The property is located in the beautiful mountain town of Bad Gastein and has been renovated in modern times.
The photographs I am presenting here are from 2013.
On the land owned by the Straubinger family, where a tavern once stood, the main building of the Grand Hotel S was constructed between 1840 and 1842, based on a design by architect Josef Wessicken. Together with the adjoining Haus Austria, the Grand Hotel Straubinger offered accommodation for up to 200 guests.
All the buildings were built in the Belle Epoque style.
The hotel was also a place where world history was made. In 1865, the „Gastein Convention“ was signed at the hotel (an agreement between Prussia and Austria regarding the division of former Danish territories from the Schleswig-Holstein War. Austria gained Holstein, while Prussia received Schleswig and Lauenburg).
In the last years of its existence, until July 1999, the Grand Hotel Straubinger was used as a spa hotel for public administration employees and was owned by the Federal Real Estate Company.
From 1999 until 2017, the hotel fell into disrepair.
In 2017, the hotel and surrounding buildings were purchased by the state, and a gradual revitalization began, with an investment of 6 million euros. All activities related to the revitalization and reconstruction were entrusted to the state-owned Münchner Hirmer-Gruppe. The Hirmer Group plans to open the hotel complex in 2023 under its own brand – Travel Charme Hotels & Resorts, in three vacant Belle Epoque buildings – the former Grand Hotel Straubinger, Badeschloss, and the old post office. The project costs are estimated to be between 50 and 60 million euros. „The planning phase is still ongoing, but the building permit is still missing,“ said Daniel Eickworth, CEO of the Hirmer Group.
2024: The hotel is currently renovated and fully operational.
