Room type: Grand Deluxe Suite

Setting: Perfect. The Alpina is located in the Oberbort area of Gstaad, upwards from the center of the village, with a view of mountains in the distance, and green hills, chalets, and the towers of the Gstaad Palace hotel in the foreground. Imagine a Swiss fairytale mountain village – this is it.
The Alpina was built in 2012, it is rumored at a cost of CHF 336 million, or upwards of CHF 5 million per room (52 rooms), financed with the sale of chalets in the area surrounding the hotel (of which the Russian billionaire Rybolovlev is rumored to have bought three).
I have hardly seen such a level of investment before. The hotel entrance is completely underground, so that the view from the hotel is not marred by parking cars. The architecture is in keeping with the style of the local chalets. Many original elements have been sourced, such as the painted ceiling above the main lobby, which is from 1780.
There is also a quite serious modern art collection, with works from artists such as Tracey Emin or Alex Katz.

Room: We stayed in a Grand Deluxe Suite. The room was impressive, with a very spacious open-plan layout. There is a full-size dining table, a large corner sofa, a gas fireplace with additional seating, a dressing room, and a large bathroom with an additional powder room. The design is contemporary chalet style, but with some historical furniture, such as wooden trunks, sprinkled in. There is a minibar cabinet with Nespresso machine and sink. There is also a dressing room, and ample closet space. We had the view towards Gstaad village, and I could have spent hours just lounging on the balcony. The bathroom was done in a very clean contemporary style, with Acqua di Parma toiletries.
My favorite high-tech feature in the room: there were apparently some motion detectors around the bed, and when you would get up at night, a small lamp shining downwards from the bedside table would light up automatically in order to help you find your way around.
In terms of room selection, opt for the view towards Gstaad village. The view in the other direction is supposed to be OK also, but less off high mountains, rather of hills. Also, be aware that Grand Deluxe Suites are open-plan, i.e., the bedroom cannot be closed off.
Pool/Spa: There is a large indoor pool. It is very nicely designed with natural light streaming in from above, and there is also a children’s waterslide. Also, there is an heated outdoor pool. We did not visit the Spa.

Food: In Summer, there are three restaurants, the casual Alpina Lounge (with a menu focused on grilled dishes, as well as a separate menu of “healthy” cuisine), a Japanese restaurant, and the gourmet restaurant Le Sommet (open only for dinner). In winter, there is also an additional restaurant serving traditional Swiss dishes.
We only tried the Alpina Lounge. The setting on the terrace with a view of the garden was nice. The food was excellent, but excessively priced. Grilled lamb chops were CHF 72, for example (fair enough – at the upper end of, but not totally out of line with Swiss luxury hotel pricing). Not acceptable was the “whole langouste tail” at CHF 105. If they had really served a langouste, OK – but I was served large prawns. I was not in the mood for complaining, the prawns also tasted fine, but this is taking advantage of your guests.
In a similar vein, the room service menu is quite limited. In terms of meat dishes, there is a burger, a veal schnitzel, and the wagyu steak priced at CHF 115 for the small version and CHF 140 for the large version. I wouldn’t be surprised if they might serve a “normal” steak on request, but it is a bit cheeky to just put the most expensive variety on the menu.

Service: Excellent. Every staff member we met was friendly and attentive. Housekeeping worked perfectly.
There was a huge welcome amenity (2 bottles of wine, plate of dried meats, plate of cheese, plate of fruit, chocolates, fruit, flowers) waiting for us, and a stuffed ibex waiting for our child.
There is also a complimentary limousine shuttle to Gstaad village and back.
Only small area of improvement: We were persistently addressed in English by staff. It’s fine, and likely results from the hotel getting mostly international guests, but it doesn’t contribute to creating a sense of place (and it’s unnecessary, as I understand/speak all three Swiss languages).

Overall: Great place. I feel this is what a mountain resort should be like. There are 3 other luxury hotels in Gstaad, including the grande dame Gstaad Palace, and I would be curious to try them, but will return to the Alpina.