Seehotel am Kaiserstrand (Lochau)

The Seehotel am Kaiserstrand is a hotel on the shore of Lake Constance in Lochau, Vorarlberg, Austria, between Bregenz and Lochau. Its distinctive castle-like silhouette — stepped gables, battlements, oriel windows and rounded window bays — has made it a protected landmark, and the building is listed as a monument. The hotel occupies a roughly 20,000-square-metre site on a small inlet of the lake, with public access to the beach and the Lochauer Dorfbach running openly through the grounds. A public footpath and cycle path along Lake Constance passes in front of the hotel, and the municipal boundary between Lochau and Bregenz runs partly through the hotel garden. The property has a long and varied history. In 1905 Georg Hauber acquired the Edelsitz Maihof and the Gasthaus Zum Anker to establish a health resort. The north-west wing was built to plans by Bregenz master builder Otto Mallaun and opened on 22 July 1910. A southern wing followed in 1912, designed by architect Willibald Braun. The name Kaiser-Strand-Palast-Hotel is said to have been approved by Emperor Franz Joseph I himself, and in 1917 Emperor Karl I and Empress Zita visited. After the First World War the house operated as the Kurheim Strandhotel Lochau, and in 1925 it was sold to the association of municipal officials of Baden as a recreation home. From 1938 it briefly served as emergency accommodation for refugees from the Sudetenland, then was acquired by the German customs administration and converted into a Reich customs school by 1940. Between 1942 and 1945 it was a reserve military hospital, and from 1945 to 1953 it housed French occupation troops stationed in Vorarlberg. From 1953 to 1997 the Austrian Armed Forces used the complex, known from 1967 as the Rhomberg-Kaserne. In 2005 the former barracks was sold to private investors. The ensemble was subsequently renovated at a cost of around 45 million euros and extended, including a modern bathing house inspired by the hotel's early history. In 2010 the house reopened as the Seehotel am Kaiserstrand. On 2 November 2021 the operating company's insolvency was reported in the media, and in 2022 there was a change of ownership. In 2023 the hotel reopened under the management of the pepper collection, following renovation and interior design by Michael Ohneberg, extension buildings by architects Lang+Schwärzler and garden design by Fischer-Höfle. In 2025 Michael Kreipp took over the hotel's management from his predecessor Christian Kaindl. Today the Seehotel am Kaiserstrand presents itself as a lakeside wellness and event hotel. It offers rooms and suites from 22 to 95 square metres, many with views of the lake or the Pfänder, and includes a 900-square-metre spa and a unique bathing house. The restaurant vju provides culinary experiences, and the hotel offers direct lake access, a motorboat named vju, wedding and seminar facilities, and cultural programming tied to the Bregenzer Festspiele. The hotel positions itself as "not just any hotel on Lake Constance" but a place where a location becomes a home.

