Holland House - The History

The history of Davos as a health resort begins in 1853 with the recognition by Alexander Spengler, a country doctor, that Davos had a beneficial effect on sufferers of lung problems and other ailments. The microclimate caused by the town’s altitude and the restorative effects of the clean air and sunshine was deemed excellent by doctors and meant that Davos emerged as an internationally renowned health resort.

From the late nineteenth century the development of Davos as a health and leisure resort was rapid and hotels, guest houses, sanatoriums and villas sprang from the ground. The visitors to the world renowned resort also brought summer and winter sports to Davos. Well-known personalities such as British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, Robert Louis Stevenson and Thomas Mann were all visitors to the resort, adding to its popularity.

The former buildings of the ”Nederlandse Astmacentrum Davos, (NAD)” were part of the only hospital abroad in Dutch history since its opening as a tuberculosis sanatorium in 1897. The existence of the Dutch station high in the Swiss mountains is well known among the Dutch people, many of whom still remember radio shows that were organized to keep in touch with the people that were staying in Davos for months at a time.

The twentieth century saw developments in tuberculosis treatment and consequently a general reduction in the number of patients, leading to the emergence of Davos as primarily a sports and holiday resort. The number of long-term guests in the sanatoriums dropped and the elegant buildings were converted into modern hotels. A keen interest in research into medicine and natural science has survived from the sanatorium era and today no fewer than four major research centres are based in Davos.

2006 saw the end of a historic journey of more than 100 years of healthcare and treatments at the Sanatorium on the Symondsstrasse and it was with this in mind that the concept emerged for the development of the Holland House Davos, a luxury project focusing on health and wellbeing alongside sports and leisure.

This opportunity to create a new brand of tourism at the cutting edge of healthcare, leisure and wellbeing, whilst respecting the significance and history of the former NAD buildings, proved highly interesting. This new concept may potentially include cooperation with existing local, national and international health institutions to establish a unique and successful new health resort – Holland House Davos.

Contact

Holland House
Symondsstrasse 11
CH - 7270 Davos Platz
Switzerland

Tel  +41 81 417 00 00
Fax +41 81 416 73 44

info@hollandhouse.ch
www.hollandhouse.ch