Kriváň ranked among the three grand hotels of the Tatras at the time of its creation. The project was developed by the renowned architect Guido Hoepfner in cooperation with Géza Györgyi in the era of Belle Époque, an era dominated by the Secession style and thus the hotel, including all the furnishings, was designed in this style. The hotel also included spas. Archduke Charles Stephen and his family were among the first guests of the grand hotel; he was astonished in particular at the hotel hall and restaurant. After the foundation of Czechoslovakia, the hotel was renamed Kriváň, after the Slovaks' national peak.