Four Seasons is on quite the expansion kick, and has just announced plans to open a new European ski resort. This is coming in the form of the conversion of an existing property.
In this post:
The Park Gstaad Hotel will become a Four Seasons
The Park Gstaad Hotel is undergoing an extensive renovation (it’s already underway), and upon completion, it will reopen as a Four Seasons property. The hotel will continue to maintain its initial branding, meaning the property will be known as The Park Gstaad, a Four Seasons Hotel. The current expectation is that the property will open in time for the 2026-2027 ski season.
Gstaad is of course a popular, high-end ski destination in Switzerland, roughly a two-hour drive from Geneva, and a bit further from Zurich. The Park Gstaad was the town’s first five-star hotel, when it opened back in 1910.
But the property needed some updates to keep up, which is why it’s undergoing a full-scale refurbishment, led by Squircle Capital. French interior designer Joseph Dirand is overseeing the refurbishment of the interiors of the property — he also did the Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club, so the design should be pretty awesome.
Once it reopens, The Park Gstaad will boast 75 rooms and suites, including a collection of luxury penthouse residences, which will be managed by Four Seasons, and available for purchase. With the refresh, the property is expected to get modern touches, while paying homage to the historic alpine setting.
The hotel will also feature an array of unique restaurant and bar concepts, as well as a destination spa and fitness center, plus indoor and outdoor pools. Other amenities will include a tennis court, ski and bike services, a kids club, and an ice rink in winter.
Below you can find some renderings of the property — it looks gorgeous!
I’m always happy to see more luxury ski resorts
Four Seasons has been growing at an incredibly fast pace lately. Currently Four Seasons’ North American ski resorts are in Jackson Hole, Vail, and Whistler, with another property coming to Deer Valley. Four Seasons’ only existing European ski resort is in Megeve, so this will be the brand’s second ski resort on the continent.
In general, I’m a huge fan of restorations of old properties, so I imagine The Park Gstaad will be very nice, especially given the interior designer behind it. Gstaad is a pretty competitive hotel market, with Alpina Gstaad and Gstaad Palace currently being the two best properties there.
In all honesty, here’s the thing, though — it’s hard to compete with French hotel group Airelles when it comes to the quality of their alpine resorts. Airelles Courchevel might just be the world’s most over-the-top ski resort, and Airelles Val d’Isere is pretty snazzy as well.
The great thing about Four Seasons is that there’s not another major hotel group that consistently offers such a high level of service. So between a beautiful design, a great location, and friendly service, I think this new Gstaad property will rank pretty high up there.
Bottom line
The Park Gstaad will become a Four Seasons, following an extensive renovation. The 75-key property is expected to open ahead of the 2026-2027 ski season. I look forward to learning more as the opening date approaches, as it’s always nice to see more luxury alpine properties.
What do you make of The Park Gstaad becoming a Four Seasons?
Is it true it will be open all year round?
Any mention of Alpina should note (boookable with 150k preferred points which is a 4:1 transfer partner of citi).
The revamped interiors look way too generic for the location IMHO. Nothing will say I am in the Swiss Alps, except, perhaps, prices...
On the other hand, I'd trust Swiss hospitality training, even if majority of the workforce may be foreigners...
... well, skipasses are about half the price of similar US skiing resorts. Agreed, in Austria and Italy they are about one third of the US.
Gstaad is more a mountain town with a few slopes than a ski destination, snow coverage is not guaranteed, everything is below 2000m. If you like skiing, you should go somewhere higher up.
The style of the rooms in the renderings look dated already. I prefer a modern clean look. At first I thought these are the pictures before the renovation!
I’ll be there.
I can’t wait to see your reviews of the Park Hyatt and Ritz Carlton Reserve Niseko properties for your upcoming trip, and I know you’ve reviewed W Verbier and St Regis Aspen before. Please keep up the news and reviews on the best ski properties globally using points. On the other hand, it’s really hard to get excited about your posts for obscenely-expensive non-points hotels.
@Ben - I haven’t been to a Four Seasons property lately that “consistently offers a high level of service.” Whistler staff all seemed like they were on their first day with 20 min or so of training. Halls were dirty, front desk staff clueless, etc. Vail was almost as bad. Long check-in wait, unannounced construction in the hotel forcing several folks to come back to the long check-in line to request a move. Average food...
@Ben - I haven’t been to a Four Seasons property lately that “consistently offers a high level of service.” Whistler staff all seemed like they were on their first day with 20 min or so of training. Halls were dirty, front desk staff clueless, etc. Vail was almost as bad. Long check-in wait, unannounced construction in the hotel forcing several folks to come back to the long check-in line to request a move. Average food at best. Don’t even start with the horrendous and rotting Hampshire hotel.
Mandarin Oriental and Shangri La, on the other hand have been flawless at every location I have visited over the past couple of years (Munich, Zurich for MO and Vancouver and Paris for Shangri La). Four Seasons has lost the plot entirely, and certainly not worth the asking prices.
Shangri-la Cebu terrible
The big knock on Four Seasons tends to be that their properties are generic and don't have a sense of place. Taking over an old (and restored) hotel should alleviate that. Many of their best (or at least most notable) hotels fall into that category, like Taormina, George V, Cap-Ferrat, Madrid, etc.
Madrid was not a takeover. It wasn't a hotel before.
Correct, it was an old bank. I could have phrased that differently, but I meant in terms of moving into an established building vs. a new build.
The rengerings already look very good. The rooms seem very cosy and Switzerland is always worth a visit anyway. Nice.