Nov. 4, 2024
Bad Gastein relied on its thermal waters and grand hotels for decades to attract Europe’s well-to-do. However, market changes and a failure to adapt saw the resort in inexorable decline. Shuttered buildings dominated the centre, and hotels hung on to loyal, returning guests with increasingly outdated products.
Money pours in
Investors have sensed an opportunity recently, and since COVID-19, several transformational investments have appeared to have fully shifted the trajectory of this sleeping giant. There are still some local politics to overcome, but it seems Bad Gastein is transforming into a resort befitting the wonderous location once again.
Money has poured in from investors, and now 2 of the most central hotels have been transformed. The Badeschloss and the Straubinger Grand Hotel are now super-stylish architectural wonders. Where King Charles III might see a carbuncle, others will discover an architectural masterpiece. Where historic facades and internal features have been supplemented by contemporary space. Where rooms transition from the historic to the cutting-edge. New facilities include stunning spa areas with rooftop thermal pools. They are superb quality hotels where style and functionality has supplanted opulence.
New ways to spa
Cramped spas are a thing of the past. The Badeschloss's rooftop spa offers wonderful views of the mountains and valley.
This is a statement spa complex to complement the fantastic bedrooms beneath.
Venues that resonate
There are some true wonders that currently exist in Bad Gastein and need no renovation. The Kraftwerk hydroelectric power plant is a relic of the past that now welcomes guests for private events. The location is stunning at the bottom of the natural gorge. Above it, the water still thunders, hotels crown the cliffs above and there is a zip wire that buzzes directly overhead. The terrace is spectacular, with water thundering beneath and inside, the original powerplant fittings create a fantastic industrial theme. This is a statement venue.
Further developments are planned. More hotels are scheduled for redevelopment and there is a plan to link the different elevations of the town by underground escalator tunnels. A new restaurant is opening imminently in the heart of the resort and there are plans to bang heads even harder to redevelop the congress centre with occupies the dramatic precipice in the centre of the town. You sense that the bad times are very much part of the past.
Striking modern furniture is located among the ornate fixtures of the original hotel.
Clean and stylish, the modern hotel extension works magically with the original building.
