GstaadLife

Finally the new tunnel is ready - the walls are light, the emergency exits are better indicated in frames of neon green and the street has been resurfaced. Do you like it? Vote below: 

 
This is how the the new cultural center in Gstaad could look. The competition for the project Les Arts Gstaad has been won by French architect Rudy Ricciotti, with his re-creation of a mountain made out of wood that will be located just behind the railway station in central Gstaad. While private investors have been lined up to finance the construction and running of the culture center, it's still early days as we await some necessary changes in the design, the inevitable objections from the neighbors, the small matter of the Gemeinde needing to rezone the land, and of course approval of the people of Saanenland. Well, what do you think of it, dear Readers?

In a recent reader's letter in the Anzeiger von Saanen, Daniel Loertscher let his voice be heard rather critically about the recent "Gstaad alive" events on the Promenade, talking about it disturbing the peace and style of the Promenade, its restaurants and its guests with its all its loudness and to-do. What did you think about it? More pics after the jump and on their webpage.

They say money makes the world go round. And around and around till the people who have it find a place where they don't have to spend so much of it on income tax. Saanenland is one such place. Canton Bern, however, is currently discussing plans to scrap the so-called "Pauschalsteuer" tax breaks for foreigners, an increasingly popular passtime in helvetic government chambers in light of the global economic environment, increased scrutiny on Switzerland as a tax haven, and cantons that have already voted to strike down these tax deals, such as Canton Zurich. And since half of the 160 people who profit from these special tax treaties in Canton Bern actually live in Saanenland, the discussion has taken over local discourse. Notably Gemeinde president Aldo Kropf is for the special tax deals, probably a sensible position to take given that SFr 4 million of the SFr 12 million francs which are earned every year in the canton go to the communes. In other words, it's better to create a win-win situation for foreigners who want to live and pay tax here or they will simply end up paying it somewhere else. Opponents, especially Swiss people, argue the deals are unfair, with wealthy individuals basically free to propose their own tax regime to the local authorities based loosely on property-related formulae, leaving ordinary income earners paying a much higher proportion of their earnings than foreigners with Pauschalsteuer agreements. So what do you think...

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Gone could be the days when attending the Menuhin Festival could be mistaken for a camping trip. At least that's what the group Les Arts Gstaad want. Formed by Stephan Jaggi, Markus Kappeler-Steffen, Michael Krethlow and Reto Sorg, they have initiated a feasibility study on an inter-regional culture centre, and are lobbying for cantonal funds. By hosting music, theatre and permanent exhibitions, the new venue would provide a permanent roof for Gstaad's culture scene. And the tent would be history.

Above: Will the festival tent soon be a distant memory? Have your say...

We're guessing someone thought it would be pretty funny to manipulate a survey on GstaadLife.com. Because that's exactly what some joker did, distorting the poll we were conducting on whether the Rellerli should be closed for winter operations. Recently the Bergbahnen Destination Gstaad (BDG), the operating company for most of the region's cable cars, announced plans to realign Saanenland's skilift infrastructure (see Major changes proposed for Gstaad-area cable cars and related comments). The strongly-favored version of these plans (indeed the only one BDG said was workable) called for the removal of all skilifts on the Rellerli. It proved to be one of our most popular surveys ever, with 89% of the more than 200 voters clearly in favor of keeping the Rellerli going despite its struggles for snow the past two seasons. What's odd about someone taking the time to click on the "Yes, Rellerli winter operations should be scrapped" button (more than 150 times) is that it came in the immediate wake of a concerted email campaign from a number of GstaadLife readers, who wrote to Armon Cantieni, Director of BDG, urging him to reconsider the plan that clearly stated next winter would be Rellerli's last. In his responses Cantieni claimed that nothing has been decided finally as yet, and that all GstaadLife reader appeals to save Rellerli would be duly considered. It's just sad that someone with too much time on their hands had to try and fool everyone into thinking that the idea of keeping Rellerli open has no support. It does. To repeat, 89% of GstaadLife.com readers who voted in our survey want to keep Rellerli open in the winter, and no amount of survey manipulation is going to hide that fact.

