SAND, Timmendorfer Strand, Deutschland: Searching for the smiling whale
The SAND is just a few steps away from Timmendorfer Beach and stands for individuality, the very highest quality, sustainability and closeness to nature.
If you are very lucky you might get a glimpse of him from the rooftop outdoor sauna of the Boutique Hotel SAND on Timmendorfer beach. As elegant as a dolphin the porpoise jumps to the surface to catch its breath. And he seems to be smiling good-naturedly. This is probably due to the slightly raised corners of his mouth. Harbor porpoises are the only whales that are native to the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.
There are hardly any whale or dolphin species that are so inconspicuous. You have to be really lucky to see them.
Marion Muller, hotel manager at Hotel SAND
The porpoise does not have an easy life these days. Fishery, noise, pollution, climate change and the destruction of his habitat are causing him problems. The Hotel SAND has been committed to whale protection for many years and is proud to be a pioneer in sustainability at the Baltic Sea. "We are certified according to the German Sustainability Code and live up to this aspiration wherever we can", says Muller. Furniture made of recycled teak, beds with purely natural materials, accessories made from stranded goods, environmentally friendly solar energy and geothermal heat, avoidance of plastic waste – the hotel deliberately goes one step further.
We want our guests to feel comfortable and to enjoy the holiday to the fullest. At the same time, we also want to do something good for the environment.
Marion Muller, manager at the Hotel SAND
The culinary choices are no exception to the aspiration of being sustainable. Recently the gastronomy concept of the hotel has been redesigned and now concentrates on breakfast for late risers. "We noticed that our guests like to have a long and comfortable breakfast. Now we have three cooks working every day until 12 o'clock at the Front Cooking counter trying to satisfy all imaginable wishes", says Marion Muller proudly. The organic eggs come from friends nearby, the bread his home-baked, the homemade jams, such as marzipan strawberry or mango mint, are a favourite among guests to take home as a souvenir. In the afternoon you can enjoy regional delicacies and extraordinary cocktails in the brasserie.
And the hotel manager still has many plans. Soon fitness bikes will be set up on the roof terrace overlooking the Baltic Sea. Of course they will be no ordinary fitness bikes. The hotel cooperates with the bamboo bicycle brand myBoo from Kiel. The bike frames are handmade in Ghana – thus creating jobs in the African country and funding a school. Soon you will be able to pedal on a bamboo bike on the rooftop of the Hotel SAND doing something good for yourself and society – and if you are extremely lucky you just might see a smiling porpoise.
SAND is a Member of Lifestylehotels
