The Renaissance
of a Grand Dame

(Hospitality) Founded by court tailor Anton Alois Brenner in 1872, the Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa quickly became a meeting place for those seeking the good life in Baden-Baden: diplomats, aristocrats, writers. Otto von Bismarck resided here, King Chulalongkorn of Siam brought his court with him, and Edward VII raved about the “magic of the house” on walks along the avenue. Later, artists arrived—Theodor Fontane wrote here and Frank Sinatra called it “the most elegant living room in Europe.” In 1962, Konrad Adenauer and Charles de Gaulle secluded themselves behind its doors as they sketched out their plan for a new Europe.

In 1923, the hotel became the property of Rudolf August Oetker. Under his leadership, the Brenners became the soul of the “Oetker Hotels”: a family of legendary guesthouses that focuses less on splendor and more on personality. From the Bristol in Paris to the Eden Roc on the Côte d’Azur, they are united by an ideal—beauty in balance with truth.

Luxury in Awareness
After more than 150 years, the “family” decided to renovate the Brenners’ mother house—not as a radical intervention, but as a subtle evolution. This task was entrusted to Bergit Gräfin Douglas, daughter of Rudolf August Oetker, interior designer and co-founder of MM Design. Her signature style has long shaped the hotel—from the Villa Stéphanie to the private salons. Now she has created an interior that preserves the DNA of the Brenners while exuding a new lightness.

“Brenners should not become a museum, but a house that breathes—with the past behind it and the present in view,” she says. Some 79 rooms and suites have been redesigned: historic ceilings have been exposed, parquet floors restored, and fabrics from Colefax & Fowler and hand-painted wallpaper from de Gournay selected. Soft colors, iridescent textures, light gliding over marble surfaces—every detail follows the logic of tranquility. Nothing seems staged, everything is naturally beautiful.

Technically, too, the Grande Dame has unobtrusively entered the 21st century: sustainable materials meet energy-saving systems. Here, luxury means awareness, not excess. In the neighboring Villa Stéphanie, the hotel’s own spa, medical expertise, and wellness culture merge—a place of regeneration that reflects the same attitude as reflected in the hotel: beauty as a balance of body, mind, and space. Hotel director Stephan Bösch calls the result “a dialogue between yesterday and today” and anyone who walks through the salons understands instantly what he means. Here, you can feel the pulse of history—and at the same time a new calm, an elegance that does not shine, but shimmers.

Timeless Elegance Returns
Perhaps this is the secret of the new Brenners: the effortlessness with which opposites are united. Here, history meets the present, discipline encounters lightness, and family tradition connects with feminine intuition. Rather than taking away from the hotel, Bergit Gräfin Douglas has restored an invaluable element: timeless elegance. In 2025, the Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa returns to its original ideal—a place where life unfolds in its most beautiful forms. Where world history is quietly rewritten—amid park lights, fine porcelain, and a glass of champagne on the terrace where Frank Sinatra once sat and said: “Wherever you go—Brenners is the best.”