The Atoll hotel is the tiny island’s most exclusive getaway and was hailed as a huge step forward for the Helgoland tourism industry when it was opened in 1999.
But visitors yearning for a weekend of luxury escapism will have to wait until 2023, as German wind-power company WindMW has booked out all 50 of the rooms for a decade starting January 1, 2013, daily newspaper Die Welt reported on Monday.
Company workers will be building a new wind farm near to the islands in the North Sea, and will be put up in Atoll, where rooms cost between €85 and €150 per night.
The mayor of Helgoland, which is less than two square kilometres in area, was less than impressed with the announcement, calling it a “blow to the island’s tourism industry.”
“Atoll really raised the bar when it came to accommodation,” Mayor Jörg Singer said in a statement.
The owner of the hotel, Arne Weber, seemed less concerned, and said that although tiny Helgoland was losing a luxury hotel, “who doesn’t dream of having year-round business?”
Helgoland, which lies in the North Sea, is made up of two small islands roughly three hours off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein. They were connected until 1720, when the conjoining land was destroyed by a storm.
Despite its miniscule size, the two islands have long been popular with tourists thanks to its interesting landscape, remote location, and history. During both the World Wars, Helgoland was used as a military base and was heavily bombed by Allied Forces.
The Local/jcw
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