By Tim Kilchenmann

Saanenland was caught off-guard last Monday evening February 18. A Gstaad Palace guest was abducted by masked men in a car in Oberbort (see Woman abducted in Oberbort-Gstaad and related comments). Luckily, the American tourist was pushed out of the vehicle in Rougemont, shaken but otherwise uninjured. But the incident left a trail of criticism in its wake. with attention focusing on the security and surveillance project tabled just last summer, that might have prevented the abduction (see Local authorities consider public surveillance measures).

Indeed, CCTV surveillance in Gstaad is finding more and more support. Reviewing the kidnapping, Gstaad Tourismus director Roger Seifritz expressed his concern. “The abduction of one of Gstaad’s guests is a tragic, albeit isolated case. Burglaries and vandalism on the other hand have been on the rise.” Andrea Scherz, director of the Gstaad Palace hopes that the incident will prove to be a wakeup call for Saanenland. “In the Palace we have an alert and well-trained team that approaches unknown individuals, and checks suspicious objects. Seven years ago we installed camera surveillance at all neuralgic points.” Security, he says, is critical for the region’s tourism industry.

Despite this momentum, many of Saanenland’s guests may be surprised to learn how little support CCTV has found amongst local residents. Popular concerns about privacy, and a hitherto general feel-good factor regarding personal safety has led to criticism of surveillance plans. Indeed it was the perceived fear of creating a "Gstonaco", an alpine Monaco under constant camera inspection, which was among the reasons that prompted the Gemeinde to postpone its surveillance project.

Following recent events, the Gemeinde has promised to revise its decision and look at the whole issue again this spring. This is necessary. Reminiscing about Gstaad’s glory-days, where crime was allegedly non-existent, no longer meets the mark. Simply blaming “Italians” or the “Balkans,” is as useless as it is offensive. It is high time for Saanenland to emerge from its peaceful slumber, and confront the reality on the ground.

The Gstaad-area cable car operator, Bergbahnen Destination Gstaad (BDG), is calling for a SFr 164m investment plan that reduces the total number of ski lifts by nearly 30% and that ends winter operations on the Rellerli. Hmmm an investment plan that reduces services...what gives? BDG's 10-year plan prescribes spending through 2018, with SFr 116m going on ski lifts, SFr 30m on artificial snowmaking, SFr 12m on operating equipment, and SFr 5m on rennovating mountain restaurants. Ten lifts would be replaced, there would be more artificial snow cannons, seven draglifts and two chair lifts would go, and there'd be no more downhill skiing on the Rellerli. To finance this strategy, BDG is asking for SFr 43m from the six communes of St Stephan, Zweisimmen, Saanen, Lauenen, Gsteig, and Rougemont. The rest of the money would come out of BDG’s cash flow, bank loans, the federal government, and the canton of Vaud. BDG hopes to have a decision by the end of the year and to implement the strategy beginning next year. This strategy is one of three models released last week by BDG’s board president and director, Armon Cantieni. BDG has worked intensely on these alternatives for the past year and has also been negotiating with the banks. According to BDG, only the model described above would fulfill various business criteria, keep the region within industry benchmarks, garner banking support, and satisfy what are described as Destination Gstaad’s high quality demands. It's actually not as bad as it sounds. Check out the hill-by-hill details here.

As seen on the Rellerli yesterday afternoon...

In our recent GstaadLife.com informal poll of Saanenland gourmet restaurants, the Grand Hotel Bellevue's Prado restaurant managed to come in dead last (see Gault Millau 2008: the critics' critics). But head chef Richard Mebkhout has just gotten his own back. He is now at the helm of the first local establishment in years to be newly bestowed with a Michelin star, adding to the one he held at La Grande Cascade in Paris where he worked before he came to Gstaad. Actually we think you were all a little harsh in the survey, but we have a feeling your were rating the somewhat cool ambiance. The food, however, is supreme, and hotel director Michel Wichmann is understandably pleased, with this latest award a new high point for the 2003 Gault Millau hotel of the year. But who can one trust more – your neighbor or professional restaurant critic? We find ourselves scratching our heads. For his part, Mebkhout isn’t too bothered. He's striving for a second star.