The History of Naturel Hotels & Resorts
From The Audacious Idea to the Beautiful Present Day.
The history of the hotel villages
Guests keep asking us whether the wood in the farmhouses is real. Whether the farmhouse furniture in the flats is genuine, who built it all and much more. We are happy to tell you a little about the history of how the hotel villages came about. Read about it in Dieter Otte's book, Rogner - Biography & Life's Work.
Robert Rogner's farming villages
It began around 1976-77 when the idea of creating a special tourist attraction became more and more concrete in Robert Rogner's mind. Wood as a building material was strong for him, offering security and warmth, familiarity and tranquillity. With a lot of energy, old wood was collected from all over the country until, in the end, 400 houses were bought up in the rural areas. Wood from empty farmhouses and old huts. At Birkenboden, the home of the Rogner family, a model house was built and investors were sought and found with the pictures of this model house. The building project and all the difficulties surrounding it would have made many others give up. Robert Rogner drew even more strength from this and the opening date for the first village - Dorf SEELEITN - was set for 8 July 1978. It was built using the matador system. The entire complex was to exude the cosy flair of country life, with a fairytale-like and romantic feel. Let your soul dangle. Incidentally, it still does that today, day after day. The many obstacles, such as a lot of snowfall at Easter, too many envious people in the area and finally the lorry drivers' strike shortly before the opening, were a number of stumbling blocks. But the silhouette of the village began to take shape and on the opening day, the workmen went out of the back door and 350 guests entered the SEELEITN village through the hotel entrance. The hotel village immediately became famous, everyone came to see it. In the beginning, the crowds were so great in bad weather that even security guards had to block the village entrance. "Dorfschaun" is a term from this time. Robert Rogner builds the other hotel villages SCHÖNLEITN, Ober- and Unterkirchleitn.
The Naturel Hotels & Resorts - SCHÖNLEITN village & SEELEITN village
Over the years, many construction projects lose the original idea behind them. Not so the hotel villages. Started under Robert Rogner as Carinthian farming villages, transformed into village hotels after the takeover by TUI and back in Carinthian ownership since 2011. 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 from TUI, reflects what the villages are: charming, cosy, special, familiar, quiet yet exciting and, above all, individual. Exactly the characteristics, exactly the nature of the hotel villages. And because we are unique, not ordinary, we are travelling with an "L" in Naturel.
The Naturel Chalets AM BERG & SEE
In 2023, a good decade after its foundation, the
Naturel Hotels & Resorts were joined by the Naturel Chalets AM BERG &
SEE. As the perfect addition to the villages, Chalet AM SEE is located just a
short distance from the village of SEELEITN, directly on Lake Faak. With its own
lake access and private panoramic sauna, it is a wonderful place for your next
holiday, whether in summer or winter. As a counterpart to this, the Chalet AM
BERG, the Knappenhütte, is located in the heart of the Dobratsch Nature Park
and, with over 200m² and a private panoramic sauna, is the ideal address for a
holiday at any time of year. The Naturel Hotels and Resorts combine everything
you need for a holiday. No matter what format, no matter what time of year, this
is holiday as I am - exactly mine!
Show responsibility - "Verantwortung zeigen!"
Naturel Hotels & Resorts are committed to sustainability. A few examples of this are
- Award of the Austrian Ecolabel for tourism businesses
- Purchasing from suppliers & producers from the region,
- Member of the Travel Agency for Humanity, Global Family
- Honoured for workplace health promotion
- Member of the network Verantwortung zeigen
- Cooperation with Lebenshilfe Ledenitzen, the garden team has supported us for many years in the maintenance of the Naturel hotel villages
