Being single again, I had to take time off to travel and explore a new place and well you know that travelling is sort of my hobby & profession. Surfing through the internet, I came across Alpina Gstaad located in Switzerland. The idea of travelling to a totally new country really gives me thrills every time. I had reserved my stay at Alpina Gstaad, booked flights and I was ready to move.
I got pretty sick earlier this year. I won’t go into the specifics, but it was a bit of a scare. I had to buy oxycodone with credit card and take it for a while. When we were told I was improving it was a huge weight off our shoulders. In the end this is the reason we decided to go on this trip, to get away from it all and to celebrate.
It was a really long trip from India, as I slept through most of it and am really glad I did as I avoided being witness some minor midair panic.
I arrived at the beautiful city and I was bewildered at its beauty, calmness and friendliness of its peoples. I boarded a cab and headed to The Alpina Gstaad, I was overwhelmed at the sight that was before me.
The luxury at The Alpina Gstaad, like Gstaad itself, is quiet : you’ll look in vain for gilt taps. The hotel is a beautiful assemblage of Ringgenberg limestone and antique barn wood, sourced and installed by someone renowned, the gold standard for chalet architecture in Switzerland as i later got to know.
The hotel has two views, glacier and valley. The former looks toward Gstaad, but takes in the snow capped & streaked Spitzhorn & Oldenhorn and their rugged surrounding vassals. But the valley view is lovely too, in a pastoral way, a Swiss train-set landscape of rolling green hills and tidy villages, with the single-track Gstaad-Zweisimmen line running through it.
But on the fifth floor, room series 01 to 05 are on the glacier side and 06-12 on the valley side. Corner rooms are the 01 and 12 series on the front of the hotel & the 05 and 06 series on the back.
The hotel specializes in spacious suites. The largest ones (Grand Suites) – the 03 through 05 series, are on the glacier side.
The higher the room, the better the view. Though I could seem to take notice of any room with a bad view. I suspected that rooms 110 and 111, first-floor deluxe suites, would look into the trees. But I was surprised as these spacious T-shaped rooms turned out to have lovely views up the valley towards the little village of Schonreid.
I know you all would be wondering which room I finally got to pick, well it was the three-bedroom Panorama Suite (501) and I guess its is the grand of all. This duplex penthouse is on a residential scale, a virtuoso display of woodwork and understated color orchestration (ivories, oxbloods and green-grays).
The highlight is the second-floor, cathedral ceiling spa relax-room, which has a sculptural gas fireplace at its center and large windows cut into the sloping roof. The spa has a steam room, sauna, Jacuzzi on the terrace, and massage room. It is one of the most extraordinary hotels rooms ever. It also has a kitchen and comes with a chef. Why go out?
I got good value for my money and I don’t mind paying another visit there. Though at the monent I am considering one more option, as I came across an interesting site: japankensingtontours.com/tours/asia/japan. Maybe another part of the world this time?