Gstaad Palace

In 1905, Robert Steffen, a local schoolteacher in Gstaad, purchased land on which to build a new hotel. He recruited investors from Lausanne and Geneva for the project originally called the "Royal-Hôtel and Winter Palace." The hotel was opened in December 1913,{{cite book | last =Mourby | first =Adrian | title =Rooms with a View: The Secret Life of Grand Hotels | publisher =Icon Books | date =2 November 2017 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=EuonDwAAQBAJ&q=%22gstaad+palace%22+%22robert+steffen%22&pg=PT115 | isbn = 9781785782763}} with a design from Dutch architect, Adrien van Dorsser.{{cite book | last =Denby | first =Elaine | title =Grand Hotels: Reality and Illusion | publisher =Reaktion Books | date =2 April 2004 | pages =133 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=NhLyGME7734C&q=%22gstaad+palace%22&pg=PA133 | isbn =978-1861891211 }} In 1915, it held a men's tennis tournament on outdoor clay courts. The tournament would eventually become the Swiss Open.{{cite news | last=Stephens| first=Thomas| title =Advantage Gstaad: 100 years of 'unique' tennis| work =Swiss Info| date =23 July 2015 | url =https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss-open_advantage-gstaad--100-years-of--unique--tennis/41553394| access-date =28 June 2019}} Soon after the hotel's inauguration, World War I broke out in Europe, inhibiting the Palace's success at first.{{cite news | last=Potter| first=Everett| title =Gstaad Palace| work =Skiing Heritage Journal| date =March 2011 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=OijwKxr1ER0C&pg=PA12| access-date =28 June 2019}} It saw growth in the 1920s but was again hampered by the Great Depression. Ernst and Sylvia Scherz took over as directors of the hotel in 1938.{{cite news | last=Dütschler| first=Markus| title =Das Schloss mit Glamour-Faktor| newspaper =Der Bund| language =de| date =7 December 2013 | url =https://www.derbund.ch/bern/region/das-schloss-mit-glamourfaktor/story/29031995| access-date =28 June 2019}} During World War II, a vault in the hotel's cellar was used to safeguard money and other valuables held by the Swiss Bank Corporation (now known as UBS). That vault is currently a fondue restaurant.

Financial struggles associated with low patronage during the war prompted the hotel's majority owner to sell in 1947. The hotel has been operated by the Scherz family ever since.{{cite news | last=Dreyfus| first=Évelyne| title =Au Gstaad Palace en Suisse, le personnel chouchoute les stars| newspaper =Ouest-France| language =fr| date =6 April 2018 | url =https://www.ouest-france.fr/europe/suisse/au-gstaad-palace-en-suisse-le-personnel-chouchoute-les-stars-5675469| access-date =28 June 2019}} After the war, the hotel became a common vacation spot for royalty, including King Leopold III, the King of Afghanistan, and members of the Spanish royal family. In the 1950s, Scherz helped establish events like the Menuhin Festival Gstaad to increase business at the hotel.

The following decade, he brought in prominent entertainers to perform at the hotel, including Maurice Chevalier, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Marlene Dietrich, and numerous others. Scherz's son, Ernst Andrea, took over managing duties from his father in 1968. Throughout the 1960s and 70s, the hotel gained a reputation as a celebrity getaway destination. Actors like Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Sophia Loren, Grace Kelly, Roger Moore, and many others spent a great deal of time there. In the early 1970s, the hotel opened its first nightclub, GreenGo.{{cite news | last=Romeyn| first=Kathryn| title =Why Hollywood Stars Have Flocked to Switzerland's Gstaad Palace for 60 Years| work =The Hollywood Reporter| date =21 February 2017 | url =https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/why-hollywood-stars-have-flocked-switzerlands-gstaad-palace-60-years-975855| access-date =28 June 2019}} Exterior shots of the hotel appear in the 1975 film, The Return of the Pink Panther, with Peter Sellers in his role as Inspector Clouseau.

In 2000, Michael Jackson offered to purchase the hotel, but the owners declined. In 2001, Ernst Andrea Scherz handed over management duties to his son, Andrea Scherz. The hotel also added a spa to include sauna and hammam areas.{{cite news | last=Weakley| first=Cat| title =The Gstaad Palace turns 100| newspaper =The Daily Telegraph| date =26 March 2014 | url =https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ski/articles/The-Gstaad-Palace-turns-100/| access-date =28 June 2019}} In 2013 and 2014, the sixth floor suites were refurbished. It received a renovation in 2018 which incorporated more suites at the property.{{cite news |last1=Gray |first1=Christine |title=New Classic Suites Unveiled at Gstaad Palace |url=https://jetsettermagazine.com/2018/02/06/new-classic-suites-unveiled-at-gstaad-palace/ |publisher=Jetsetter Magazine |date=6 February 2018}}

In April 2022, Roman Polanski began shooting the film The Palace in the hotel.{{cite web |url=https://thefilmstage.com/mickey-rourke-joins-roman-polanskis-the-palace-which-has-begun-production/ |title=Mickey Rourke Joins Roman Polanski's The Palace, Which Has Begun Production |website=The Film Stage |first=Leonard |last=Pearce |date=April 15, 2022 |access-date=April 26, 2022}}

The Gstaad Palace was built in a Swiss chalet style on a hill overlooking the town of Gstaad. It has guest rooms and suites,{{cite news | last=Morris| first=Johnny| title =Gstaad Palace| newspaper =The Daily Telegraph| date =21 March 2017 | url =https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/switzerland/gstaad/hotels/gstaad-palace-hotel/| access-date =28 June 2019}} restaurants,{{cite news | last=Gillie| first=Rebecca| title =Beyond ski: Old-world luxury at the Gstaad Palace| work =The Week| date =27 March 2017 | url =https://www.theweek.co.uk/82954/beyond-ski-old-world-luxury-at-the-gstaad-palace| access-date =28 June 2019}} a basement nightclub (GreenGo), a spa, a traditional alpine hut (Walig Hut), indoor and outdoor pools, and numerous other amenities.{{cite news | last=Sager| first=Nils| title =Frischer Wind in altehrwürdigem Schwimmbad| newspaper =Jungfrau Zeitung| language =de| date =5 July 2018 | url =https://www.jungfrauzeitung.ch/artikel/165752/| access-date =28 June 2019}} It is a member of the independent hotel collective known as The Leading Hotels of the World.{{cite news | title =6 grand old ski hotels of Europe | work =Snow Magazine| date =20 April 2018 | url =https://www.snowmagazine.com/features/1208-top-tens/6-grand-old-ski-hotels-of-europe| access-date =28 June 2019}}

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{{Commons category|Palace Hotel, Gstaad}}

• {{Official website|https://www.palace.ch/}}

{{The Leading Hotels of the World in Europe}}

{{Portal bar|Hotels|Switzerland}}

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Category:Hotels in Switzerland

Category:The Leading Hotels of the World

Category:Buildings and structures in the canton of Bern

Category:Hotels established in 1913

Category:Hotel buildings completed in 1913

Category:Swiss chalet architecture

Category:20th-century architecture in Switzerland