It was a great experience to visit the Südbahnhotel at Semmering / Austria. It has been opened in 1882 as a Grand Hotel at the Semmering mountain pass. As it was the first hotel that time it was the foundation for the Semmering being a climatic health resort. In 1960 the hotel service ended and since then different owners tried different strategies for it – which is recognisable at many places.
It was an abandoned place for a while.
In 2021 it has found a new owner who is engaged to reestablish the former Grand Hotel as a place for culture and relaxation, close to Vienna (1 hour by car, or train).