GstaadLife

The Allianz Suisse Open begins in Gstaad on July 8, and the list of players has been announced. World number 4, Ivan Ljubicic will be present along with 10 of the Top 50. Not bad, but no Federer again, and no Nadal -- what a boost it would be for Gstaad to see a re-run of the French Open final.

Well, the beach volleyball tournament is over for another year. It certainly seemed like there was more buzz surrounding the games than ever before, and coverage in the international press was noticeably higher. Telling sign: a new VIP area and bar in the park area where the Curling Hall used to be, and a close-to-capacity VIP stand, at least for the semi-final and final days.

Davidoff Saveurs Week is right around the corner, beginning this year on July 14. In the 2006 edition of the Gault-Millau gourmets’ guide, Saanenland restaurants are once again well represented. Twelve area hotels and restaurants made the cut, including Grand Hotel Park’s restaurant Le Marco Polo making its appearance for the first time in this select group of establishments with 15 points. Each losing one point were the restaurants Spoon des Neiges in Chlösterli (now 14 points) and Golfhotel Les Hauts de Gstaad (now 13 points).

International Herald Tribune recently carried an interesting article on property development in the Gstaad region.  This article explores the enduring appeal of buying in Gstaad, and compares the town’s fortunes to those of “over-built” St. Moritz.  Local real estate agents Marcel Bach and Martin Goeppert are quoted.