Arc en Ciel hotel
A family-run chalet hotel beside Gstaad's Eggli cable car, dog-friendly and child-friendly, with ski hire included in the winter rate and a private spa.
Arc en Ciel is the kind of Alpine hotel that families return to: a traditional chalet beside the Eggli cable car station, run with evident warmth by the same family for three generations.
Its position is the quiet luxury. The hotel sits close enough to Gstaad’s shopping promenade and ski lifts to make the village walkable, yet far enough from the centre to keep its calm. The 36 rooms each come with a balcony and a seating area, the better to take in the mountains at the day’s start and end.
It is unusually accommodating, too. Dogs are welcome almost everywhere in the hotel, so the four-legged member of the party need not be left behind. In winter, ski and sports equipment is included in the room rate, a small but genuine saving that smooths the arrival. And for families, the kids’ club is extensive enough to keep younger guests happily occupied.
The kitchen keeps things regional and unfussy: dishes from the Gstaad area alongside lighter Mediterranean and Italian plates, and wood-fired pizzas for the days when the slopes have done their work. For an hour of quiet, the private spa can be booked exclusively, a rare touch at this scale.
Arc en Ciel does not chase the showier end of the Gstaad market. It offers something steadier: a well-run, welcoming base for a family Alpine stay, in every season.
