Location: Crans-Montana – Switzerland
Classification: 5 star hotel superior
Official website: guardagolf.com

Guarda Golf hotel & residences is a top notch five star hotel in Crans-Montana. Making part of Swiss Deluxe Hotels and The Leading Hotels of the World, my expectations were high and were met in every single way! We arrived during their winter opening weekend and I was blown away as soon as I entered this gorgeous place! I always like mountain style interiors when staying in the Alps and the warm and cozy interiors definitely gave me the mountain feelings. Guarda Golf hotel & residences is not an ultra modern design hotel, but a very stylish, elegant and luxurious appointed place instead. The traditional wooden décors and furniture are all beautiful.

The most friendly and professional check-in staff greeted us with a smile and gave us some useful information about the hotel and the village. I loved the personal approach and I immediately noticed the high service level. The hotel has ‘only’ 23 rooms which is why guests are treated as royalty here. From this winter, they added 7 huge suite apartments, each with a lot of space to move (225m²!). Also new is the new private 15-seat cinema which is accessible at no additional charge. I should definitely mention that a lot of other services are included in the rates too such as complimentary valet (underground)parking, a limousine service within Crans Montana and each day you’ll receive a newspaper upon request.

The rooms at Guarda Golf hotel & residences are glorious, spacious and elegantly appointed. The dark wood made it even more romantic. Our room had a gorgeous king sized bed and the most comfortable sitting area with two comfortable couches. The oversized desk was perfect for doing some work and internet speed was excellent! By the way, each room comes with a minibar with complimentary soft drinks.

The balcony had picture perfect views over the surrounding areas. Beautiful!

The luxurious bathroom featured a bathtub and an excellent shower! Water pressure was superb and 2 people could easily fit in! As most of you know, I’m a true fan of Bulgari toiletries and was happy to find out they provide those here!

Enough things to do here! A must visit is the spa area! This is THE place to relax and unwind after a day in the mountains. It is just gorgeous. The indoor pool has a good size and water temperature is excellent! I felt great in the large sauna and steam room as it was freezing outside!

They offer a large spa menu with several beauty treatments to choose from. I enjoyed a relaxing massage which was given by a talented spa therapist. She did an excellent job and made me feel reborn after the treatment. She was very knowledgeable about the products and took my preferences about the medium/soft pressure which I requested in mind. Loved every single minute of this wonderful beauty treatment. They’re real professionals here and the entire spa area is maintained in an excellent way! They use Eva.j products which is a Swiss-made line of products using only the best, biological ingredients, certified for Swiss pharmaceuticals.

Guarda Golf hotel & residences is located near a 18 holes golf course, called Severiano Ballesteros. As it was the start of the winter season, we weren’t able to play golf, but they do offer an indoor golf facility as well. Very cool!

The ski slopes are only a short drive from the hotel. We took advantage of the wonderful complimentary limousine service and they took us to the slopes in their brand new Mercedes. The ski area at Crans Montana is stunning. With 23 lifts and 140 km of ski slopes, this is a perfect place to enjoy several days of winter fun. I was happy to find out there are many blue and red slopes as I’m not a fan of black slopes. What I liked about this ski area is that it is not over crowded. We never had to wait at the lifts and the whole area is connected in a very convenient way.

Back to the hotel, as you would expect from a hotel of this class, they offer several gourmet dining options for their guests. The first night we had dinner at the Guarda Golf Lounge with a more international all round cuisine. As we arrived pretty late in the evening and since we were a bit tired, we enjoyed a more casual dinner. The food here was to die for and service was top notch! A must try is their crème brulee! The most beautiful crème brulee I have ever seen. Period!

Mizuki by Kakinuma is their fine dining restaurant and is one of the better restaurants in Crans-Montana. We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner here the second night. This restaurant offers an authentic Japanese cuisine in a unique setting. The décor is stylish and the panoramic views over the mountains is fantastic! The food really is out of this world and each plate was like a picture. As a starter we just had to try the suhi and we loved every single bite. For the main course we enjoyed a traditional hot pot called Marmite Sukiyaki with thin slices of beef and a selection of fresh vegetables in a sweet and salty soy bouillon, served with a raw egg on the side.

Guarda Golf hotel & residences recently underwent expansion works which are completed this week and I just had to see the new expansions myself! They added 7 luxury three-bedrooms suite apartments – and trust me, I wouldn’t just call them apartments but presidential suites instead, a library, private dining space, an adults and children’s games room, a cigar lounge and a private cinema honoring the legendary James Bond actor who used to be a loyal guest for many years. Let me share some pictures!

As you read, I really liked our stay at Guarda Golf hotel & residences. From the moment I stepped in to the moment I checked out, we enjoyed every single minute here and we can’t wait to return to this jewel in the Swiss Alps! Five stars all the way!