Gstaad Palace

The Gstaad Palace is a luxury hotel in Gstaad, Switzerland. It was opened in December 1913 and is known as a notable destination for various celebrities and politicians. It is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World.

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, with a design from Dutch architect, Adrien van Dorsser. In 1915, it held a men's tennis tournament on outdoor clay courts. The tournament would eventually become the Swiss Open. Soon after the hotel's inauguration, World War I broke out in Europe, inhibiting the Palace's success at first. 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. 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 . That vault is currently a fondue restaurant.

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