Mountain

Mountain
resorts can be hard to reach, so we decided to turn it
into part of the experience. We took the scenic snow train from
Montreux to Gstaad, ascending the mountain in a glass-roof train
with an absolutely phenomenal view – made better by endless
champagne served by waiters in white tie!

Our base camp for the week was the contemporary-chic Le Grand Bellevue, a magical century-old hotel
in the heart of the village. Mornings were spent schussing down
glorious slopes – the best are at 3000 metres because they’re not
too crowded and there’s plenty of snow up there. Gstaad also has an
amazing range of pistes and some really wide slopes, which we were
grateful for after too much limoncello at lunch – that stuff is
absolute fire water and we were hurtling down the mountains
afterwards.

In the evening, we ate our way through multiple cheese-heavy
Swiss dishes at rustic restaurant Le Petit Chalet. They have an
old-fashioned cow bell hanging in the restaurant and, fuelled by
fresh air and probably a bit too much red wine, we began a
ridiculous game of who could high kick it. Juvenile as it may
sound, it was hours and hours of fun! Needless to say, Caroline
Weinberg made it look easy, Caroline Fragis pirouetted out of her
kick elegantly (she used to be a dancer) and a few of us (me) just
couldn’t quite make it. Fortunately, we had a wicked DJ in tow, so
we hit the dance floor instead and later had the whole hotel
joining in.

The Girl Gang’s Insider Guide to Gstaad

Where to Stay

Zoe: The Grand Bellevue Hotel, of course! It’s
beautiful and everything you could ever want from an alpine
stay.

The best cocktail spot

Laura: The hotel lounge for chilli margaritas –
it has gorgeous House of Hackney wallpaper and birdcage swings.

Caroline: Le Petit Chalet! They have the best
fondue and the spiciest margaritas I’ve ever tried. I know it
doesn’t sound like a good mix but they really are just perfect.

For a hot date, go to…

Zoe: Leonard’s Wine Cellar and then Bouquet for
cocktails and dancing. It has the perfect mood lighting – ideal if
you’re trying to hide goggle marks.

Caroline: The Grand Bellevue’s Michelin-starred
restaurant has the best food…

If you want a big night out

Laura: Go to the charming mountain wood cabin,
Le Petit Chalet, for a hearty Swiss fondue then kick the cow
bell!

Zoe: Kicking the cow bell!

Caroline: Kicking the cow bell!

For a work out

Caroline: The only workout I need in the
mountains is snowboarding all day long.

Zoe: There’s an incredible gym in the hotel but
I prefer to swim or wind down in one of the many steam rooms.

A secret spot others might not know about

Caroline: Any hidden corner of the mountain
with a cold beer in the sun.

Laura: La Refuge for lunch. It’s a secret
restaurant up in the mountains at Glacier 3000. Breath-taking views
over the slopes and it has no electricity and runs off a stove.

The best shop in GStaad

Zoe: Dolce & Gabbana in the town, the
wood-carved, chalet-style building is just beautiful.

Laura: Prada have an incredible edit; Gstaad
isn’t just for alpine shopping – they had in all the latest SS
trends too!

Caroline: My favourite place to shop in
Switzerland is always the pharmacy… So novel compared to the ones
back home.