The Lobby - Saanen

Elegantly decorated Lobby bar with a nice view to the mountains. Not to forget the Cigar Lounge... very nice

Sehr schöne Bar mit einer sehr guten Auswahl, auch wenn die Drinks teils überteuert sind. Leider lässt der Service (die Geswchwindigkeit) zu wünschen übrig. Wir haben auf unsere Getränke gewartet, wärend der Barkeeper mit seinem Kolegen ein Pläuschchen halten, bis ein anderer Serviceangestellter die zwei darauf hinwies das unsere Bestellung schon seit einer viertel Stunde auf der Bar liegt und bearbeitet werden sollte. Bei 25 Franken pro Drink geht das nicht. Wer hochpreisig anbietet muss auch so arbeiten. Die Drinks waren aber super.

Ein Muss. Leicht; zu jeder Tageszeit. Wunderschöner Ort. Schöne Karte. Aufmerksames Personal ... wir lieben es!

There are two kinds of dining/drinking/hotel establishments I have decided I am not going back to for any reason. The first is the “garden variety dive” where I have simply had a bad experience. The second is like the first, but because the establishment is so famous, and has so many admirers who gushingly adore it, that I am at least thankful I went there once, so I can tell my friends why I hate it and won’t go back, ever. I call these places “One-Timers:” such a place is The Lobby Bar in The Palace Hotel in Gstaad. The hotel is undeniably famous. Mythical. Towering over Gstaad like a tackier version of the Disneyland Magic Palace, it is truly the “Acropolis of Ersatz Switzerland.” Add a loyal army of the Global 1% searching for overpriced weak drinks, and you have “The Place to Be” in Gstaad. Undoubtedly, the hotel will not care in the least that someone had a bad time there (nor would any Palace patron in his right mind even notice something so utterly inconsequential as a $50 overcharge). I will admit the interior feels actually more Swiss than most luxury hotels in Gstaad. From the terrace, the gardens are fabulous and the views are great. You do see rich and famous people there. The Great Gatsby, were he alive today, would no doubt be a regular. But all that doesn’t matter if the service is slow, the staff are rude and cold and self-impressed, a “glass of wine” is poured two inches high and they try to additionally rip you off by adding a couple of $25 bellinis to the bill. After an evening spent waving idiotically for our waiters like paparazzi chasing elusive stars at the Cannes Festival, I started to ask myself “aren’t these people working for US?” Then the bill came, and after talking to several friends who have experienced the same thing, I don’t believe the $50 over-charge was an accident. I tried to speak with the Maitre d’Hotel, who waved me off impatiently. Then I found a junior waiter, and explained to him the situation, admitting that since my friends had left early, there was still a tiny chance I was wrong (I wasn’t: I confirmed the extra bellinis were indeed added to the bill). He proposed a novel solution: “I will refund your $50 in cash, and if you later find out you were wrong, just pay us the money as a tip.” Interesting: heads, the client gets ripped off; tails, my employer gets ripped off. The proposal also seemed well-rehearsed and time-tested. All this had the effect of weirding me out, and reminding me that the point of going out to nice places is not to see how many famous people are getting fleeced all around you, but to actually FEEL famous, assisted by crisp, friendly service. I have spent a lot of time in five-star hotels and Michelin-starred restaurants, as have our friends, who will all see this two-word review: Never Again. There are far too many other happy places to spend my time, and money, in Gstaad.

The Palace Hotel sits imposingly above the town of Gstaad and captured our interest especially as my husband said it looked like something from the movie ‘Shrek’. We heard the manager had received the huge accolade of best hotel manager in Switzerland. We only had time for an after lunch digestif so our review is not of the full hotel. We only sat in the lounge but had a nice Irish coffee in sumptuously comfortable seats. The service was efficient and courteous if a little ‘stand offish’ but that’s fine. The decor of the hotel is slightly vulgar with the reconstituted stone pillars and other grotesque touches that do make you think of a more artificial environment but that’s just down to taste. I don’t think, based on that experience, I will choose to stay there for my next visit to Gstaad.