Ground-breaking ceremony for the “Grand Elisabeth” hotel project
On August 9, the groundbreaking ceremony for the hotel project “Grand Elisabeth” took place. The new city hotel will contain 132 rooms and is projected at 37.5 million euros. It is scheduled to open in early 2025.
“The Salzkammergut is one of the flagships of tourism in Upper Austria. The new ‘Grand Elisabeth’ hotel will provide important bed capacity and thus additional tourism impetus not only for Bad Ischl, but for the entire region. It is therefore all the more pleasing that the concrete implementation of this flagship project is now starting,” said Markus Achleitner, Provincial Councillor forEconomic Affairs and Tourism, on the occasion of today’s ground-breaking ceremony in Bad Ischl. 132 rooms will expand the tourist offer in the Salzkammergut from 2025 The future “Grand Elisabeth” hotel will have 132 rooms and suites. It is scheduled to open at the end of February 2025.” Thenew hotel will enrich the tourist offer not only in the ‘imperial city’ of Bad Ischl, but also in the entire Salzkammergut region. It will appeal to both traditional holidaymakers and create new offers for congress tourism,” emphasizes Provincial Councillor Achleitner.” From September 2023, 132 rooms of the future 4-star hotel as well as the hotel infrastructure, i.e. restaurant, vinotheque, seminar rooms, wellness area with sauna and indoor pool, fitness room and underground parking garage, will be built. The hotel, designed as a congress and tourist hotel, will be open all year round and offer spacious standard rooms as well as upscale suites. The location of the Grand Elisabeth, right next to the Kongress- und Theaterhaus, is ideal for seminars, congresses and events and offers a perfect complement to the existing premises, where operetta festivals, musical and theater productions, ballet and dance shows as well as concerts by international jazz and pop stars are performed. Bad Ischl was the summer residence of the Austrian Emperor. The 120-year-old vehicle was purchased at auction in 2020 by the Zauner family together with Herbert Ackerl and Josef Öhlinger. “Grand Elisabeth” hotel project at a glance: Photos: (c)Hörmandinger, (c)Land OÖ / Daniela Sternberger, (c)Hinterwirth
“Investments in the tourism industry have a high multiplier effect on jobs, income and added value due to their close links with the regional economy – both during construction and during ongoing operations. This is all the more important in these challenging times” emphasizes the great importance of the 37 million euro hotel project.
The entire region will benefit from the year-round operation in particular, for example shuttles for ski tourists to Gosau and the Feuerkogel are also planned in winter,” emphasizes Provincial Councillor Achleitner. ”
We are delighted that Bad Ischl will be getting an additional, urgently needed hotel in February 2025, as the demand for accommodation in the upscale 4-star segment in Bad Ischl is high,” emphasizes Mag. Herbert Ackerl on behalf of the investors from the owner company Bad Ischl HE GmbH on the occasion of today’s ground-breaking ceremony.
“As the Zauner family, we are extremely pleased about the ground-breaking ceremony for this important project: for almost 30 years, tourism experts and representatives of the local authority have agreed that Bad Ischl urgently needs more beds. Now the foundation stone is being laid.We are trying to create a hotel that we can identify with in the long term and that will be run just as stylishly as we do in our existing establishments in Bad Ischl “, emphasize Philipp and Josef Zauner from Konditorei Zauner Bad Ischl, also shareholders in the owner company Bad Ischl HE GmbH.
The historic imperial villa naturally shapes the historical image of this town. Many historic villas and buildings make Bad Ischl a hotspot for historians and history buffs.
Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elisabeth (Sisi) made Bad Ischl world-famous, of course also through the Sissi films. And Empress Sisi, who gave her name to the Grand Elisabeth Hotel, embodied by the international star Romy Schneider, can be seen at every turn in this wonderful town. Original carriage from the Sissi films Incidentally, the original carriage from the Sissi films by Ernst Marischka will adorn the entrance area once the hotel is completed.
It was restored and returned to its original condition. After more than 400 hours of work, it will now be presented to the public for the first time on August 13 as the highlight of the carriage parade in Bad Ischl.
Start of construction: Beginning of September 2023
Opening: End of February 2025
Facilities: 132 rooms and suites
Restaurant, lounge, vinotheque, seminar rooms, sauna, fitness, park, two underground car parks
(1st underground car park: 120 spaces in the hotel, 30 spaces outside; 2nd underground car park at the Kongresshaus: 170 spaces inside and outside)
Investment: 37.5 million euros Total investment costs