Short construction time – high quality – more relaxation

Hotel “die Post” in Meerfeld has a long and eventful history. The three-star hotel in Vulkaneifel is currently managed by the fifth generation of the Molitor family. Surrounded by wide expanse of green areas, small rivers and extinct volcanoes, “die Post” has made a name for itself as a wellness and luxury hotel. When building its modern wellness area, specialist installers and planners responsible for the project relied on versatile elements from the Emsdetten-based manufacturer, wedi.

The entire wellness area at hotel “die Post” was built in just eleven months setting a milestone achievement in the history of the hotel. The main hotel building was originally built in 1873 as the Weiler-Pesch family’s estate with stables. In 1886, the Weiler-Pesch family – the predecessors of the current owners, the Molitor family – opened a restaurant in order to establish a second means of support alongside agriculture. The first overnight guests stayed in 1948, when the first two guest rooms were built. Since then, the guest house was developed into a hotel that continually expanded ever since. Finally, a high-quality wellness area was built in a specially designed annexe of the hotel. Various relaxation facilities such as a salt water room, steam bath, pool, sauna offer inviting wellness options. The salt water room in particular is also a unique feature that perfectly reflects the Eifel volcanic region.

High degree of prefabrication

The rebuild was coordinated by Wellnessbau Peters from Bochum. Master tiler Wolfgang Peters is a long-standing wedi partner and is experienced in the renovation of wellness facilities: “In order to cause the least possible disruption to the day-to-day operations of the hotel, it is necessary to work quickly and efficiently. A high degree of prefabrication was absolutely indispensable for building the wellness area quickly,” Wolfgang Peters explains the challenges of the new build.

Peters, in addition to the plans from Fritz P. Massar GmbH from Koblenz, relied on wedi’s reliable, individually customisable and absolutely waterproof substructures. The polystyrene rigid foam (XPS) construction elements and other system components are perfect for designing unique wellness oases and at the same time, wedi building boards and system elements also allow for rapid and reliable installation of tiles or other building materials. Additionally, the one hundred percent waterproofing, planning security and a high level of prefabrication also played a key role in the extent of wedi’s involvement.

Substructures from wedi

Together with Peters, the experts at wedi generated a detailed plan for what the steam bath, salt water room and multi-sensory shower would later look like in practice. The substructures for these wellness areas – including walls, floors and ceilings – were constructed entirely of wedi system elements. As a result, almost any shape became possible: “The shower is similar in shape to a leaf, with slight rounding and pointed corners. The adjoining salt water room also picks up the rounded shapes of a leaf, whilst the steam bath is square” explains Peters. The multi-sensory shower was designed using the flush-to-floor wedi Fundo Primo shower element that is perfect for being shaped into the desired form. The entire wellness area is around 35 square metres and thus offers enough space for hotel guests and local visitors.

Predictable processes

The material used deals with the temperature differences caused by use of the steam bath and salt water room without a problem. “For hotel die Post in Meerfeld, there was a focus on a clean and predictable process from initial planning through to completion, in order to avoid disruption of the hotel operation as much as possible we utilised the largest components for this project” Stefan Venker, Wellness & Spa Sales Partner at wedi explains the challenges of this project. wedi Sanoasa benches were installed in both the salt water room and the steam room.

Various trades and companies had to be coordinated and, at the same time, solutions had to be developed so that the construction project went off without a hitch. “We selected components from the wedi range which could easily be interlinked using “plug and play” and which met the various requirements of specialist installers involved” explains Peters. Sommerhuber GmbH produces special shaped ceramics which match wedi Sanoasa benches perfectly.

Recesses for pipes, wiring, etc.

So that the technology for the salt water room and steam bath could be installed quickly and easily, Peters and his team prepared the wedi elements appropriately. Numerous recesses for pipes, wiring and cables were milled and sawn in consultation with other trades so that the technology was integrated with the installation of the elements. The experts also ensured that a graduation works for the salt water room and a steam generator for the steam bath could be integrated into system elements without a problem. The elements could easily be installed on the construction site and shaped into the desired form. “If it became clear on site that an element needed another recess, then we simply added it” explains Peters.

Alongside the high-quality wellness and spa area, hotel “die Post” has a total of five single rooms and 24 double rooms, plus eight apartments. The attached Poststuben restaurant offers regional cuisine and two electric cars can be charged at the charging station in front of the hotel.