Hotel Grand-Chef: from former glory to disappointment

Opened in 1851, the Grand-Chef was once the jewel of the resort town of Mondorf-les-Bains, attracting royalty, politicians and great artists from Maurice Ravel to Jean Monnet. Today it is an empty shell: the interior has been completely destroyed, with only the façade walls remaining. There is no trace of the atmosphere of the refined luxury of the 19th century.

City officials, in particular Mayor Steve Reckel, are disappointed: the municipality has invested considerable resources in preparing a regeneration project. Instead of a new neighbourhood, there is ruin, legal confusion and defrauded shareholders.

The redevelopment project included 90 residential units, including 17 flats inside the historic building. There were also plans for two new buildings and a shared medical centre. The social housing agency even invested in one of the buildings.

However, after the sudden death of the head of Farei Services, the developer went bankrupt and the bailiffs are now in charge of completing the project. The buyers, who had finalised the deals five years ago, are left in limbo. They are organising themselves into a co-owners' union and are planning meetings with the guarantor bank to ensure that their rights are protected.

Despite its local protected status, the Grand-Chef risks repeating the fate of another architectural monument - the Palace Hôtel, where Hermann Goering was held in 1945. The Palace Hôtel was demolished and replaced by the concrete Mondorf Parc Hotel.

The town hall has petitioned Culture Minister Eric Thill to have the Grand-Chef recognised as a national monument, but there has been no response yet. The hotel's advantage - its location at the very entrance to the famous Domaine Thermal spa complex - could give rise to a synergy between history, tourism and health care.

Although the municipality has no plans to take over the completion of the construction, it continues to fight to preserve the site. The hope is in legal defence and possible interest from the state. Whether the Grand-Chef will have a second life is still an unanswered question. But, as the authorities recognise, to miss such a gem is to irrevocably lose a part of Luxembourg's history.