GstaadLife

On October 22 2011 the Rialto will close for the season. This will also be the day that Piero Bigai retires after 40 years. He started in the 60's at the Gstaad Palace and for the past few years has been running the Restaurant Rialto. We wish him all the very best for his retirement. 

The Hotel Arc-en-Ciel in Gstaad is celebrating its 50th anniversary this Saturday October 22 2011 from 11:00 till 17:00. You can have a look behind the scenes, there will be music, a lucky wheel, pony riding, face painting, a bouncy castle, the famous electric cars, and a special pizza oven for the kids.

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.

As expected, Roberth Speth's Chesery was yet again rated as the top restaurant in our region by Gault Millau - well, it simply is very, very good. We are also happy that the Chalet Hotel Hornberg in Saanenmöser is new in the guide - one of our favorite spots, with possibly the most underrated terrace in the whole of Saanenland. 

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.

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. 

 
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 construction up at La Videmanette has moved into its second phase. After a highly successful first winter season, work has begun (with minimal disturbance to summer guests) on the next step, a tunnel that will offer immediate access to the slopes from the top station of the gondola rather than having to schlep skis and kids through the maze of outdoor diners on the terrace. There are also plans to improve the restaurant but we don't have the details on that yet.

Franz W Faeh, who was born in Gstaad and has made his name as a top chef in numerous hotels around the world, is now cooking for those of you who turn left when you get on a Swiss airliner. Now we're all for trying to liven up mealtimes on planes, but we're always at a bit of a loss when we hear of top chefs taking up mile-high cooking duties. For it doesn't really matter if Franz Faeh packs my lunchbox or if I do it -- after 6 hours on the re-heat, it's still going to taste like, well, re-heated food. So instead we'll just head over to the Le Vieux Manoir in Murten where we can savor Faeh's delicacies moments after he's finished preparing them! Seriously though, congrats: from a promo perspective, these airline gigs are a big deal.

A bizarre scene awaited us last weekend at the Arnensee. The water level of the Arnensee is at an unprecedented low right now, some six meters below normal. This has forced Romande Energie to stop using water for energy production. It's still a magnificent place to go to, hike around and enjoy a picnic or some delicious trout at the restaurant, even if the muddy exposed lake-bed does stink a bit. One thing though: if the energy companies can't do hydro because water levels are too low, the Swiss have just canceled nuclear, and planning permissions for wind farms are perentially rejected, just how do the Swiss think all their future energy needs are going to be served?!