At Gstaad’s Ultima Hotel there’s a room-service menu for dogs. As I ponder why you’d bring a dog skiing, I notice the La Prairie spa menu.
Its anti-ageing cellular therapies catch my eye, as well as surgical options, from mummy tucks to nose jobs, and nonsurgical treatments, from Botox and cavitation (which reduces cellulite with ultrasound) to plasma that treats hair loss, scars and stretch marks, courtesy of the hotel’s medical partner, the Aesthetics Clinic.
The Ultima is a seriously luxe establishment. Set in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland, with 11 suites and six apartments, its 8,600 sq ft spa is a sanctuary of black marble with an embarrassment of orchids and a sleek pool. Outside, a Jacuzzi sends plumes of steam into the air. It’s so heavenly that after a white-caviar La Prairie massage I fall asleep for two hours.
The very name Gstaad smacks of glamour. Madonna instagrams herself on its glacier. George Clooney pops in. The chalets are opulent and the après-ski prices beyond the pale. Many visitors (60 per cent are Swiss) don’t bother skiing. Clearly, they visit the spas.
But then Switzerland has long been associated with wellness. Not only does it have world-class medical clinics, state-of-the-art treatments and personal service, but unbeatable natural scenery, which Dr Xavier Tenorio, the chief executive of the Aesthetics Clinic, describes as “unique assets that cannot be exported”. There is no money that can buy beautiful landscape, pure air and water,” he says, “and the Swiss invest energy and resources to keep it that way.”
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Many Alpine spas are aesthetically austere — in neighbouring Austria this is often the case. But Switzerland offers more luxurious forms of medi-spa. The top resorts for combining pampering and science are La Réserve in Geneva, known for its anti-ageing treatments, and Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, with its noninvasive beauty programmes. It was only a matter of time before Gstaad produced medical-quality treatment without compromising on lifestyle.
Down the road, the 57-room Le Grand Bellevue has also invested heavily in its vast spa, which it opened in December. Its owner, Daniel Koetser, tells me the majority of guests don’t ski. Koetser reopened Le Grand Bellevue, with the best position on the main drag, in 2013 and he has injected a slug of sassy contemporary luxe. The spa has a salt grotto, an ice fountain and saunas that range from infrared and herbal to Finnish and Laconium. Clinique Rive Gauche is on hand for aesthetic treatments from mesotherapy, botox and hyaluronic acid injection to CoolSculpting, while serious interventions are done in Geneva, followed with recovery at Le Grand Bellevue.
Escaping to the slopes after my facial, I’m delighted that the locals seem to take seriously Gstaad’s motto: “Come up, slow down.” Their commitment to spas rather than skiing means beautifully empty pistes.
Le Grand Bellevue costs from £490 for a double, B&B (bellevue-gstaad.ch). Ultima Gstaad costs from £430 (ultimagstaad.com). For information visit gstaad.ch and myswitzerland.com
The Waldhotel, Lucerne
A chorus of multidisciplinary physicians — from cardiologists and dermatologists to orthopaedic surgeons, gastroenterologists and psychosomatic doctors — can be consulted at the Waldhotel, which opened in December. In addition to its 160 hotel rooms there are also 18 medical rehabilitation rooms. Packages range from medical MoTs and weight loss, burnout therapy and healthy ageing courses to anorexia and addiction programmes. Doubles from £310 (buergenstock.ch)
Waldhaus Flims Hotel & Spa, Flims
This 142-room belle époque beauty reopened in the summer after the first phase of a $40 million refurbishment. The 32,000 sq ft wellness centre has an outdoor pool, a natural swimming pond with an “ice hole” and a wood-heated grotto, as well as saunas and steam rooms. Treatments are pampering rather than medical, using Swiss Cellap Laboratoire and Ligne St Barths products.
Doubles from £346 (waldhaus-flims.ch)
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Giardino Mountain, St Moritz
Although from the outside this hotel looks like a cluster of traditional mountain homes, inside the chalets are connected to create a contemporary spa, with a pool, saunas and steam rooms. It specialises in Ayurvedic treatments. The hotel is ideal for couples — while one partner may be indulging in two-Michelin-star feasts, the other can enjoy healthy meals based on Ayurvedic principles.
Doubles from £275 (giardino-mountain.ch)