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PRODUCT NEWS
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| Operator Toskanaworld takes over neighbouring flood-damaged hotel |
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| 15 Oct 2014 . BY Helen Andrews |
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| Christian Lohmann, general manager of Toskanaworld Bad Sulza (pictured) said the lower levels of the hotel were destroyed by the flood / static.panoramio.com |
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The five-star hotel Elbresidenz in the German spa town of Bad Schandau is to be salvaged by thermal bath operator Toskanaworld GmbH, after the hotel was devastated by a flooded river in June 2013.
In the last week Toskanaworld has acquired the 211-bedroom hotel from Ostsächsische Sparkasse, a savings bank that used to be the majority owner of the hotel. The property has been closed since the Elbe River flooded in June 2013 but Toskanaworld has a plan to reopen the hotel in Q2 of 2016.
Toskanaworld operates two thermal baths with adjacent hotels, one in Bad Sulza and one in Bad Orb. The company also backs the Resort Schloss Auerstedt and the Hotel ‘Zum Ritter’ in Fulda. The Toskanaworld-operated Toskana Therme Bad Schandau also suffered severe damage from the flood last year, but it opened to the public again at Easter 2014 after the flood protection system was successfully improved during restoration.
The overall costs for the renovation of the Elbresidenz hotel were recently estimated to be €20m (US25$m, £16m). The Sächsische Aufbaubank (the central development agency of Saxony) rejected an application for a loan on the grounds that millions of euros of state finance should not be used to just repair the damage done to the Elbresidenz hotel. The bank said the hotel should receive improved flood protection systems and be partially redesigned for economic purposes. Subsidies for these works have been awarded on the condition that they are used by Q2 2016.
To secure the flood protection for the Elbresidenz hotel, an analysis of the premises took place and the design and cost was negotiated between the Sächsische Aufbaubank, Ostsächsische Sparkasse, planners, investors and operators.
General manager of Toskanaworld Bad Sulza, Christian Lohmann, told Spa Opportunities exclusively that the basement and ground level of the facility were entirely destroyed by the flood. “The details of the reconstruction are being planned and reconstruction will visibly begin in January 2015. In the future, the operation of the hotel will be closely linked to the Toskana Therme Bad Schandau. Furthermore, we will continue to use the existing wellness and beauty areas in the upper level of the hotel after the reopening. It is a little too early to provide details of the spa or specific treatments on offer.”
On handing over the Elbresidenz hotel to Toskanaworld, spokesperson Andreas Rieger of Ostsächsische Sparkasse said: “Operating a hotel is not a task normally carried out by a savings bank. Right from the start, our investment was an interim solution to help preserve this touristic gem for the region.”
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