Then as now

Hotel Salzburger Hof the beginning

The impressive hotels of Bad Gastein were predominantly built in the last decade of the 19th century. Wealthy spa guests demanded hotels with all the amenities they were accustomed to from the great European metropolises of the time, such as Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Trieste, Paris, and Berlin. In 1887, the first part of the Hotel Salzburger Hof was built, while the current main building – the Schneider-Teuber-Häusl – was erected by Dr. A. Fechter around the turn of the century. All buildings of the Hotel Salzburger Hof were constructed by the famous Italian master builder Angelo Comini and his over 300 Italian craftsmen.

With the completion of the new railroad ...

When the new railway line to Bad Gastein was completed in 1904, the main house of the Salzburger Hof was still called Hotel Bahnhof. However, three years later, in 1906-1907, the then-owner Dr. A. Fechter commissioned master builder Angelo Comini to expand and redesign the main building in a pronounced Art Nouveau style as a rental house named Angerer. With the joint construction of the Kurhaus Salzburger Hof, a hotel with more than 60 rooms emerged, which eventually became known as Hotel Salzburger Hof.

In just three decades (1880-1910), master builder Comini constructed over 100 significant hotels of high standard, making Bad Gastein the leading spa resort worldwide in terms of the number of five-star hotels relative to its small population. Hotel Kaiserhof, Grand Hôtel de l'Europe, Hotel Straubinger, Hotel Austria, Wührers Bellevue, Hotel Astoria, Hotel Savoy, Hotel Salzburger Hof, and Elisabeth Hof quickly became renowned destinations for European royalty and cultural elite. Figures like Prince Bismarck, Emperor Franz Joseph, and Kaiser Wilhelm met every summer in Bad Gastein.

With the outbreak of the First World War ...

... in 1914, tourism in Bad Gastein was severely impacted. Limited transportation options at the beginning of the century and Italy’s entry into the war against Austria made profitable business difficult. At the end of World War I, Hotel Salzburger Hof was used as a hospital. However, by 1919, peace brought record heights in hotel bookings back to Bad Gastein. In the 1920s, many world-famous personalities spent time here, including Thomas Mann, Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, Somerset Maugham, the Roosevelt family, the Rothschild family, Schubert, Toscanini, and many others. The Hotel Salzburger Hof enjoyed a prosperous period during the "Roaring Twenties."

Hotel Salzburger Hof, Anno 1925

By the 30s...

about 50% of the guests at Hotel Salzburger Hof were from Germany. However, a new German tax of 100 Marks per German citizen traveling to Austria, introduced in 1933, reduced the number of German visitors from 50% to just 2%. With Austria's annexation by Germany in 1938, tourism recovered. However, the share of overnight stays by German guests in Bad Gastein never exceeded 15% thereafter. At that time, the hotel was managed by the Lackner family from Bad Gastein.

As early as 1930, the first sauna and wellness area in Salzburg was built. In 1950, a new thermal spa opened in Bad Gastein, leading to the closure of the spa area in Hotel Salzburger Hof. Today, this space houses the cozy fondue restaurant "Hofkeller."

At the beginning of World War II

... life in Bad Gastein continued as usual, but by 1943, the hotel struggled with low occupancy. After the peace declaration in 1945, the hotel was again used as a hospital. However, the desire for relaxation in Bad Gastein returned quickly, leading to new investments.

The 50s were a ...

...

flourishing time for Bad Gastein and its hoteliers. On March 18, 1952, Hotel Salzburger Hof was granted permission to add two more floors, creating an additional 25 rooms with spectacular views. Local master builder Xavier Franzmayr was brought in to design a flat roof, which was used as a spacious sun terrace with a swimming pool.

In the 50s and 60s ...

In 1958, Bad Gastein hosted the Ski World Championship at Graukogel, and at that time, there were 12,000 beds in the upscale category in Bad Gastein. During the 1950s and 1960s, many famous spa guests visited Bad Gastein, including Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Tyrone Power, Billy Wilder, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran, Lady Churchill, Richard von Weizsäcker, Nikita Khrushchev, Bruno Kreisky, and King Saud of Arabia, among many others. By the late 1960s, the mayor of Bad Gastein was Anton Kerschbaumer. He was young and forward-looking, constructing Austria's first spa facility in the Alps (Felsentherme) and a modern congress center in just a few years. He also began building a cable car to the 3,123m high Schareck Glacier in Sportgastein. Unfortunately, he passed away in the mid-1970s at the age of only 40. All these costly investments burdened the town’s economy. The glacier lift was never completed; however, the mountain road to Sportgastein and its ski area, which Kerschbaumer was also involved in planning, made Bad Gastein one of the most snow-secure ski areas in the Alps.

