GstaadLife

Bernie Ecclestone and Marco Piccinini, the two owners of the Hotel Olden want to renovate their hotel -- big time. Planned is a complete overhaul of the hotel and the restaurant area and the creation of four apartments and two chalets for long term rental - run by the hotel. The hotel itself wants to keep twelve suites. If you are asking yourself how all of this is going to be possible - well check out the poles behind the building right now. Let's just hope they don't renovate the ambiance.

by Taki Theodoracopulos

GSTAAD—Forget about Libya and don’t even think about Syria. The mother of all battles is about to take place right here in bucolic Gstaad, a place of terminal political incorrectness—until recently, that is.

But before I begin, the Beguine is far more likely to see Saif Gaddafi than we are in this glitzy nouveau-riche Mecca. The Beguine is a religious order in the Netherlands, the nation where the International Criminal Court is situated. I’d rather see Libyan justice meted out, and pronto—something like hanging a jockstrap out to dry, if you get my drift.

ROFL - Oliver Preston published two new books recently - 'Another Log on the Fire' and 'Fondue and Furs'. The latter looks at Gstaad and Saanenland and a barrel of laughs is guaranteed :-)

Everybody talks about it - here is a movie about it - the planned cultural center known as Les Arts Gstaad. After the jump you can read a translated article about the first planning phase which appeared in our sister publication, the Anzeiger von Saanen.

For years we have waited for someone to come up with a plan and the permission to do something with that old, run-down Hotel La Gare in Saanen. Over the past decade, various architects have tried to get construction permission to rebuild the Hotel La Gare but so far no consensus could be reached. Now Fabian Reichenbach of the eponymous architecture firm based in Gstaad believes he has the answer, and is trying again with what is described as a smaller more 'Saanenlike' project. Coming in midst of the Saanen renaissance, this one feels like it has a chance, so let's hope for some sanity on the planning commission because anything is better than the current eyesore. 

Did you realize that the old kiosk in the Promenade is no longer a kiosk? Gone are the newspapers, gone are the magazines, and in their place is the Würzbar, finally removed from its former storage room location behind Matti Interiors and out in the sun where it always should have been. Check it out - they have great spices, oils, teas, chocolates, an other specialties. 

It's official: entire fox families have established themselves in the midst of our villages, and gamekeepers are asking the community not to feed wild animals. As an omnivore, the fox finds a plentiful buffet in residential areas, mostly in the form of compost heaps and outdoor cat food dishes. But the real problems start when humans, out of a misguided love of animals, feed the foxes.

 
Don't miss this great market - lots of stands, lots of food and lots of fun. It starts at 9:00 and goes until 17:00. The Lions Club Gstaad Saanenland will also have a stand there where they collect old reading glasses for SightFirst - so don't forget to bring them. 

The 85 year old Oskar Buchs is showing his latest works in his atelier in Gstaad along with sculptures by Martin Bill.

Marcel Granollers wins the Crédit Agricole Suisse Open Gstaad against his fellow Spaniard 6:4 3:6 6:3. Haven't heard from him before? - well we haven't either but he solidly played himself into the final and is currently the no 33 in the ATP ranking.