Le Grand Bellevue, Gstaad, Announces Michelin-Starred Dining, Immune-Boosting Wellness And A Series Of Alpine Experiences
Perfectly positioned in the heart of Switzerland’s quaint Gstaad, this winter season Le Grand Bellevue will offer guests the very best the snow-covered Alps has to offer with a series of new experiences. To coincide with the hotel’s reopening on 16th December the team at Le Grand Bellevue has designed a programme featuring award-winning culinary experiences, immune-boosting winter wellness, as well as a chance for non-skiers to experience an alternative Alpine side of Gstaad.
Alpine Dining
Returning for a winter calendar spotlighting the best in alpine gastronomy, Chef Francesco De Bartolomeis and his team will offer guests a taste of Alpine fine dining across the hotel’s six restaurants and bars. At LEONARD’s, Le Grand Bellevue’s culinary masterpiece, guests can expect seasonally focused and regionally sourced dishes where contemporary international cuisine blends subtly with Alpine influences. Emulating refined flavours of the mountains, four- or six-course tasting menus are offered. Main dishes include Simmental beef carpaccio with hints of coffee and mountain cumin, Saanenland Veal Steak roasted in hay, Swiss Mountain Rack of Ribs and a Whole Dover Sole served with hazelnut butter.
For long, convivial candle-lit dinners, Le Petit Chalet is the mountain log cabin restaurant option tucked away in the hotel gardens offering evenings of melted raclette and truffle cheese fondue. For bespoke intimate dinners, LEONARD’s Cellar offers the perfect space. Here, beneath vaulted stone ceilings and among a collection of rare and historic wine bottles, guests dine on a five-course, champagne-paired Krug Dinner.
6th -7th April 2023 sees globally renowned Michelin-starred chef Massimo Bottura taking over the kitchen at LEONARD’s for one night only. An innovator and restaurateur with over 20 years of experience, Bottura is one of the world’s most creative culinary figures and is best known as the Chef Patron of the famed three-Michelin-starred Osteria Francescana in Moderna. Bottura continues to redefine Italy’s rich gastronomic heritage whilst rooting his culinary work in Italian traditions and methods of cookery.
Reflective Wellbeing
Now more than ever, travellers are searching for the antidote to their day-to-day routines as they look to book their next getaway. In 2023 The Global Wellness summit predicts a radical shift in the way that consumers are viewing wellbeing, with attitudes becoming more reflective and holistic. Drawing upon the fresh air, health-giving botanicals and ice-capped peaks of the Swiss Alps, Le Grand Spa’s expert practitioners will this season place nature at the centre of guest wellbeing experiences.
Offering the chance to reconnect with nature through active and revitalising pursuits, guests of Le Grand Bellevue can ease into the day with a gentle and rebalancing Tai Chi or Qi Gong session guided by Spa Manager and qualified instructor Caroline Lecureur. Looking out to the sweeping serene alpine vistas, these group-led or private sessions are deeply rooted in the ancient Chinese philosophy of Taoism, which stresses the natural balance in all things and the need for living in spiritual and physical accord with the patterns of nature, designed to encourage holistic self-discovery and healing for the mind, body and soul. Understanding that the return of winter brings a need to reinforce our defences, bespoke treatment programmes are available and can be designed to target individual concerns with vitamin-rich spa treatments. Immune boosting experiences include the Goat’s Milk and Honey Bath, a local twist on the legendary Milk & Honey bath which combines rich minerals and AHA to aid in cell renewal, and a Swiss Silhouette treatment designed to boost circulation with a partial body peel, tackle imbalances with a massage and increase the metabolism and eliminate excess toxins with an algae body mask.
An alternative winter break
This winter, Le Grand Bellevue will offer those looking to explore an alternative to a traditional ski holiday new ways to discover the picturesque resort of Gstaad. From 21st -29th January, the world’s leading Hot Air Balloon Festival in Chateau d’Oex returns. Balloons from more than 70 countries around the world will dot the skies across the Swiss Alps in a spectacular display. Guests of Le Grand Bellevue can reach new heights in a romantic hot air balloon ride experience and enjoy a champagne toast in the clouds as they float above the snow-capped mountains, soaking in the alpine vistas.
Offering an opportunity to explore the resort closer to the ground, a horse-drawn carriage will whisk guests through a storybook setting to a secluded spot for a gourmet picnic in the snow. Guests can expect Swiss cheese fondue served with a selection of crudites, sandwiches and petit fours paired with a tipple of choice, all to be enjoyed mountainside.
Non-skiers can experience the rush of alpine sports without donning a pair of skis or a snowboard at all. A paradise for thrill seekers, Le Grand Bellevue offers adrenaline junkies an alternative as they discover the rugged alpine landscape that surrounds Gstaad’s Glacier 300 in an exciting dog sledging experience.
Le Grand Bellevue re-launched in January 2014 after a year-long renovation by dynamic owners, Daniel and Davia Koetser. In the heart of Gstaad village, the hotel was originally built in 1912 as a Cure House and Spa. Family-owned, managed and designed, the boutique hotel comprises 57 bedrooms. Bold colours, eye-catching prints and elegant furniture make up the interiors. The hotel’s signature restaurant LEONARD’s offers exceptional fine dining overseen by highly respected Chef Francesco De Bartolomeis, whilst the more intimate 18-seat Le Petit Chalet serves up a menu of hearty Swiss dishes. An on-site sushi bar serves up the freshest sushi in the Alps. Features include an art-deco bar and cocktail lounge, Cigar Lounge, Private Cinema and the Gstaad Yacht Club. Le Grand Bellevue is home to a 3,000 square metre spa in partnership with organic English brand, Bamford and Cellcosmet. Le Grand Spa features a Thermal Oasis, indoor swimming pool and outdoor relaxation pool, well-stocked fitness suite, comprehensive roster of complimentary fitness classes and expert in-house Personal Trainers, Physiotherapists and Osteopaths.
