Gstaad celebrates double award win

Gstaad has been awarded the newly created ‘Wellness Destination’ seal by the Swiss Tourism Foundation. Gstaad is one of the six destinations in Switzerland to receive this accolade.

Gstaad is the only destination in the Bernese Oberland to receive the award. Managing Director of Gstaad Saanenland Tourismus, Roger Seifritz, said; “We are one of the two regions which received an award even though they don’t have thermal springs”.

Gstaad inhabitants are overjoyed at receiving the award, which signals the excellent quality that is on offer. It is an acknowledgement of the huge investments made by the Gstaad hoteliers in the last few years. Roger Seifritz emphasises; “This is a real incentive for us to continue our commitment in this area and at the same time it represents a challenge to meet the high expectations relating to the range of offers in future”.

The award is subject to strict criteria, including recreational location and infrastructure of the destination. Gstaad was commended for the five hotels which have a full range of wellness offers, as well as the wellness infrastructure of eight other hotels, the sport centre, the traffic-free promenade, the numerous tourist attractions which are easily accessible at all times including an extensive network of walking trails and a wide range of leisure activities in unspoilt nature.

The quality seal provides visitors with a guarantee that they can look forward to a high quality holiday in Gstaad. “We attach great importance to this aspect of transparency, because it underlines our credibility”, says Roger Seifritz.

The Gstaad Palace has also been named top on the list of the best Swiss Resort Hotels 2008 for the first time in the accredited Swiss hotel ranking.

“It is not only one of the last luxury hotels run by the proprietor but also one with a lot of character. The wholehearedness and love which Andrea Scherz invests in the Palace already in the third generation, is impressive – for example, the new, amazing Spa. Mr Scherz celebrates the Grand Hotel by creating an atmosphere which is relaxed but at the same time also extravagant”, commented Claus Schweitzer, the journalist responsible for the ranking.

Gstaad Palace invested CHF 15 million in creating the exclusive wellness area. The 1,800 square metre Spa & Health Club has eight treatment rooms, a private spa suite, saunas and steam baths, relaxation areas with views overlooking the mountains, an indoor and out pool with Jacuzzi, a state-of-the-art gym, a pilates studio and unique hammam experience with seven rooms.

For more information, log on to Gstaad.ch.