Where They Stay At G8

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Jun 6th 2007 at 6:31PM

This week at the G8 summit, world leaders and other luminaries will be convening at a former communist resort, the Kempinksi Grand Hotel at Heiligendamm, a German resort on the Baltic Sea. Forbes reports that the resort was founded in 1793 as a retreat for Duke Friedrich Franz I of what today is Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. It remained a popular destination through the years and others including Romanoffs, Hitler, Mussolini and the poet Rainer Maria Rilke all reputedly stayed there. The town, known as the White City by the Sea, for its white building, laster became a sanitorium for Eastern bloc workers. A German real estate investment firm called Fundus Group has been restoring it since the mid-1990s. The main hotel includes a grand white marble library with a fountain and crystal chandeliers. Attendees at the G8 summit can relax in the Nelson bar. There are six buildings total including the Kurhaus which holds the ballroom and the restaurant and the Severin Palais that is home to the resort's spa. Germany has made elaborate preparations for the safety of the participants of G8, including the construction of a massive barb wire fence. After G8 is over, you can experience the resort with a summer recreation package that includes seven nights in a deluxe room, breakfast buffet and access to the spa starting at 2,220 euros per room.

Tags: baltic sea, g8, germany, Heiligendamm, hotel