Why Renovated Heritage Hotels Are Resonating With Luxury Travelers
From updated guestrooms and longevity-focused wellness offerings to carefully preserved architectural details, historic hotels are finding new ways to appeal to modern luxury travelers without sacrificing what made them special in the first place.
Photo: Courtesy of Castle Hot Springs
A flashy hotel appears on social media, teasing a future opening date. Press releases go out, and the media touts it as a most-anticipated opening. Coverage continues once it opens, with reviews and features extolling the property. After an initial burst, media coverage tapers off as reporters focus on the next opening. After all, everyone loves shiny, new things. But what happens over the next year, five years, decade, or longer—if a place is lucky enough to remain in business? How does a hotel remain not only relevant, but exciting—not just for the media, but more importantly, for its guests?
While many hotels may have been around for a few decades, some have been doing business for a century or more. We spoke to directors from two of the oldest hotels—one in the U.S. and one in Europe—to see how they’ve remained current.
Castle Hot Springs resort in Castle Hot Springs, Arizona, is celebrating its 130th anniversary this year. The historic hotel spread across 1,100 acres in the Sonoran Desert is built around natural mineral hot springs, which are the basis for much of the resort’s wellness programming. What started as a few cowboy baths for pioneers and gold rushers forging their way west in the late 1800s evolved into a small hotel that opened in 1896 as train travel improved. By the early 1900s, the resort attracted wealthy scions like the Rockefellers, Wrigleys, and Vanderbilts, who bought cottages on the property.
A fire in 1976 severely damaged the hotel, and it remained abandoned until 2014, when it was acquired by new owners and underwent a complete overhaul, reopening in 2019 in its current iteration. The new cottages and rooms have a historic feel, with details such as painted wood panels and outdoor bathtubs with retro-style cross-handled faucets, while still offering modern amenities.
Similarly, at Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa in Baden-Baden, Germany, which first opened in 1834 as a summer respite for wealthy Europeans, the recent 18-month renovation of the flagship Oetker Collection hotel simultaneously modernized the hotel and carefully preserved its history.
“Modernization focused on upgrading functionality and comfort without altering the character of the property,” explained Stephan Boesch, the managing director of Brenners. “Bathrooms were completely redesigned using sleek marble, modern lighting systems, and artisan-crafted fittings. New room and suite configurations were created on the fifth floor to support modern travel needs, including more connecting rooms for families.”
Still, Countess Bergit Douglas, a member of the Oetker family who led the hotel’s interior design, was careful not to make things too trendy: instead of iPads or electronic lighting and curtain controls popular in so many modern hotels these days, heavy curtains need to be opened and closed by hand, and brass light switches by Meljac still need to be manually toggled.
Sustainability also played a role, with historic wallpapers and fabrics upcycled into new items such as notebooks and cushion covers. “These measures ensured that Brenners’ historic identity was preserved through tangible conservation work,” Boesch told Luxury Travel Report.
Travel advisors often look to recently renovated historic properties to ensure clients get modern amenities in a story-filled setting. Amanda Morris, a luxury travel advisor for Curated Explorations, loves sending clients to the Savoy in London and Lutetia in Paris, which recently became a Mandarin Oriental property.
“They both have been renovated, but they mix the old history with the new decor. At the Mandarin Oriental Lutetia, they still have that Art Deco-style architecture and Bar Josephine is preserved, but the rooms feel modern with little touches of the history,” said Morris. “And same with the Savoy, where they have the new Art Deco rooms that have recently been renovated, but in some of the common areas, they have a whole section about the history, with plaques and pictures.”
Still, as much as it’s important to preserve the history, one thing she always looks for in a historic property: new, contemporary beds and bedding. She’s also careful with older hotels that may have smaller rooms and bathrooms, ensuring clients are aware of that before booking.
Outside guestrooms, there is more room to display history in a way guests can appreciate. Castle Hot Springs has a History Room filled with authentic furnishings, signage, paraphernalia, and photographs from the hotel through the decades, and guests can sign up for a complimentary history tour offered three times a week.
There are also historic photos and signage throughout the hotel, including an original 1900s telephone and safe in the main building, a 48-star American flag from around the time when Arizona became a state in 1912, one of the original cottages, and, of course, the hot springs themselves.
“When the hotel reopened, the renovations were extensive, and it went from a single building to all the detached units that we have now, and all the infrastructure was replaced,” Kevin Maguire, general manager of Castle Hot Springs, said. “But one of the things that we committed to was really preserving the history.”
At Brenners, details like the ornate railings on the grand staircase remain, antique furnishings are seen throughout—some with new upholstery—and the building’s opulent façade remains intact. A book shared with guests details the hotel’s extensive history. But the hotel has modernized its venerated spa, keeping up with the latest technological advances in longevity while still trumpeting Baden-Baden’s mineral water springs and adding a more casual tavern-style restaurant to its venerated Wintergarten restaurant set in the park.
Beyond physical changes, though, the identity and character of a hotel also matter, particularly in a historic property.
“For us, [the soul of the hotel] is not tied to a single design feature but to atmosphere, to how guests feel when they are here. Every decision is tested against that. Does it support the identity of Brenners or dilute it?” said Boesch. “Relevance comes from continuity rather than reinvention. Brenners has never followed trends for the sake of it. Instead, we continually refine what defines us: space, calm, discretion, and a strong sense of place in Baden-Baden, while responding thoughtfully to how our guests live today.”
Castle Hot Springs has continued to evolve since reopening in 2019. A few months ago, the resort became a member of the venerated Relais & Chateaux group. And, for the first time ever, the hotel will remain open for the summer months of July and August, making it a year-round hotel with special summer programming designed to counter the heat. Offerings include early-morning and full-moon hikes, sunrise yoga, floating sound baths, cold plunges, and cooling botanical spa treatments.
“This season marks a defining inflection point for Castle Hot Springs and we’re not simply honoring our legacy, we’re actively reimagining it,” Maguire told LTR.
“The response has been extraordinary, we’re seeing bookings tracking well above pace, reinforcing what we’re seeing across the industry: a powerful return to iconic, heritage-rich destinations right here in the U.S.”
