Fifty-seven rooms in a privately-owned chalet hotel set in its own park at the entrance to the Promenade — half-board included, Leonard's at dinner, the Bellevue Spa across two floors, and the only Saanenland five-star where the rate isn't a-la-carte.
"The most personable Gstaad five-star — in continuous private family ownership, with full half-board built into the rate, a 3,000-square-metre spa across two floors, and the only Saanenland luxury hotel where the dinner is part of the room, not a separate negotiation."
Le Grand Bellevue sits in its own piece of mature parkland at the eastern entrance to the Gstaad Promenade — close enough that the village is a one-minute walk through the gardens, set back enough that the property reads as a private estate rather than a hotel on a street. The original Bellevue dates from 1912; the building was through several iterations across the twentieth century. The current ownership — the British family Daniel and Tessa Koetser, joined by Saanenland-born hotelier Marc Schmid — bought the property in 2012 and reopened it after a comprehensive top-to-bottom renovation in December 2013, turning what had been a tired four-star into one of the more interesting design-led five-stars in the Alps. The hotel is a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World and is operated entirely independently.
The 57 rooms (48 doubles and 9 suites) are arranged across the historic main building and the connecting south wing. The interior brief was led by London-based designer Nicky Dobree working with the Koetser family — the result is a confident contemporary alpine palette of jewel-toned upholsteries, dark oak parquet, polished brass detailing, and large bespoke artworks across the public spaces. Categories run from the entry-level Chic Doubles (24-30 square metres) through the Charming, Pretty, and Plush Doubles, then Junior Suites, the named Bellevue Suites, the Penthouse, and the headline Spa Penthouse — a 240-square-metre top-floor unit with a private terrace, plunge pool, and direct access to the rooftop spa pavilion.
Three restaurants run across the property. Leonard's — named after the Koetsers' son — is the gastronomic flagship, a contemporary European tasting menu in a single 30-cover room under chef Urs Gschwend. The Brasserie is the all-day breakfast, lunch, and afternoon-tea room with the most reliable winter terrace in Gstaad. Carlos' is the rooftop Italian destination, opened in 2019, with a wood-fired oven and a sommelier-led wine list. The bar — Le Petit Chalet — runs as the village's most quietly busy after-ski drink. The Bellevue Spa occupies 3,000 square metres across two floors with an 18-metre indoor pool, two outdoor whirlpools, hammam, salt grotto, herbal sauna, and ten treatment rooms. Half-board (Brasserie breakfast, choice of three-course dinner at Leonard's, the Brasserie, or Carlos') is built into the standard rate — a structurally distinctive proposition in a Swiss five-star market where dinner is almost always sold separately.
Service is the proposition the Koetser family has built consciously: privately owned, family-managed, and operated at a small enough scale (the staff-to-room ratio is the highest in Gstaad after the Alpina) that personalisation is operational rather than aspirational. The Bellevue is the Saanenland answer for the booking that wants the design-led contemporary boutique rather than the inherited grand-hotel theatre — a slightly smaller, slightly warmer, more legibly individual take on Gstaad luxury. Half-board pricing makes the all-in rate transparent in a way the village's other five-stars do not match.
For the Gstaad honeymoon that wants warm, design-led, and intimately scaled, the Bellevue is the answer. Bellevue Suites have south-facing terraces and freestanding bathtubs; the Spa Penthouse with its rooftop pavilion is the milestone version. Leonard's at dinner is included in the rate — meaning the honeymoon budget goes to the Penthouse upgrade rather than to the dinner negotiation. The 3,000-sqm spa is sized for the half-day couples' programme.
A Bellevue anniversary is the Gstaad version that doesn't require menu negotiation. A Plush Double for a quiet weekend; a Bellevue Suite for the milestone; the Spa Penthouse for the major one. Half-board includes a tasting menu at Leonard's, the Brasserie's lighter menu, or the rooftop wood-fired Italian at Carlos'. The Bellevue Spa runs an anniversary couples' programme that draws from the half-day spa concept.
The Bellevue Spa across two floors, the daily yoga programme, the salt grotto, and a kitchen that handles plant-based, gluten-free, or anti-inflammatory briefs at the half-board level make the property a genuine alpine wellness booking. Five-night minimums are when the spa programmes (sleep, alpine reset, post-detox) start to compound; the Spa Penthouse with its private rooftop access is the headline wellness suite in the Saanenland.
Untergstaadstrasse 17
3780 Gstaad
Switzerland
Gstaad railway 6 minutes by foot (free hotel transfers); Promenade 1 minute through the gardens; Wispile lift 6 minutes; Saanen private airport 10 minutes
57 rooms (48 doubles, 9 suites)
Chic Double from CHF 750/night (half-board)
Charming Double from CHF 950/night (HB)
Bellevue Suite from CHF 2,400/night (HB)
Spa Penthouse from CHF 6,500/night (HB)
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Reopened December 2013 under Daniel and Tessa Koetser; Small Luxury Hotels of the World member
Leonard's (gastronomic, 30-cover)
The Brasserie (all-day, winter terrace)
Carlos' rooftop Italian
Le Petit Chalet bar
Bellevue Spa (3,000 sqm; two floors)
18-metre indoor pool, two outdoor whirlpools
Half-board built into all rates
From CHF 750/night including half-board. Christmas-New Year is a seven-night minimum and books eight months ahead; the Spa Penthouse is held for repeat guests through New Year. Best value-and-snow window is the second half of January.
Book This Hotel →A 56-room contemporary chalet on the Oberbort hillside — the first Six Senses Spa in Switzerland and Sommet's Michelin star.
The 1913 Scherz-family-owned grande dame on the hill above the Promenade.
A 94-room chalet hotel a minute from the Promenade — the My Gstaad Chalet penthouse and full alpine spa.