Kurhaus Hotel

1818 - Jacob Pronk from Scheveningen builds a wooden bathing house. Here people take baths in medicinal water. Later this bathing hut is replaced by the Grand Municipal Bathing House.
1885 - The Grand Municipal Bathing House makes room for the first Kurhaus Hotel, which is officially opened by the mayor of The Hague, at that time Mr. J.C. Patijn, great grandfather of the present Queen's Commissioner for South Holland, Mr. S. Patijn. The first Kurhaus consisted of a concert hall (the Kurzaal), 120 rooms, 2 restaurants and various rooms. The architects were Johann Friedrich Henkenhaf and Friedrich Ebert. The cost of building was Dfl. 600.000.
1893 - Accompanied by her mother Emma, the Queen Regent, Queen Wilhelmina, aged 13, was the first to sign the famous guest book.
1904 - In the space of merely one month and with a staff of thirty assistants, Brussels artist Van Hoeck decorated the Kurzaal ceiling with his paintings depicting such subjects as hunting, fishing, music, Neptune, and the signs of the Zodiac, all of them beautifully rendered.
1927 - Scheveningen was an international centre of music up until the 1960s. Thanks to the inspired leadership of Mr A. Adama Zijlstra, known as the 'Emperor of Scheveningen', almost all celebrities of the day performed in the former concert hall, the Kurzaal - Mischa Elman and Vladimir Horowitz, Richard Tauber, Lucienne Boyer, Greta Keller, Marie Dubas, Maurice Chevalier, Herbert von Karajan, La Argentina, Duke Ellington, Ray Ventura, Bela Bartok, Edith Piaf, Charles Trenet, George Brassens, Maria Callas and Marlène Dietrich.
1964 - One of the last performances staged in the Kurzaal was the notorious concert given by the Rolling Stones, their first European appearance. The concert got very out of hand; chairs and bottles flew across the hall, a chandelier was saved at the last moment and toward the end of the concert, the police's response was rather heavy-handed. The Kurzaal turned into a veritable battlefield and the concert was cut short after just four songs.
1969 - Scheveningen came into different hands during the sixties. Tourists started moving to sunnier climes and decline gradually became apparent. The Kurhaus was closed.
1972 - The municipal council found the Consortium Scheveningen (Bredero and Nationale-Nederlanden) prepared to redevelop Scheveningen as a location that could be made use of all year round. Given its bad state of repair, it was decided to rebuild the Kurhaus. Parts of the building, including both wings, were demolished and rebuilt in the old style.
1979 - The rebuilt Kurhaus - with 241 rooms, two restaurants and 14 conference rooms - was reopened on 8 May by then HRH Princess Beatrix. The refurbishment costs totalled 110 million guilders, seven million of which were for the furnishings. A government grant of 50 million guilders made rebuilding possible and, once work was completed, the Kurhaus was designated as a national historic building. After the reopening in 1979, the German Steigenberger Hotel Group took on the management of the hotel.
1986 - Mme Claude Pompidou opened the new Restaurant Kandinsky in the Kurhaus. Four lithographs signed by Wassily Kandinsky were acquired for the restaurant.
1990 - This year saw a total renovation of all 241 rooms and corridors, in addition to the opening of the new Kurhaus Bar, the Kurhaus Café and the outside terrace.
1997 - After the casino had moved out, space became available in the Kurhaus for an extra conference centre, doubling the capacity for holding conferences and meetings. Moreover, a glass winter garden was added to the Kurzaal on the side facing the sea, forming a connecting space between both conference centres. The outside terrace was completely refurbished. Following the rebuilding, the total number of rooms increased to 255.
1999 - An all but exhaustive renovation took place in that year, including a full refurbishment of the lobby, making it roomier, lighter and more modern. The hotel rooms were renovated in two stages. The Kandinsky Restaurant underwent a major overhaul to bring it into harmony with the fascinating and beautiful view and the outside terrace. Work was completed in 2001.
2001 - The Kurzaal underwent a major refurbishment: an à la carte restaurant was added to replace the dated buffet concept, and a large room created to house the Kurhaus bar and café section. Live music was staged every day of the week.
2003 - The 'Result Room' was put to use. By employing colours, fragrances and sounds to stimulate the senses. This unique and innovative concept makes meetings more pleasant, more structured and ultimately more productive.
2004 - A special edition of the Kurhaus guest book was published to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Exploitatie Maatschappij Kurhaus, as the hotel operating company is known. Director Coen Masselink presented the first copy of the book 'Kurhaus. Een Vorstelijk Verblijf'(Kurhaus. A Royal Residence) to HRH Prince Willem-Alexander.