Saanenland, Canton of Bern
Gstaad is the centre of the Saanenland, built around a car-free Promenade a few minutes from the station on the GoldenPass line between Montreux and Zweisimmen. The Eggli and Wispile gondolas are a short walk from parts of the village, and the bigger hotels run shuttles to them and to the Wasserngrat, since most are not on the slopes. Every hotel guest gets the Gstaad Card from the first night, with free regional trains and buses. Glacier 3000 at Col du Pillon is about 20 minutes by car or 29 minutes on PostBus 180.
11 hotels. Listed by classification, then size; not a ranking.
Gstaad · 5-star superior · 90 rooms
The turreted grand hotel above Gstaad, run by one family for three generations, for families and guests wanting everything on site.
Winter season from 15 December
From €1,236 a night
Gstaad · 5-star superior · 57 rooms
A 1912 cure house turned five-star at the Promenade, with a 3,000 m² spa, for spa lovers and young families.
Winter season from 18 December
From €1,189 a night
Gstaad · 5-star superior · 56 rooms
A five-star chalet hotel above Gstaad with a Six Senses spa and a 25 m pool, for couples and families.
Winter season from 11 December
Gstaad · 5-star superior · 17 rooms
Seventeen suites and private residences in three timber chalets on the edge of Gstaad, for privacy-minded groups and families.
Seasonal
Gstaad · 4-star superior · 46 rooms
A 4-star superior beside Gstaad station with an indoor pool and four places to eat, for families and travellers arriving by train.
From €432 a night
Gstaad · 4-star · 66 rooms
A family-run 4-star near Gstaad's Promenade with duplex family rooms and a good restaurant, for families and walkers.
Seasonal
From €377 a night
Gstaad · 4-star · 30 rooms
A family-run hotel a minute from the Eggli gondola, with a ski shop opposite, for families and active holidays.
From €521 a night
Gstaad · 4-star · 29 rooms
A 29-room lifestyle hotel by Gstaad station with an open-air rooftop bar, for couples and friends who like a buzz.
Winter season from 23 November
From €473 a night
Gstaad · 4-star · 23 rooms
A quiet hillside hotel of 20 rooms and 3 apartments above Gstaad with La Bagatelle and a deep wine cellar, for food and wine lovers.
Winter season from 4 December
From €484 a night
Gstaad · 4-star
Eight chalet-style suites in a historic inn on Gstaad's Promenade, for couples who want the village at the door.
Winter season from 3 December
From €2,472 a night
Gstaad · 3-star · 21 rooms
A historic inn on Gstaad's Promenade, run by the Widmer family since 1922, for travellers wanting simple rooms and Swiss cooking.
From €236 a night
Gstaad station is on the MOB GoldenPass line between Montreux and Zweisimmen. The GoldenPass Express takes about 1 hour 25 minutes from Montreux and also runs from Interlaken Ost; from Bern, change at Zweisimmen. By road, Gstaad links to Lake Geneva via Aigle and the Col du Pillon, to Gruyère via Bulle and to Lake Thun via Spiez. Geneva, Zurich and Basel airports are a few hours away; Bern and Sion are the regional airports, and small planes use Saanen aerodrome.
Gstaad has several separate lift areas rather than one big one. The Eggli gondola leads into the Eggli and La Videmanette area, whose longest run ends in Rougemont. The Wispile is the family mountain, with the Zückerli and Rüti lifts for first turns and a sled run down to Gsteig. The Wasserngrat has three slopes, including the black Tiger Run. The largest area, Rinderberg, Saanersloch and Horneggli, starts in Schönried, nine minutes away by train.
Hotel guests get the Gstaad Card from the first night, issued digitally by the hotel; children 6 to 12 get the Saani Card. It covers second-class trains and PostBuses across the Saanenland, including the bus to Glacier 3000, on arrival and departure days too. Ski passes and the Gstaad lifts are not included. A visitor's tax is charged per night.
Visitor's tax: CHF 5.80 per adult per night, plus a Canton of Bern lodging tax of CHF 1.00 per night. Ages 6 to 12 pay half; under 6 free. Source
Not usually. The Gstaad Card covers trains and PostBuses across the Saanenland, PostBus 180 reaches Glacier 3000 at Col du Pillon in under half an hour, and the larger hotels run their own shuttles to the lifts. A car mainly helps for trips beyond the region.
Mostly not. Gstaad hotels sit in the village rather than on the slopes, and the larger ones run shuttles to the Eggli, Wispile and Wasserngrat lifts. A few smaller hotels stand a short walk from the Eggli and Wispile gondolas or beside a beginner lift.
Yes. The card covers the MOB line from Lenk and Zweisimmen through Gstaad to Rougemont, about eight minutes away, where the La Videmanette gondola starts. It stops at Rougemont: the line on to Château-d'Oex is not included.
Sources: gstaad.ch, gstaad.ch, gstaad.ch, gstaad.ch, gstaad.ch, gstaad.ch, glacier3000.ch, saanen.ch.
