The Alpina Gstaad

As usual, it was great. It was our fifth time. It's gotten significantly more expensive, though. Last year we paid 1665 Swiss Francs for our junior suite and this year it was 2070 Francs for the same room. But it was still worth it..

From the moment you walk in til the moment you leave was a wonderful experience. It did rain two days out of the three we were there so we enjoyed all the hotel amenities. Gym, sauna, salt room, pool with a fabulous juice bar

We had a phenomenal four night stay at The Alpina. The hotel is elevated and set away from downtown Gstaad and feels private and secluded. Every bit of the hotel from the arrival experience to the intricate woodwork and custom furniture in the rooms is designed to perfection. The hotel’s interior design is sophisticated and understated. Compared to the other comparable 5* hotels in Gstaad, we felt The Alpina offers a quiet luxury feel that the others couldn’t quite match. The hotel staff were professional, gracious, and helpful. The concierge team was prompt and responsive to our requests and provided good recommendations prior to and during our stay. We had an inconvenient issue with our rental car’s tire pressure and the staff were kind enough to help us fix this. We stayed in a gorgeous Junior Suite with mountain views which was luxuriously and graciously appointed. The room was amongst the very best we’ve stayed in of all our travels, it felt like no expense was spared. We found the bed a touch hard for our taste, but the linens were lovely. The hotel and our room were impeccably clean and well maintained. Housekeeping was responsive and helpful. We loved relaxing at the beautiful outdoor pool and in the spa. The gym is great, both in terms of its modern clubby design and wide choice of equipment. The spa had many areas to enjoy and was exceptionally maintained. Generally the food at the hotel was very good. We ate at Monti, The Alpina Lounge, the pool (same menu as the lounge), and did a cheese and wine tasting. Breakfast was delicious; the hotel offers a large and varied a la carte menu in addition to an extensive hot and cold buffet (surprised to say that the dim sum was my favorite part!). Service at breakfast was great, however for dinner the staff seemed consistently overwhelmed and understaffed. There were a few instances in which the staff forgot about a simple request or standard part of service (like offering a drinks menu and taking our drinks order), and the food seemed to take a long time (we waited 35+ minutes for starters on nights when the restaurant did not appear that crowded). The quality of the food at dinner was inconsistent; the bread at dinner was hard and stale and we received a salad that looked like it was made from the same ingredients you could find at a NYC deli, also the portion sizes were sometimes small for the price. The hotel had live music but the pieces played and style of the musicians seemed to be a mismatch for the atmosphere of the hotel… it was like being part of an awkward wedding during dinner instead of the cool sophisticated vibe felt we expected. Those experiences were disappointing for the price/caliber of the hotel but we were generally happy with the food. All in all, a 10/10 stay! We hope to return.

The Albina Gstaad is a stunning hotel with a Six Senses spa, a well-equipped gym, and a wonderful atmosphere. The rooms are beautifully designed and equipped with air conditioning, a rare luxury in the Alps. I’ve stayed here twice already and will definitely be returning.

I come to Gstaad several times a year, but this was my first time staying at the Alpina. As others will also describe it, the Alpina is the quieter, more spa focused palace hotel in the area, and while the bar and common areas may be lacking in atmosphere, the rooms are superior in their comfort and the spa is indeed excellent as are the swimming facilities. While no stay is perfect, the issues encountered were negligible at best. For instance, the hotel does not do laundry on Sundays, but no one told me this prior to taking my laundry order. I was then called two hours later and told the turnaround time would be minimum 48 hours and would be double the price. Annoying, as most five star hotels in this world can turn around laundry in a few hours versus a few days, but not something of any real consequence. The shuttle service ends at 11pm, which I wasn’t told prior and left us stranded at midnight to walk back up the hill in the rain. Not ideal. Another gripe was the exceedingly slow service at breakfast; I am all for leisurely dining, but when I order a simple coffee, I don’t expect it to take 30 minutes to bring to the table… the real issue was having only one waitress serving the entire restaurant. Her attitude was superior but everyone was running out of patience. I would also note for a hotel of this size, the gym is very small and was always crowded both morning and evening, not sure if there is room to expand, but it should be considered. Again, despite these very minor problems, I thoroughly enjoyed my stay, as did my guests, this is a true five star hotel experience, and come winter, I would probably consider staying here again.