That it is a good idea to build a waterfront hotel in the Sønderborg harbour area became clear after a team of NIRAS experts from Denmark and Sweden in 2009 made a calculation of the possibilities on behalf of the Sønderborg Harbour Company shareholding company, which is formed by the Municipality of Sønderborg and Bitten and Mads Clausen’s Foundation.
The basis of the survey was the wish of the harbour company to attract broad target groups of visitors who enjoy combining overnight stays with other offers such as restaurant visits, sports, shopping, cultural experiences, etc. NIRAS’ job was to identify the preconditions for a profitable hotel operation.
The main attraction of the hotel will be a large indoor water park covering 10,000 square metres and housing sports facilities, sauna world, wellness centre, restaurants, cafes etc. The harbour company expects an annual number of visitors of 250,000.
The hotel is part of the municipality’s ambitious plans for the entire old harbour area in the town. The plans have been drawn up by American architect Frank Gehry and documented by NIRAS. Water front hotels are a successful American hotel concept, which is new in Europe. NIRAS’ calculations show that the overall Sønderborg Harbour project will amount to approx. 1,000 million Euro and create 500 new jobs.