BEYOND THE POWDER
Mountain Hospitality, Climate Change & the New Alpine Season
By Moriya Rockman — Founder & CEO, Villa Tracker, Smiling House & Triangle Luxury
Gstaad, All Year: The Village That Was Never Just a Ski Resort
There is a particular kind of guest who knows Gstaad only in winter. They arrive in December or January, they ski the Saanenland’s gentle, extraordinary terrain, they dine in the Palace, they walk the car-free village in the blue afternoon light. And then they leave.
We want to tell them something.
You have only seen one face of this place.
Gstaad is, at its heart, a village — not a resort. The distinction matters more than it might seem. A resort has an on-season and an off-season. A village simply lives: through the pale green of spring when the snow is still on the high ridges and the first wildflowers open in the valley; through the long, warm, golden summer when the cycling routes wind through the Saanenland and the mountains reveal their full height in clear air; through the amber September light that arrives just as the cultural season reaches its peak.
The village has always understood this. The Menuhin Festival — founded by the great violinist Yehudi Menuhin — has drawn the world’s finest classical musicians to the valley every summer for decades. The Gstaad Jazz Festival fills the evenings with a different kind of intimacy. The Hublot Polo Gold Cup brings an elegant sporting crowd to the valley’s meadows. These are not compensations for the absence of snow. They are celebrations of what Gstaad is when it is most fully itself.
Menuhin festival – new concert venue planned for their 70th anniversary
A New Chapter: Caprices Comes Home to Gstaad
In 2026, something significant arrives. Caprices Festival — one of the most respected electronic music events in Europe, with 23 years of history and a legendary artist family including Ricardo Villalobos, Sven Väth, Sonja Moonear, and Jamie Jones — has chosen Eggli above Gstaad as its permanent new home.
Two weekends each March. Five stages built into the mountain’s existing architecture. A 360-degree panorama of the Swiss Alps. And music that, as those who have experienced Caprices will tell you, belongs nowhere more naturally than at altitude, in the early hours, with the peaks turning pale in the dawn light.
For Gstaad Chalet, this is a moment we have been preparing for: a new season, a new audience, a new reason to arrive. Our properties are perfectly suited to the Caprices guest — people who want the privacy and comfort of a fully staffed chalet, the warmth of a real home, and the freedom to return from the mountain at any hour they choose.
The Seasons of a Gstaad Chalet
Winter (December – March): The classic season. Skiing, snowshoeing, the Palace, fireside dinners, the rhythm of the mountain day. Caprices adds a cultural dimension in March that transforms the end of the ski season into something altogether more vibrant.
Spring (April – May): The valley’s best-kept secret. The snow retreats to the high ridges. The hiking trails open. The restaurants are quieter, the village more itself. A perfect time for guests who want the mountain without the crowd.
Summer (June – August): Gstaad at full bloom. World-class cycling, hiking, the Menuhin Festival, the polo, outdoor dining at altitude. The chalet opens its terraces and the valley opens its arms.September – October: Perhaps the most beautiful weeks of the year. The light is extraordinary. The trails are still open. The cultural season is in full swing. And Caprices, in its September edition, brings the mountain alive in a way that has to be experienced to be understood.
We manage each of our Gstaad Chalet properties as a home, not a product. That means understanding what each guest is looking for — whether it is perfect ski-in access in January, a private dinner for twelve in August, or a chalet that stays warm and welcoming after a night dancing on the mountain in March.
If Gstaad has been your winter destination, we would love to show you the rest of the year.
It will surprise you.
