This week’s project of the week is a comeback story on the Ahr River: the Dorint Parkhotel Bad Neuenahr, a 4-star leisure hotel now under full reconstruction after severe flood damage. Scheduled to reopen in 2027, the 180-room property in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler is being reimagined rather than replaced, with investor Dirk Iserlohe making it clear: “We’re here to stay.”
From Franchise Past to Dorint Future
The hotel has long carried the Dorint name on its roof, but its ownership and operating setup have shifted over the years. Most recently, it belonged to Swedish investment firm Pandox AB, which had acquired it from HR Group, while HR Group operated the property under a Dorint franchise until the flood hit. When efforts to persuade the then owner to invest in a renovation failed, Iserlohe stepped in, bought the asset via a new project company for Honestis AG, and secured Dorint’s operational return on a 20-year lease with two optional five-year extensions.
Now, Dorint Hotels & Resorts will again run the revived hotel, with GEG Göttsch Grundstücksentwicklung mbH & Co. KG as developer and Döring Dahmen Joeressen Architekten leading the architecture. Interior design comes from Kitzig Design Studios International, signaling a full-scale refresh behind the preserved structure at Am Dahliengarten 1 in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Spa, MICE, and Plenty of Ahr Wine
Conceptually, the project aims squarely at both leisure and business guests. The spa area will be significantly expanded, the conference wing modernized, and the end result targeted as a four-star hotel with 180 rooms, two restaurants, a spacious bar with outdoor seating, and new event and conference spaces for up to 800 people. Initial cost estimates exceed 35 million euros, but the plan is clear: no demolition, just a thorough renovation within the existing, structurally sound buildings.
For Iserlohe, “The Dorint in Bad Neuenahr is a true passion project,” and that includes a strong regional focus—especially Ahr wine, which he promises will feature prominently after being sidelined by previous operators. For the Ahr Valley, the project is more than a design exercise: it is another signal of recovery and a boost for much-needed hotel capacity.
As Andras Lambeck of Ahrtal Tourismus und Marketing GmbH notes, alongside the recently reopened Steigenberger and other projects, the new Dorint is set to be a milestone in rebuilding both MICE business and high-quality tourism in a region with 22 million people within a two-hour radius.
