Special designs are used to reinforce identity - this is a fitting for the Golf Club bar, althought the lack of spike proof carpet in this area gives golfers another form of handicap...

There is a small spa and swimming pool area with treatment rooms and the usual steam and sauna facilities as well as thalaso therapies, aromatherapies and other treatments. There is a major fitness centre down the approach road to the hotel, which guests may use, but many prefer to stroll to the hotels own complex in their dressing gowns, and it is this provision that the hotel may wish to make changes in the future. The small gym will suit the executive who needs his daily burst of physical activity to accentuate his mental well being before going to the old Orangery, now the business meeting rooms and small conference area.

With 184 bedrooms and suites spread across the historic Schloss and the new extensions the hotel provides all the expected amenities for this level of provision. Certainly the new ground floor bedrooms are exceptional with their terraces, even if the quiet environment makes the nocturnal munching of hedgehogs audible through their open windows. The rural setting, so close to the cities of Berlin and Hamburg, makes the hotel attractive for those wanting a weekend break.

Bedrooms are the heart of an hotel. Duvets and large pillows are 'turned down' each night and a welcoming chocolate placed on the pillow in this suite (mouseover to see the standard bedroom) Informal breakfasts or formal dinner - the Restaurant layout works for both, with glorious full height windows capturing morning sun, and the drapes giving enough visual weight to act as a backdrop for more formal occasions (see laid up on mouseover)

There is a choice of restaurant, with the most attractive being the speciality dining room, which is unfortunately also used for private dining, so is sometimes not available to the ordinary guest. With its use of the classic country house spaces, stone fireplaces, leaded light windows and high ceilings it is an attractive space in which to dine. The main restaurant has a sunny terrace for summer 'al fresco' dining, and both are complemented by the cellar bar and brasserie beneath one of the main turrets of the building. Throughout the conversion, which inevitably carries with it the tale of returning owners claiming back confiscated property from the old DDR, the architect has worked closely with the national historic building officers, with largely beneficial results.

Good use has been made of the cellar areas, with additional bar and dining, a games room and the golf locker rooms all housed below the main bars. The piano bar looks out of the front of the Schloss, opening off the main reception hall and with the high ceilings that are a feature of the ground floor. The glazed conservatory on the back, acting as a buffer between the public areas and the gardens was introduced after looking at mages of the similar use of conservatories on historic buildings in the UK. Unfortunately there are no longer any formal gardens just a long sweep of lawn down to the golf course.