably the case with most professional sportspeople, a common theme throughout Fränzi Aufdenblatten’s life has been ambition. ‘For better or for worse,’ she says, laughing. ‘I like to win even to this day. Winning is an intoxicating feeling. If you’ve invested a lot of time and effort, you are allowed to enjoy your victories.’ However, she is also familiar with the other side of the coin – defeat. During her professional career as a skier, she had to learn how to cope with losing. ‘Sport is a great teacher in this respect.’ To this day, Aufdenblatten is glad to have learned these lessons as they help her a lot in her work. ‘They have made me more robust and helped me to cope with the times when things aren’t going so well.’ Whereas her life as a professional sportswoman was a constant challenge, both physical and mental, today she also likes to relax and enjoy herself. ‘I love going to a posh hotel,’ she says. Her understanding of the term luxury is flexible, however. Good, simple food at a mountain lodge or on a ski mountaineering trip is also a kind of luxury for her. Fränzi Aufdenblatten has remained an extremely approachable person – a friendly, down-to-earth woman from Zermatt, despite all her success. Information about ski mountaineering in the Zermatt region:

– zermatters.ch