A hotel in St. Peter-Ording has become an insider tip among the stars of the German music scene over the past ten years.
Sankt Peter-Ording – A small hotel in the middle of the dunes of St. Peter-Ording has become an insider tip among the stars of the German music scene over the past ten years. Here songs are written, tours are rehearsed and sometimes people like to party into the night. It all started with Johannes Oerding (41), as Karsten Werner, Managing Director of the StrandGut Resort, explains in an interview with TAG24.
Karsten Werner has been managing the StrandGut Resort in St. Peter-Ording for ten years. Over the years, the culture lover has created a family atmosphere in which not only “normal” guests, but also numerous music stars feel comfortable in his hotel. © StrandGut Resort
“I’ve been private friends with Johannes Oerding for a long time,” says Werner. However, the two did not get to know each other at the StrandGut Resort, but at a hotel on the Baltic Sea that Werner was managing at the time. When he took over the hotel in St. Peter-Ording ten years ago, Oerding remained loyal to his friend as a regular guest.
“Since then he has been writing almost all the songs here and is almost part of the team,” says Werner. And above all, the singer told all his (musician) friends about the special place in the dunes. Meanwhile, the members of Revolverheld, Max Giesinger (34) and Wincent Weiss (30) regularly come and go from Werner’s hotel.
But Sido (42) was also a guest and Udo Lindenberg (77) even painted a picture especially for the StrandGut.
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Contacts to artists such as Fury in the Slaughterhouse and Santiano were established through Wacken founder and regular guest Holger Hübner.
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The StrandGut Resort in St. Peter-Ording has been convincing its guests for years with its location, the sustainable and regional menu and the friendly atmosphere created by Werner and his team. © StrandGut Resort
“In the meantime, we even got a complete studio from the company ‘Sennheiser Neumann’, so that the artists don’t have to bring anything with them apart from their guitar and their notebook,” says Karsten Werner. It usually works out that the musicians rent a room or a suite for songwriting or just to switch off.
The neighboring house – the city’s Dünen-Hus – is also popular for tour rehearsals and the famous white sandy beach of St. Peter-Ording is used for blowing your head.
“And as a hotel, we support the whole thing by pampering the artists as best we can,” says Werner. However, this does not include constantly fulfilling any special requests from the stars, but merely knowing how Johannes Oerding drinks his coffee, for example.
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Star airs would not go with the friendly atmosphere of the StrandGut. “Our artists are low-maintenance, nice and nobody who comes here is arrogant. We don’t have any guests for whom we block the elevator!”
Johannes Oerding’s “On Good Days” was created at the StrandGut Resort
“Hi Karsten, it’s so nice with you and you are the best host in the world – your gunslingers”. The artists’ albums and records are displayed in several display cases on the ground floor of the hotel. © private
Ultimately, the musicians are just normal guests who, like most visitors, appreciate the peace and nature. “The StrandGut is simply a very relaxed and beautiful project. Not only in terms of the location and the food and drink offer, but also in terms of the whole team. This is partly because, unlike many other colleagues, we are not a chain. We don’t have all these set standards that chains have to make.”
This means that the hotel bar does not have to close at one o’clock in the morning and can therefore continue to be served until late at night, depending on the guests’ taste. “Or the artists get the key and pour themselves a beer,” says Werner. A scenario that is said to have happened more than once.
The success of many of the songs that Werner and his team wrote in the hotel can be seen in the artists’ albums and records, some of which are on display on the ground floor of the hotel. Handwritten acknowledgments and dedications by a wide variety of artists can also be found there.
“In the case of Johannes, it’s actually the case – and we’re very proud of that – that we really get one for our hotel from every gold and platinum record,” says Werner, who revealed to TAG24 that, among other things, Oerding’s huge hit “An gut Days” was created in the StrandGut. “It’s exciting when you see how a song develops from the initial idea to completion.”
The famous guests are an asset for the hotel staff
From left to right: Wincent Weiss (30), Revolverheld frontman Johannes Strate (43) and Johannes Oerding (41) are regular guests at the StrandGut. © Montage: Swen Pförtner/dpa, Markus Scholz/dpa, Georg Wendt/dpa
Uncomplicated and calm – this is the ambience Karsten Werner wants to offer his famous guests. This also includes not seeing the artists as a marketing strategy. “Rather, I think it’s a plus point for the staff,” emphasizes the managing director.
“Nowadays it’s really, really difficult to keep staff, and some colleague always offers 100 euros more. But if you do a lot of campaigns where the staff really enjoy it, then one or the other says: ‘This is a great crew, I want to stay here.'”
In addition to its own truck at the Schlagermove and a food truck at the Wacken Festival, the StrandGut Resort is offering the “SPO Acoustic Sessions” right in front of the hotel door for the third time this year.
A two-day open-air concert for around 300 guests in the middle of the dunes, including a sunset behind the stage if the weather is good.
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Max Giesinger (34) delighted guests and fans at the “SPO Acoustic Sessions” last year. © StrandGut Resort
The idea came about three years ago at a promotional gig by Wincent Weiss, as Werner explains. The “Feuerwerk” singer absolutely wanted to play it in the StrandGut and preferably on the beach. “Then I said: ‘We’ll never get through a concert in a nature reserve.’ But then we came across a small area that is right next to the dunes and our house. It couldn’t be nicer!”
Everyone else present on the day of the concert shared this opinion and it was immediately clear: there is a need for repetition.
Last year Max Giesinger and “Fury in the Slaughterhouse” played their “Acoustic Sessions” in the dunes. This year Johannes Oerding on August 22nd and “The Joni Project”, Björn Paulsen and “Die desinfekte Zwei” (Christof Stein-Schneider and Kai Wingenfelder from Fury in the Slaughterhouse) form the line-up together as a small festival evening on August 23rd .
Tickets for the second day (with and without overnight stays) are available from 59 euros strandgut-resort-shop.de.
“The concerts can be ideally combined with a day at the beach. Or you’re nearby at the time anyway and don’t want to miss the special location and the artists up close. That’s something different than a concert in a hall or stadium,” like Werner. In addition, St. Peter-Ording is always worth a visit.
Cover photo: Montage: StrandGut Resort, Swen Pförtner/dpa, Markus Scholz/dpa, Georg Wendt/dpa
2023-07-18 16:19:57
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