GstaadLife

Olden renovation update: above is one of the first pictures of the main building. As you can see, it stays basically the same from the outside with the exception of the rooftop extensions. There are extensive plans for the inside, but the good news is that the restaurant as well as the bar area will stay exactly the same, (kinda like when they "re-did" the GreenGo). In a recent interview with our sister publication, the Anzeiger von Saanen, hotel director Ermes Elsener referred to the apartments in the planned chalets behind the main building as "lukewarm beds", defending the assertion that hotel apartments are part of the region's problem because they remain largely empty most of the year, so-called cold beds. Don't get us wrong we understand the need to rennovate, go with the times, and finally make some money with the hotel side of the business. It's just that everyone loves the place as it is, so there is real hope that the promises of keeping the building, the bar and the restaurants will hold. Building is scheduled to start in March 2012 with a plan for completion in December 2012 for the main building. The all-new chalets out back will take at least two years.

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.

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. 

The Institut Le Rosey has been in search of a new area for its Gstaad campus for a while now, and believes it has found it in the form of Schönried Erli (above the village of Schönried on the Rellerli side). Pictured above is a mock-up of how the campus is expected to look, a project which will be a joint effort of architects Benz Hauswirth GmbH, Jaggi & Partner AG and Chaletbau Matti AG. They have conceived a campus that looks like a mini-village with numerous buildings in the local chalet style set around a village square. The village itself will include living quarters for about 450 students and 100 teachers as well as the classrooms, cafeteria, sports facilities, and a parking garage for about 75 cars. The only discussion point amongst locals is the Hubelstrasse which is simply too narrow at parts for the kind of traffic expected. More as we have it.

Some of the architects involved in the reconstruction of old chalets along the Promenade in Gstaad have complained to the 'Bau-, Verkehrs- und Energiedirektion des Kantons Bern (BVE)' in Bern that the so-called Planungszone -- which imposes a freeze on certain types of chalet reconstruction in a defined area of central Gstaad -- is, well, illegal. So now there is quite some discussion going on about whether the commune of Saanen has been correct in the way they have handled things. More as we have it.

 

The Hotel Spitzhorn in Saanen, which is owned by Basler Insurance, is (long over-)due for renovation - well actually a complete demolishing and rebuilding. The image above shows the plans for the new complex, which as you can see are quite an upgrade on the existing structures (below). Planned is a three star hotel with 100 beds, 17 apartments, wellness, and, we assume, a damn good pizzeria. If the building permission gets granted then the plan is to reopen in winter 2013.

The long term architectural development of Gstaad is an issue on the minds of many right now, both in the local and guest communities. Last Tuesday May 25 2010 a meeting of the local council of Saanen took place where the new measures for the planning zone in Gstaad were presented. Architects designing the village's next generation of structures will be permitted to further develop buildings in central Gstaad, but they will be required to do so in a manner that preserves the unique character of the village. To that end, a new class of buildings has been established. These so-called "formative communal objects" can only be situated on the Promenade itself, and must embrace the preservation of the character, origin and diversity of the overall appearance of the village. If you read German, all the details are here.

The petition to prevent construction of a new hospital in Saanenmöser has achieved enough signatures to put the issue to a vote. This will take place on September 24 at the general assembly of the local council in Saanen.

In the recent local council decisons of the Gemeinde Saanen that took place last week, all motions were accepted. Specifically that means SFr 5.3m for a new rainwater basin in Schönried, SFr 800'000 for the new riding center (SFr 550'000 for the new riding hall and SFr 250'000 for new riding paths), SFr 1.9m for the planned old peoples' home in Saanen, and SFr 200'000 for the restoration of the polo field. That will be a total of SFr 9.1m, thank you.