Welcome on board – this is how you are greeted at the holiday and convention hotel Aribo in Erbendorf, the recreation resort in Upper Palatine. What it means? It’s simple: The transformation of a factory site into a hotel complex was inspired by an ocean liner, and since it opened last year, the building now stands like a cruise ship at the docks in town, complete with captain’s suite, bull’s eye windows, and rails as balustrades. And the decks, that is the balconies, patios, and pergolas, are all equipped with decks from Naturinform, just like a ship’s wooden decks. They ward off wind and weather as robustly as a real ocean liner’s deck. That’s why we say: Full speed ahead – for a lovely stay on board at the Aribo hotel!
Aribo Hotel Erbendorf
Patio decks
COMPACT in anthracite as honeycomb profile deck
Construction year
2016
Location
Aribo Hotel Erbendorf, Tirschenreuther Straße 28, 92681
Erbendorf (Bayern)
‘Travelling’ is more than just a theme at the Aribo. The modern hotel’s roots lie in a historic suitcase factory. Since 1919, the company Bermas sent their products around the whole world from the small town of Erbendorf. The travel bug must have infected the old walls, because when plans evolved to tear down the building, the town developed a counter plan to transform the building into a hotel, architecturally designed like an ocean liner!
The town bought the factory, implemented their plan, and, after the radical transformation of the main building and the new build of a conference centre next to it, the ship was launched in the spring of 2016.
Dreamboat comfort
Where the machines producing suitcases used to be working at full speed, today there is now a more relaxed pace: The convention rooms, which are embedded in nature with six light-filled rooms and boast state-of-the-art presentation technology, full catering, and many other services, make work fun. Of course, it’s even nicer to holiday, right next door in the separate main building, in one of the generous comfort rooms – three of which are spa suites, two captain’s suites, and two family apartments with two bedrooms and a large living area. The spa offers even more options to relax from your everyday life, with a 500 square metre large spa deck with a fitness room, pool, and a sauna landscape with a steam bath, sauna, and relaxing tranquil areas. Whoever feels hungry afterwards can feel like they are at a Captain’s Dinner at the hotel’s own restaurant ‘Pier 28’, and for those who would rather go on land, they can find a full programme in the area. The Aribo is, after all, directly next to the Nature Resort Steinwald, at the European cycle trail, with endless recreational activities, from relaxed walking through wildly romantic valleys or historical sites, up to high energy cycling, hiking, nordic walking, rock climbing, cross country or downhill skiing.
Ship building on land
The hotel is built without barriers and insists on inviting ‘everyone’ to a ‘cruise in the Steinwald’ -and the architecture creates the right atmosphere for its guests. The shape of the main building looks just like an ocean liner. And the jetty that connects the building on the first floor to the new convention centre building is just like a gangway. The windows, all designed like bull’s eyes, and finally the rooms and suites that are connected to each other by pergolas, just like luxury cabins. This outside appearance of the living areas above the ground floor is not only thought of as urely a design element to look like a ship. It also acts to combine the open style with the idyllic surroundings as part of the living space. The same goes for the decks: All rooms have either a balcony or patio, some of them towards the river, the gently flowing Fichtelnaab. Sitting there with a glass of wine and watching the tranquil water movements, you almost feel like you are at sea. The outside design enhances the feeling of being on cruise. It is all equipped with Naturinform’s ‘Compact’ decks, whose ‘anthracite’ colour is just right to emphasize the maritime character. And have every aspect necessary for a super yacht’s deck: high weather resistance, they feel like a natural material and have the look of well-maintained wooden decks.
Beautiful and safe
This is confirmed by Hotel Manager Werner Pürner: ‘The wooden look is especially appealing!‘ Even though Naturinform’s decks are not actually pure wood, but a combination of natural wooden fibres with a high quality polymer. It looks and feels just like wood when you walk over it barefoot, but doesn’t have wood’s disadvantages. For example, its slip-resistance. Because it is close to the river and the Upper Palatinian forest, conventional decks would soon be covered with a green surface, making it extremely slippery and dangerous for guests. That cannot happen with Naturinform’s ‘Compact’. It was tested by the TÜV Rheinland/LGA for its slip resistance in 2011. According to DIN 51130 they are R12 and according to DIN 51097 they were awarded Class C – that is in fact the highest level. Next to this hallmark, the surface structure of the Naturinform honeycomb profile plays a part, which Werner Pürner also appreciates: ’Thanks to the grooves, there is hardly any risk of slipping’. The hotel guests’ safety is our absolute top priority, after all!
Low need for maintenance = low costs
A further advantage: Caring for the decks costs next to nothing. This makes a big difference with a total amount of 650 square metres of decks at the Aribo hotel and its much-used areas. ‘The decks are extremely durable and do not require a yearly treatment as natural decks do,’ Hotel Manager Pürner remarks happily. This has to do with ‘Compact’s’ special composition: As a wood composite, it is weather- and waterproof without varnishing or oiling, and doesn’t have the usual problems untreated wood has, such as splintering or tears due to weathering. Aesthetic and functional pedigree‚ especially valuable‘ – that is confirmed by the processor, company Richard Rank from Weiden. Jan Gläser, responsible for the Aribo project: ‘The balconies, patios, and pergolas are constantly exposed to UV rays and the alternation of humidity and aridity. These decks are just right, as they are more weather resistant, durable and low on maintenance’. And they are also easy to process, or as Jan Gläser says:’ Laying was very relaxed‘. No wonder, as laying ‘Compact’ is – as with all of Naturinform’s decks – possible without visible screws.
Green Chic
Jan Gläser points out another bonus point: ‘The decks are made of sustainable resources and can be recycled‘. That goes not only for ‘Compact’, but also for all Naturinform’s products. They are produced sustainably without pesticides or fungicides, only using wooden chips from saw mills and PEFC-certified wood from domestic, ecologically managed forests. And they can be recycled 100 percent and brought back to the plant in Bavarian Redwitz. Even maintenance is green: No environmentally harming chemicals are needed for maintenance. That is a benefit for everyone in the end – and really fits the hotel Aribo’s motto: ‘Recreate, meet, enjoy – for EVERYONE.’
Download: Press release
Product information: Compact