Grand Hôtel des Avants « Le Châtelard »

Parc naturel régional Gruyère Pays-d'Enhaut - Built by Jean-Louis Dufour between 1873 and 1874 in Les Avants, the Grand Hôtel opened its doors to clients in 1877. Several famous guests have been known to stay here, notably Ernest Hemingway, who references Les Avants in his book Farewell to Arms. The 1930s economic crisis, forced the hotel to close its doors in 1936.

In about 1927, Dorothy Braginton opened a boarding school for young girls in Montreux, close to Chatelard Castle. She called it the Ecole du Chatelard. Soon the building was too small for growing student population. So when the Grand Hotel des Avants closed, the girls moved in.

Oak International bought the building in 1992 and founded "Le Chatelard Academy", a girls boarding school where students from around the world study human values and French.