Against a backdrop of glaciers and mountain lakes, Gstaad is a haven for the rich and famous, with frequent visitors including King Juan Carlos I of Spain, Elizabeth Taylor, Bernie Ecclestone, Julie Andrews and Johnny Hallyday.

Built at the junction of four quiet valleys, near the southern tip of the Bernese Oberland, Gstaad was once only a place to change horses during the grueling voyage through the Oberland, but as the railroad lines developed, it grew into a resort.

After the opening of the deluxe Alpina Grand Hotel, wealthy Russian and Hungarian families started coming, bringing their entourages of valets, nannies and translators. In 1912, two  years before the outbreak of World War I, a hotel that was to become one of the most legendary in Switzerland, the Palace, opened, promising the ultimate in luxury. In 1916 Le Rosey school (listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as “the most expensive prep school in the world”) opened its doors in the satellite town of Rolle. The school contributed to the fame of Gstaad, as prestigious visitors, including King Leopold of Belgium, came to see their children.

The town, by far the most chic in the Bernese Oberland, retains much of its turn-of-the-20th-century charm. Some first-time visitors, if they can afford to, stay at the Gstaad Palace or mingle with the stars in their private chalets. Yet the town also has many moderately priced hotels, taverns, and guesthouses with an allure of their own.

Local expert
Denis Burrus grew up in Switzerland in a family of tobacco industrialists. After high school he completed his education with a university degree in the USA.  For twenty years Denis worked as head of luxury real estate sales with Sotheby’s International Realty, the No.1 realtor in the Lake Geneva area.

Strong ties to the beautiful area of Gstaad, for a number of years, prompted him to settle there so as to provide his Gstaad customers with his wealth of experience and connections, and established Burrus & Partners Luxury Real Estate, a company specialised in purchasing and selling prestigious properties in and around Gstaad.

Contact email: contact@burrusandpartners.com
Web: www.burrusandpartners.com
Tel: + 41 33 744 37 37 Fax: + 41 33 744 37 86
Mobile: + 41 79 621 14 64
Address: 19 Bodestrasse, C.P 155
3780 Gstaad – Gstaad, Switzerland