Set among the beautiful Swiss Alps and wildflower-cover fields, the Alpina Gstaad (Gstaad, CH) is gearing up to open for the summer on July 3. With 56 luxurious rooms and surrounded by more than 165 miles of hiking paths through sycamore-filled forests, the resort prioritizes the mental and physical wellbeing of its guests by providing a plethora of relaxing activities and amenities. One of the newer offerings at the Alpina Gstaad is a three-night, two-day Forest Healing Journey ($3,093), which includes Shamanic, Tantric, and Tibetan healing practices. The highlight of the program is a two-hour mountain walk led by Antonis Sarris, head therapist of the resort’s Six Senses Spa. Natural elements, such as air, wind, fire, water, earth, stone, and space, are incorporated into the walks, which have both a revitalizing and calming effect. Also new to the resort this year is a three-night, two-day Energy Sound Healing Retreat (starts at $2,753), which begins with a Wellness Screening with 50 biomarkers that allows the therapists to personalize each guest’s treatment plan. The retreat features a curation of treatments designed to reduce stress, provide mental clarity, and energize the body, including sessions of Reiki, meditation, sound healing, and a Kundalini Back Treatment.
Another addition to the resort menu is an Alchemy Bar. As part of the Forest Healing Journey or after a class or treatment, guests can take part in a 60-minute workshop, during which they can create their own personalized bath and beauty products. Guided by a spa therapist, guests can choose fresh and seasonal ingredients, such as lavender, rosemary, chamomile flowers, eucalyptus essential oils, goat milk, and almond milk to create body scrubs, soothing masks, and various poultices.
Visitors can enjoy twice-daily hour-long exercise classes in yoga, Tai-chi, Pilates, barre, and cardio at the Alpina Gstaad Fitness Center. 9 a.m. classes are complimentary for all guests. Additionally, two Boot Camps are planned for this summer, with one in the 82-foot outdoor swimming pool and the other on the resort grounds. Guests are also able to practice seven styles of yoga at the fitness center, including cinyasa, hatha, powder, Yang Yin, and Pi-Yo-Chi.
The Alpina Gstaad contains two Michelin-starred restaurants: Sommet, which showcases French-based fare, and Megu, which presents sushi and other Japanese cuisine. In addition, guests have the option of dining in the Lounge & Bar, which offers low-carbohydrate, low-fat, Mediterranean and vegetarian foods. All of the restaurants incorporate herbs from the resort’s organic garden, as well as local ingredients from the Saanenland.
To end the summer season, Alpina Gstaad will offer for the fourth year its annual Tibetan Week with visiting Tibetan monk Lharampa Loten Dahortsang, who will lead group and individual Lu Jong yoga and meditation classes from September 7 to 13. During the week, head therapist Sarris, a Tibetan medicine practitioner and naturopath, will conduct Tibetan Healing Retreats. The retreats, which start with a personal hour-long consultation, include a session with Tibetan singing bowls and a Ku Nye massage.
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