Do the Swiss have the secret to eternal youth? It appears that way. As the birthplace of high-end skincare lines including Valmont, La Mer, and La Prairie, Switzerland takes skincare seriously, so it comes as no surprise that some of the world’s most exclusive spas and wellness clinics lie within the country’s pristine mountain ranges.
“The secret to Swiss skincare is rooted in the country’s pure water, which is rich in minerals and sourced from natural springs and lakes,” says Therese Martirena, spa director at Zurich’s famed Dolder Grand hotel. “Switzerland is also known for being efficient in production and using natural, high-quality ingredients for clean-beauty skincare.”
The Snow Paradise room at Dolder Grand Spa
The Dolder Grand Spa is magnificent, featuring 43,000 square feet of pampering grounds, including multiple hydrotherapy pools and an ice room that actually snows inside. The hotel partners with luxury beauty brand Dr. Burgener to offer Dr. Pauline Burgener’s one-of-a-kind haute couture spa treatment, which includes a skin analysis sent off to her lab in Lausanne, where a team of Swiss derms create a personalized skincare treatment delivered straight to the guest’s home. The spa also boasts a fitness and body-composition analysis and a GenoType nutritional analysis that uses 90-plus pieces of personal information from the client to help them take back their diet.
The hammam at Gstaad Palace Spa
Over a few mountain ranges is Gstaad Palace, a celebrity haven where the spa is an oasis of relaxation, with specialty massages and facials. “We focus on 100 percent organic skincare and are the exclusive carrier of local alpine skincare brand Jardin des Monts,” says Estelle Gomes, manager at the Palace Spa. “The products are sourced from the natural wonders of the charming Jardin des Monts chalet garden, located in the high Swiss mountain altitudes of Bernese Oberland. Blooming over 30 varietals of herbs, plants, and flowers, each ingredient is plucked and processed by hand, prepared into skincare without preservatives.”
