Kronen Gaard Hotel traces its beginnings to 1898, when timber merchant Gabriel Block Watne bought seventeen acres (6.8 hectares) from his parents' farm at Vatne and built a simple country house. Gabriel, his wife Beate, and their six children spent their summers here, turning the home into a lively family retreat. When the economy declined around 1920, the Block Watne family chose to sell the property.
Not long after, the estate passed to Frans Salerius Faydt, an Austrian who had moved to Norway in 1911 to avoid military service. He worked as a master weaver and raised his two young daughters here. His wife died during childbirth, and his own passing followed soon after, which led to another sale of the property.
A new chapter began when Head Nurse Gudrun Baade Jensen from Dale Psychiatric Hospital purchased the estate. She transformed the farm into a quiet home for elderly women who needed a peaceful place to recover. That chapter continued until 1953, when Kjell and Sygni Steinsvag arrived and took over the institution, keeping it running as a private facility.
By the time the 1980s came around, Rogaland Psychiatric had leased the property and operated it as a nursing home. Everything shifted again in 1986, when Kjell and Sygni decided to create what would become Kronen Gaard Hotel. They renovated the old buildings, reopened the doors, and the place quickly became a friendly gathering spot. Until 1993, the hotel remained an alcohol free venue. Later that year, their son Helmer Steinsvag stepped in as the new owner. With the hotel receiving its liquor license the same year, Kronen Gaard moved into a fresh chapter in its long story.
