32 Grand Old Railway Hotels Left Vacant Along Forgotten Routes

9. Grand Hotel de l'Europe, Bad Gastein, Austria: Spa Town's Sleeping Beauty

Bad Gastein, a historic Austrian spa town famed for its healing thermal waters, was a magnet for European royalty and high society, well-served by railway lines. The Grand Hotel de l'Europe, built in 1909, was among its most opulent establishments. However, as spa tourism trends shifted, many of Bad Gastein’s grand hotels, including this one and the nearby Hotel Straubinger, fell into disuse and stood vacant for decades, their empty windows overlooking the once-bustling promenade – silent witnesses to a faded Belle Époque railway resort.