In the 70s and 80s ...

The 1970s and 80s were a time of gradual decline for Bad Gastein. There were no investments, and by the late 1980s, there was a significant need for a change in ownership. In 1987, the educational and travel group STS Alpresor (Janus Ges.m.b.H.) initially purchased Hotel Gisela and, in August 1989, Hotel Salzburger Hof. STS immediately began extensive renovations of the entire hotel. The first step was an aesthetic expansion, adding a mansard roof with two additional floors. The hotel thus rose four stories higher than the original building. Approximately 70 million euros were invested in the buildings, which today offer 140 rooms, two wellness areas, and ten dining venues to make your vacation an unforgettable experience. On April 20, 1992, the hotel was reopened by Princess Birgitta of Sweden.

Hotel Salzburger Hof has six sister hotels in Bad Gastein: Villa Orania (2007), Hotel Gisela (1987), Hotel Post (2001), Hotel Reineke (2011), Hotel Eden Rock (2015), and Hotel Goethe Hof (2019), adding an additional 400 beds.

In the 1980s and 1990s, artists like U2's Bono, Anita Ekberg, Liza Minnelli, Shirley Bassey, Charles Aznavour, and many others visited Bad Gastein. In recent years, British actors like Jude Law and American actors like Nicolas Cage have also stayed in Bad Gastein. Hugh Grant and his family continue to visit regularly. Our hotels are open nearly year-round, and with a wide range of summer activities like hiking, golfing, yoga, mountain biking, a rich cultural program, and thermal waters, nothing stands in the way of a great vacation experience, both summer and winter.

From the year 2000 ...

... British actors like Jude Law and US actor Nicolas Cage have visited Bad Gastein.

The former Pope John Paul II was also a guest in Gastein several times.

The Hotel Wildbad ...

... (built by Angelo Comini in 1892) was completely connected with the Hotel Salzburger Hof by means of a glass bridge.

Included with the Hotel Wildbad are another 32 first-class rooms, an elegant restaurant and a separate wellness and fitness area.

At the same time a brand new wellness area with almost 1000 m² was built in the Hotel Salzburger Hof, as well as 2 new sun terraces.

In 2012, Tripadvisor chose ...

... the Hotel Salzburger Hof became number one (#1) among 65 hotels in Bad Gastein and it received one of the best ratings in the entire Alpine region.

This success was achieved in December 2012 and maintained in 2013.

Bad Gastein gets ...

... finally snow cannons and new slopes on the local mountain Stubnerkogel, reaching down to the valley.

25 years of struggle and effort are over with the inauguration in December.

In 2014 the Hotel Eden Rock

... from the company Janus HotelbetriebsgesmbH. taken over, completely renovated and topped up.

It was built in 1906 by the famous Italian master builder Angelo Comini (*1839 - †1916). In 1929/30 it was extended by master builder Franz Xaver Franzmair according to the plans of Viennese architect Josef Prikryl.

In the hotel there is Eden's Pub one of the oldest pubs in the Gastein Valley. Eden's Pub has hosted many prominent musicians and actors such as Bono (U2), Jude Law and Hugh Grant.

The ** Hotel Goethehof is since 2019

... owned by the company Janus Hotelbetriebs GmbH and convinces with its very central, yet quiet location. The hotel is located in the immediate vicinity of the train station and is only a 3-minute walk from the Felsentherme Bad Gastein and a 10-minute walk from the cable car Stubnerkogel.

The Gipfelrestaurant Stubner was

... taken over by Janus Hotelbetriebs GmbH in April 2021 after years of management by the local family Pölzl. After the reconstruction, the self-service restaurant became a service restaurant. There are a total of 300 seats indoors, plus an additional 150 seats on the outdoor sun terrace.

Directly connected to the Gipfelrestaurant, which is located at 2,230 meters above sea level, walkers as well as winter sports enthusiasts can enjoy the 140 meter long suspension bridge. In the opposite direction there is a viewing platform.