Bratwursthotel
Design
Whacky or wonderful? Themed hotels:
Though themed hotels have long enjoyed a place in the industry, decking them out in dramatic designs has recently become far more popular as zany styles can be perfect for securing return visitors. But if themed properties are often a testament to the passions of hoteliers and punters alike, success is far from assured. Andrea Valentino talks to Claus Böbel, owner of a sausage-themed hotel in Germany, and Andy White, a prominent themed hotel designer, to learn more.
here are meat lovers – and then there is Claus Böbel. Visit his Bratwursthotel, just south of Nuremberg, and you will soon understand what I mean. Described by Böbel as “very special”, each of the B&B’s seven rooms is a shrine to Germany’s sausage-making heritage. And though this makes sense for a property run by a fourth-generation butcher, the intensity of Böbel’s vision is nonetheless remarkable. When guests arrive, they are welcomed by an appetiser sausage served with a dash of local beer. When they leave, they are offered a sausage bonbon. Over their beds – covered with sausage bedspreads – hang sausage ornaments. Punters in one of Böbel’s rooms will be greeted by pictures of the spices that go into sausages. Guests in another can read up on recipes. It feels reasonable, in short, to agree with
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Böbel that visitors to the Bratwursthotel will get to enjoy nothing short of a “sausage experience”. The owner calls his project unique – and, of course, he is right that few hotels would dare equip bathrooms with sausage-themed soap. In another way, however, the Bratwursthotel is merely part of a much wider pattern. Over recent years, encouraged both by buoyant competition and the rise of more discerning guests, themed hotels have burrowed into the industry’s consciousness. And though fanatical hoteliers like Claus Böbel are unusual, the array of options really is bewildering. The US alone hosts dozens of such properties, encompassing everything from zoo-themed rooms in Idaho to a pirate hotel in Florida. Further afield, people can snuggle in a Hobbit motel (New Zealand), shiver in an ice hotel (Sweden)
Hotel Management International /
www.hmi-online.com
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