The history of the Seehotel am Kaiserstrand begins in 1905, when Georg Hauber acquired the Edelsitz Maihof from Freiherr von Pöllnitz-Frankenstein and the Gasthaus Zum Anker from Josef and Theresia Hutter, intending to establish a health resort. The north-west wing was built to plans by Bregenz master builder Otto Mallaun and opened on 22 July 1910. A first extension, the southern wing, followed in 1912, designed by architect Willibald Braun. The name Kaiser-Strand-Palast-Hotel is said to have been approved by Emperor Franz Joseph I himself. In 1917 Emperor Karl I and Empress Zita visited the hotel. In the same year Georg Hauber went bankrupt and the hotel closed, but it reopened in 1918 with new participation. In 1919 it was extended and continued as the Kurheim Strandhotel Lochau. In 1925 the property was sold to the association of municipal officials in Baden for 600,000 Reichsmarks to establish a recreation home for its members. From 1938 the hotel briefly served as emergency accommodation for refugees from the Sudetenland. In 1939 it was acquired by the German customs administration and converted into a Reich customs school by 1940. From 1942 to 1945 the house served as a reserve military hospital for the German Wehrmacht, and from 1945 to 1953 it housed French occupation troops stationed in Vorarlberg. From 1953 to 1997 the Austrian Armed Forces used the complex, which from 1967 was called the Rhomberg-Kaserne. In 2005 the former barracks was sold to private investors. The building ensemble was subsequently renovated at a cost of around 45 million euros and extended with additions, including a modern bathing house inspired by the hotel's early history. In 2010 the house resumed operation as the Seehotel am Kaiserstrand. On 2 November 2021 the insolvency of the operating company was announced in the media. In 2022 there was a change of ownership, with renovation and interior design by Michael Ohneberg, extension buildings by architects Lang+Schwärzler and garden design by Fischer-Höfle. In 2023 the hotel reopened under the management of the pepper collection. In 2025 Michael Kreipp took over the hotel's management from his predecessor Christian Kaindl. The building itself is a multi-part structure with saddle roofs, a cross gable, numerous dormers, partly castle-like battlements, "late Romantic" balconies, oriel windows and rounded window bays. It extends largely from north-west to south-east over a length of about 150 metres and a width (including the inner courtyard) of about 70 metres. The hotel stands at 398 metres above sea level on a roughly 20,000-square-metre site on a small inlet of Lake Constance, with public access to the beach. The Lochauer Dorfbach flows openly through the grounds. To the left and right of the historic building, two cubic residential blocks were erected during the last major renovation. The hotel is about 600 metres as the crow flies from the centre of Lochau, and a public footpath and cycle path runs along Lake Constance in front of it. The municipal boundary between Lochau and Bregenz runs a few metres south-west of the hotel, partly through the hotel garden. On the north-east side of the hotel grounds runs the Bregenzer Straße (L 190). The building is a protected monument, and its state of preservation as prescribed by the Federal Monuments Office corresponds to its use as a Reich customs school in 1942, although the barracks fences have been removed.

• 2025

  Michael Kreipp takes over the hotel's management from Christian Kaindl.

• 2023

  Reopening under the management of the pepper collection.

• 2022

  Change of ownership; renovation and interior design by Michael Ohneberg.

• 2021

  On 2 November, insolvency of the operating company announced in the media.

• 2010

  Renovation and reopening as Seehotel am Kaiserstrand; bathing house built.

• 2005

  Former barracks sold to private investors.

• 1953

  Austrian Armed Forces use the complex until 1997; from 1967 called Rhomberg-Kaserne.

• 1945

  Houses French occupation troops stationed in Vorarlberg until 1953.

• 1942

  Serves as a reserve military hospital for the German Wehrmacht until 1945.

• 1939

  Acquired by the German customs administration; converted into a Reich customs school by 1940.

• 1938

  Briefly serves as emergency accommodation for refugees from the Sudetenland.

• 1925

  Sold to the association of municipal officials in Baden for 600,000 Reichsmarks as a recreation home.

• 1919

  Extension; continued as Kurheim Strandhotel Lochau.

• 1918

  Georg Hauber goes bankrupt and the hotel closes, but it reopens under new participation.

• 1917

  Visit by Emperor Karl I and Empress Zita; the name Kaiser-Strand-Palast-Hotel is said to have been approved by Emperor Franz Joseph I.

• 1912

  First extension, the southern wing, designed by architect Willibald Braun.

• 1910

  Construction of the north-west wing to plans by Otto Mallaun; opening on 22 July 1910.

• 1905

  Georg Hauber acquires the Edelsitz Maihof and the Gasthaus Zum Anker to establish a health resort.

A heritage lakeside wellness and event hotel on Lake Constance, positioned as "not just any hotel on Lake Constance" with a protected castle-like facade, modern spa and cultural ties to the Bregenzer Festspiele.

• Rooms and suites (22–95 m²)

  Light-filled rooms and suites with views of the lake or Pfänder, balconies, and barrier-free rooms.

• 900 m² spa

  A large spa area for wellness on Lake Constance.

• Bathing house (Badehaus)

  A unique bathing house where time is forgotten.

• Restaurant vju

  Culinary highlights at the hotel.

• Motorboat vju

  Excursions on the lake with the hotel's motorboat.

• Event and seminar facilities

  Space for weddings, seminars, music and art events, especially during the Bregenzer Festspiele.

1. 1Seehotel am Kaiserstrand Lochau | Hotel am Bodenseekaiserstrand.at
2. 2Geschichte & Architektur - Seehotel am Kaiserstrandkaiserstrand.at
3. 3Seehotel am Kaiserstrand (Lochau) - Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4Seehotel am Kaiserstrand - Wikipediade.wikipedia.org