Of the Naturel Hotels & Resorts

Guests always ask us if the wood in the farmhouses is real. Whether the country house furniture in the flats is real, who built them and much more. We would be happy to tell you a little bit about the history of how the hotel villages came to be. You can find out more in Dieter Otte's book Rogner - Biography and Life's Work.

It all began in the years 1976-77, when the idea of creating a special tourist attraction became more and more concrete in the mind of Robert Rogner. Wood as a building material was strong for him, it offered security and warmth, familiarity and tranquillity. With a lot of energy, old wood was collected from all over the country, until finally 400 houses in rural areas were bought. Wood from empty farms and old cottages.
A model house was built in Birkenboden, the home of the Rogner family. The building project and all the difficulties involved would have caused many others to resign. From this Robert Rogner drew even more strength and the opening date of the first village - Dorf SEELEITN - was set for 8.7.1978.

The construction was based on the Matador system. The entire complex was supposed to radiate the familiar atmosphere of country life, to appear fairytale-like and romantic. A guarantee of soulfulness. By the way, this is still the case today, day after day. There were many obstacles, such as the heavy snowfall at Easter, too many envious people in the neighbourhood and finally the strike of the hauliers shortly before the opening. But the silhouette of the village took shape and on the day of the opening, the workers went out the back door and 350 guests entered the SEELEITN village through the hotel entrance. The village hotel became famous immediately, everyone came to see it. In the beginning, when the weather was bad, the crowd was so big that even the security staff had to block the entrance to the village. Dorfschaun" is a term from that time. Robert Rogner built, among others, the other hotel villages SCHÖNLEITN, Ober- and Unterkirchleitn.

Over the years, many building projects lose the original idea that inspired them. Not so the hotel villages. Founded under Robert Rogner as Carinthian farming villages, they were transformed into village hotels after the takeover by TUI and have been in Carinthian ownership again since 2011. I have arrived home, so to speak.

Today the hotel villages SCHÖNLEITN and SEELEITN are owned by Michaela Tiefenbacher. The name Naturel, which was found for the villages after the takeover by TUI, reflects what the villages are all about: strong, warm, charming, cosy, familiar, peaceful yet powerful and above all one thing: individual. That is precisely the characteristic, precisely the essence of hotel villages. And because we are unique and not artistic, we are with the 'L' in Naturel.
In 2022, a decade after its foundation, Naturel Hotels & Resorts was joined by the mountain resort DIE KANZLERIN. The perfect complement to the villages is the resort on the Alpe Gerlitzen, situated at an altitude of 1,500 m amidst the magnificent nature of the hiking area. And in winter you can strap on your skis right in front of the hotel and hit the slopes.
The Naturel hotels and resorts offer everything you need for a holiday. Whatever the format, whatever the season, this is a holiday like me: exactly mine!