Kurhaus Hotel

The history of the Kurhaus Hotel goes back to the year 1818 when Jacob Pronk of Scheveningen opened a bathing establishment. This wooden pavilion was so successful that in a short while it grew into a hotel and the bathhouse soon become a spa, the Kurhaus (1885). From the start, its history was a colourful one, due not only to the construction, the fire, the renovation and rebuilding of this imposing building, but more importantly to its rich variety of special guests. The Kurhaus enjoyed and still enjoys global repute thanks to visits from heads of state, royalty, politicians, musicians, film stars, painters and poets. Accompanied by her mother Emma, the Queen Regent, Queen Wilhelmina, aged just 13, was the first to sign the famous guest book.

With its stunning Concert Hall, the Kurhaus was a popular venue for world-famous entertainers, as can be seen in today's bar which features a gallery of portraits of all those who ever made an appearance here - including such names as Marlène Dietrich, Duke Ellington, Vladimir Horowitz and Maria Callas. So, too, the Rolling Stones, whose performance in the Kurhaus, though notorious, was the shortest they ever gave (1964). Besides these world-famous celebrities, the Kurhaus guest book also boasts the names of dignitaries such as Mikhail Gorbachev, Crown Prince Harald of Norway, Audrey Hepburn, Sir Winston Churchill, as well as celebrities nearer to home such as Paul van Vliet and members of the Dutch Royal family.