How a sanatorium became a timelessly elegant design hotel

The Bellevue Parkhotel & Spa is one of very few hotels in the Alps built in the linear, classical modernistic style. There are only two in the Bernese Oberland; in Adelboden, the streamlined, snow-white 1930s building contrasts with the rustic village and landscape.

The recently renovated façade is nevertheless not just a front, but rather the envelope of an equally coherent inner life, designed over the last few years by Basle architects Buchner Bründler. Experience the timelessly elegant Design Hotel, its generous rooms that almost let nature right into the hotel and the high quality furniture design, all in front of the imposing Alpine decor of Adelboden.

Renovations with Buchner Bründler

2006 Renovation: Restaurant, Bar, and Lounge

Building on the concept of openness introduced by the wing added in 1958—which has housed the restaurant ever since—the goal was to design new, spacious, and airy areas. The bar, lounge, and restaurant were therefore rearranged. The restaurant itself was fitted with large panoramic windows offering views of the mountains. The interior and exterior spaces blend seamlessly. The lounge and its bar stand in stark contrast to the airy restaurant. Particular highlights include the fireplace and the illuminated bar counter crafted from bog oak and burnished brass.

2006 - 2008 Renovations: Rooms and Suites

In 2006 and 2008, 12 double rooms, 7 junior suites, and 3 suites underwent a complete renovation. Two new room categories were introduced: “Nature” for the double rooms and “Privilege” for the junior suites and suites. Most of the bathrooms, featuring Bisazza glass mosaic tiles, are accessible from two sides. The decor reflects the property’s deep connection to nature and the region, particularly through the sandblasted glass works depicting the Wildstrubel. These stained-glass pieces are created using an ancient glassworking technique practiced in the Engstligental valley.
Classic Scandinavian furniture designs (by Hans J. Wegner) powerfully and convincingly blend tradition and modernity.

2009: Renovation of the Swimming Pool and Spa

Exposed concrete, spruce wood, and dark green terrazzo flooring give the renovated swimming pool (8 x 16 m) a sense of space and warmth. The wing housing the saunas and baths, with its four hot-air baths, contrasts beautifully with the bright and spacious indoor pool. This new space was carved out of the mountainside.

The architects drew inspiration from a crystalline cave: a fortified stone structure with a welcoming and cozy interior, designed so that the closer one gets to its center, the more the colors and sense of well-being intensify. A colorful glass mosaic adorns the polygonal concrete chambers, which house a Himalayan salt sauna, a bio sauna, and two steam baths. Illuminated spruce wood elements provide contrasting lighting for the relaxation area.

2013: Renovation of the Entrance, Lobby, and Dining Room

Fresh and airy, yet still comfortable and traditional. This is how the Bellevue looks following its most recent renovation in the spring of 2013, which focused on the hotel’s entrance, lobby, and dining room. The entrance now has a fresh new look, cleaner and easily recognizable from both sides of the street thanks to the removal of a bay window. The main building, dating from the 1930s, has thus regained its original spatial layout: a central front entrance, flanked on either side by the dining room and the lobby. One of the challenges of this renovation was to make the property stand out more as a cohesive hotel complex. The new façade, with its panoramic windows, contributes to the desired effect, as does the oak parquet flooring that extends across the entire ground floor. The dining room and lobby have gained height thanks to clean, uncluttered ceiling lines; the hotel now feels more spacious and elegant.

Buchner Bründler

In 1997, Andreas Bründler and Daniel Buchner founded the architectural firm Buchner Bründler AG, Architects FAS. It consists of a team of about thirty architects, interior architects, and designers. Even in their early days, the architects were known for their unconventional designs. In 2003, they became members of the Federation of Swiss Architects (FAS) and received the Swiss Art Award in the field of architecture. Following their success in various design competitions, they were able to carry out major projects both abroad and in Switzerland, as well as urban planning projects, notably the Volta Zentrum in Basel, part of the housing developments on the Stadtwerder peninsula in Bremen, the GA 200 complex at the UN headquarters in New York, and most recently the Swiss Pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai. For many years, these architects have been dedicated to teaching and research. Since the summer of 2010, they have held the position of lecturers at ETH Zurich.