Overlooking the valley
Heating-history has been written in the Gstaad Palace. The first kilowatt hour from the heating district Saanen-Gstaad was symbolically inaugurated in the heating basement of the renowned Hotel as the start of an ecologic delivery of heat for the whole region. After only two months of building and an enormous investment of 650.000 Swiss Francs, the Gstaad Palace is the first client heated through locally renewed energy.
Set on a hill overlooking the beautiful town of Gstaad, the resort is privileged to offer a breathtaking view of the majestic Swiss Alps. The 104 tastefully decorated rooms include 29 junior suites, and the luxurious and sophisticated three-bedroom Penthouse Suite.
One of the grandest of grand European hotels, the Gstaad Palace was built in 1913 and has remained open throughout both World Wars and the Wall Street Crash. It has hosted guests from Audrey Hepburn to Sophia Loren, with Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald who both performed post-war.
It is not the first time that the establishment heats with wood. During World War II as coal was beginning to get scarce, the hotel was forced to change to wood as a primary heating tool. In the 50s the establishment then switched to oil heating. About 60 years later, the Hotel is once again being heated with wood.
“Ecology is neither a foreign word nor a sickness, Ecology is the right way into the future“ says Andrea Scherz, General Manager. Through the heating district, the air quality in the Saanenland will improve significantly, and will save 270’000 liters of heating oil used by the Hotel every year.
Valere Tjolle
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