Review: Le Grand Bellevue, Gstaad, Switzerland spa review

Set the scene

Charming cable cars float over craggy peaks; old-world railways cross rushing rapids, and geraniums spill from the windowsills of centuries-old chalets made of dark pine wood. There’s no denying it: Gstaad is like a Wes Anderson film come to life. Nestled in the Vaud Alps, the fairytale region’s architectural regulations have ensured that the postcard-perfect landscape will remain unchanged. Still, the worlds behind the doors of the glitzy town hold a kind of secret intrigue. The most alluring of all? The 1912-built Le Grand Bellevue – older than even the famed Gstaad Palace and as classic as it gets. But the walls behind its grand entrance are anything but dated and evoke the feeling of being in a timelessly eclectic townhouse – with a better backdrop.

What's the backstory?

When Daniel Koetser showed us around the hotel he relaunched alongside his wife, Davia, in 2014, it felt like more of a home despite its grandeur. In December 2017, Le Grand Spa would experience an all-encompassing refurbishment, welcoming everyone from spontaneous staycationers to international artists, musicians and business magnates in from the snow. The landmark building was erected over a century ago as a cure house and spa, and its transformation proves that historical preservation and modernisation aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive. While tastefully tucked beneath the hotel’s buzzing foyer, the spa is officially Gstaad’s largest wellness centre, with 32,000 square feet of space to decompress.

Its labyrinthine structure fits in perfectly with the boutique style of the hotel and, despite its size, feels incredibly intimate. The spa’s soft pink walls play host to beauty products from Dr Barbara Sturm, Bamford and Cellcosmet – the ultra-natural, cellular technology-driven Swiss skincare brand responsible for my having to check a suitcase on the hour-long flight home. Counting 17 wellness zones, 10 treatment rooms and glimmering indoor and outdoor pools, there is perhaps no better embodiment of Gstaad’s “come up, slow down” mantra than here.

What’s the wellness concept?

Le Grand Spa takes the idea of a traditional mountain spa one step further, focusing on advanced treatments. Whether you choose to sweat it out in Le Grand’s detoxifying infrared sauna, Turkish Hammam, Finnish sauna or ultra-unique hay sauna, you’ll have an array of options at your fingertips. For those of you (like me) who can only last so long in the heat, opt for the soothing bio sauna or the Roman-inspired Laconium, which provides a gloriously purifying experience through gradual warmth. The spa’s concept is traditional but never tired. With rooms like the cleansing Salt Inhalation Grotto and herbal sauna infused with local botanicals, you’ll leave with a clear mind and even clearer skin – whether or not you opt for one of Le Grand’s signature facials (which you should, more on that later).

What are the signature treatments?

Just a few minutes into my Swiss Repair & Destress facial, I know I’ve made the right choice. This therapy combines facial massage techniques with restorative deep cleansing and exfoliation, targeting skin damage and reducing inflammation in a way you see and truly feel.

For those looking for full-body invigoration, the Alpine Salt Scrub is the circulation-boosting and impurity-drawing treatment to opt for. Still, if it’s something unique you’re after, the Alp Hay Bath – a remedy used in Alpine communities for centuries – is a perfect example of why some therapies turn into traditions. It is ideal for alleviating aches and will leave you feeling fully refreshed.

Which therapist should I book?

Deemed the spa’s top therapist for a reason, Lucia Garcia’s in-depth advanced beauty experience from Dr Djoon by Clinique Rive Gauche, one of Switzerland’s top clinics offering everything from Profhilo to IV therapies and Hydrafacials, shines through. She combines her current Shiatsu massage training with her facial techniques and, during the instant-glow face mask portion of the treatment, makes the pain of that morning’s mountain run disappear with a targeted foot massage.

What makes it different?

In an era of "the next best thing", what makes Le Grand Spa different is an unapologetic yet unstubborn homage to tradition. As the only Swiss Butterfly Mark-certified hotel with 100 per cent hydropower, Le Grand Bellevue is forward-thinking in the areas it should be – but pays a beautiful tribute to Alpine practices, albeit by using tried and tested brands of the zeitgeist, through a spa where the past, present and future coexist calmly. Its subtle farm-to-spa method of infusing local botanicals into everything from the air in the saunas to the freshly brewed pre-treatment teas is reason alone to make this a place to come back to.

What else do they offer?

While the hotel’s fitness facilities include everything from a light-filled Pilates studio to a SensoPro trainer, it seems crazy to spend a second of cardio time inside. Luckily, the hotel’s Heli-hiking, padel court and exclusive access to the Swiss Open tennis centre court give guests many ways to break a sweat beyond the sauna.

The hotel’s prints-laden interiors are any design aficionado’s delight and complete the bar and cigar lounge’s art-deco feel. Leonard’s, Le Grand’s main restaurant, serves exceptional cuisine bursting with flavour and is best enjoyed at sunset on the terrace – the property has 16 Gault Millau points, so be assured you're in good hands. I quietly deem the risotto with gremolata oil and braised veal cheek my new death row meal.

Where do you stay?

Oh, to extend a stay in the Tower Suite for yet another night. The room overlooks a private garden bursting with lavender beds (plus the glaciers beyond); it's a sprawling, rustic, polished space. The bath demands to be immediately run, a plate of amaretti and figs on its corner. The only compelling reason to get out of bed at sunrise? A hot air balloon breakfast, where the early light softly bathes the Alps from a few thousand feet up. Looking down at the sheep, chalets and winding roads below, everything is quiet up here – a new kind of therapy.

Anything else to mention?

Like its subterranean spa, Le Grand Bellevue is full of the best kinds of secrets. From a cosy lower-level cinema to the old-school glamour Bouquet club and cocktail lounge, there’s always more than meets the eye. Beyond the classic main restaurant, the hotel’s intimate dining experiences at Le Petit Chalet (book here for candlelit fondue) or the spa-adjacent Sushi Bar are perfect alternative options.

Final word

A final word is hard to impose on a place guests will undoubtedly return to, particularly in a place whose oxygen alone is of a quality only Switzerland could claim and whose river has been scientifically tested to have water purer than bottled Evian.