The Swiss mountain village of Adelboden has always flown a little under the radar, and it isn’t difficult to understand why the regulars here want to keep it a secret. To get there, you’ll wend your way up a mountain pass on a typically hair-rising Alpine road, before the valley in which Adelboden sits reveals itself over the ridge, a setting so blissfully bucolic it feels straight out of Heidi: When I visited in the early days of fall, the hills were a patchwork of greens streaked with forests, and the occasional cow could be spotted chewing the cud. As we drove down the main street of the town itself, past the 15th-century village church, couples in hiking gear sat under the awnings of chalet-style cafes sipping hot chocolate and snacking on charcuterie and cheese. If it’s luxury shopping and Champagne-fueled après-ski you’re after, you can head down the road to Gstaad for that—here, in Adelboden, the laid-back vibe is all about world-class winter sports, hearty food, and quiet evenings in cozy, warmly lit pubs.
And at the end of the main street, you’ll find the newest—and most stylish—addition to the area’s hospitality scene: The Brecon. From the outside, it may appear at one with the balconied wooden buildings dotted elsewhere around the town, but after stepping through its wooden revolving doors, it’s clear this is another thing entirely.
Overseen by the Dutch interior design studio Nicemakers, the open-plan ground floor (or “living room”) is a study in muted mid-century chic, with Jean Gillon lounge chairs, squishy boucle Vitra sofas, and funky, Futurist-inspired abstract paintings curated by Amsterdam’s Bisou Gallery. Design and fashion monographs are artfully stacked on shelves, and there’s an inviting hum of activity as the smartly dressed hotel staff bring out tea to welcome you, or busy themselves with laying the table for dinner service.
The overall effect of all this 1960s high design and efficient Swiss hospitality, however, is totally unintimidating—in part thanks to the intention of its owner, Welsh financier (and hotelier on the side) Grant Maunder, to create an interior that feels firmly rooted in a sense of place, from the reupholstered antique dining chairs left over by the building’s previous occupant to the flagstone floors fitted by a Welsh stone specialist. (The hotel’s name is even a nod to the famous mountain range in the heart of south Wales.) “With The Brecon we want our guests to feel completely at ease, as if they’re staying in a generous friend’s home rather than at a hotel,” he says.
It’s a goal that, just a few months in, the property has already firmly achieved: After the breezy check-in process, I helped myself to a soda from the (complimentary) minibar in my loft-style top-floor suite, kicked off my shoes, and lay on the enormous, plush bed—covered in a patterned Welsh lambswool blanket, of course—to take in the views of the jagged mountain peaks beyond.
An even better vantage point from which to enjoy the vistas beyond? The nook tucked away behind the sofas and fireplace with a desk and a small window—perfect for flicking through one of the coffee table books you might have picked up from the living room below, or possibly catching up on some emails if you haven’t yet been lulled into the carefree mindset the hotel fosters. Even the bathrooms—lavishly stocked with Aesop products of every variety to enjoy in your enormous, high-pressure shower—are a thing of beauty, clad in salmon-pink tiles and decorated with sleek circular mirrors. For design lovers, The Brecon packs a surprise around every corner.
But with all the traveling to get there, I’d worked up something of an appetite. Before dinner, there were cocktails, whizzed up from the impressively stocked, marble-lined bar you’re invited to help yourself to at any hour, and prepared to be enjoyed either on the outdoor deck terrace in slatted wooden folding chairs, or inside, on one of the sofas where the warm, convivial atmosphere made it easy—enjoyable, even—to engage in some chit-chat with your fellow guests. (The conversation involved plenty of cooing over those views on the evenings I was there.) As for the food? The Brecon is all-inclusive, but not as you know it—you won’t find any sad-looking buffets or watered-down drinks here. Instead, the intention was to allow every guest the opportunity to experience a full cross-section of Alpine cuisine with an emphasis on seasonal, local produce.
You’ll typically start with a slab of perfect, freshly baked bread—crusty on the outside, pillowy on the inside, still warm from the oven, ready to be slathered with a rich local butter—then served a four-course meal that offers a whistle-stop tour through the very best the surrounding valleys and rivers have to offer: thick slices of smoked salmon with delicate pickled cucumbers and tangy horseradish sauce; hand-twisted farfalle doused in a sauce of Italian sausage and fennel; perfectly cooked veal with salsa verde and a crisp rectangular hash brown to mop up the jus. (Make sure you leave room for dessert, though: the tiramisu here is a thing of wonder.) Then it’s time for a pot of fresh peppermint tea—or a nightcap from that previously mentioned help-yourself bar—and if you don’t fancy a little stargazing on your balcony, to tuck yourself into those crisp linen sheets and enjoy some of the best sleep of your life.
You’ll need that rest, as the surrounding area is one that richly rewards the adventurous—and the team at The Brecon will be all too happy to share their must-visits. (The hotel is open year-round, and is sure to be just as delightful a summer “coolcation” as it is a destination for winter sports, with the numerous ski routes you can access from gondolas within the village.) Top of the list for me? A visit to Oeschinensee, the Platonic ideal of an Alpine lake: surrounded by dramatic mountain peaks, its mineral-rich waters are a dazzling lapis lazuli blue, which you can admire either from a hike around its forested shores or by lazily paddling your way across it in a rented rowboat.
Returning to the hotel on my final afternoon for tea and a slice of freshly baked cake, I realized there was one very important area I’d forgotten to scope out: the spa. So off I went, in my robe and slippers, to sip a herbal tonic by the outdoor heated pool, followed by stints in the sauna—which also boasts views across the valley—and steam room. Taking in Adelboden from my vantage point at the hotel, it’s not hard to see how The Brecon could put the town on the map for a different kind of curious traveler, happy to coexist with the existing crowd of hikers, skiiers, and lake swimmers who flock here all through out the year. It’s the kind of cult-favorite hotel the most stylish person you know would recommend—and feels sure to become a beloved weekend getaway for the Milanese fashion and design crowds. The most important thing, then? To make sure you get there before they do.
