The history of the "Atlantic" starts with the small guesthouse "Zum Rössel" situated at the present Leopoldsplatz, which in 1748 received the "Schildwirtschaftsgerechtigkeit" (i.e. the right not only to board but also to accommodate). In 1830, when Ignaz Stadelhofer married Agnes, the landlady of the Rössel, they had ambitious plans. They sold the guesthouse and erected a hotel complex on the one end of the Lichtentaler Allee. With the inauguration of the impressive luxury hotel "Englischer Hof" in 1836, the Stadelhofers made a stir.

During the Belle Epoque, the "Englischer Hof" was among the greatest and most splendid hotels of Baden-Baden.

An illustrious range of high-ranking personalities, artists and noble celebrities from Germany and abroad stayed at the hotel, the most famous among them Bismarck, Franz Liszt and other celebrities of those days. This is also where in 1863 the famous "Drei-Kaiser-Treffen", the meeting of the three emperors Franz Joseph of Austria, Alexander of Russia and Napoléon III of France, took place.