A Perfect Blend of Feng Shui and Geberit AquaClean Sela @Birkenhof, Germany

The 20,000 square metres of Elfenhain in Bavaria have a lot to offer. Spacious terraced gardens, a birch grove, a Celtic tree trail – but also a huge bathing area with a panoramic roof pool and endless views of the Bavarian mountains.

The versatile area is part of the Spirit & SPA Birkenhof am Elfenhain, a hotel complex with a wide range of wellness offers. For over 55 years, hotel guests have come here to find peace and tranquillity. But recently, the Gmach family, who run the hotel, closed it temporarily. The aim: a general modernisation.

An oasis featuring Sela shower toilets

The renovation is now complete. 82 rooms and suites on four floors have been redecorated according to Feng Shui principles and equipped with all modern comforts. And now also with shower toilets. ‘We attach great importance to high-quality products throughout the hotel, and this should of course also be reflected in the hotel bathroom,’ explains Ingrid Gmach, hostess of the Spirit & SPA Birkenhof am Elfenhain.

Twelve rooms had already been equipped with AquaClean Sela shower toilets, and now another 35 were to follow. ‘It made sense to install additional shower toilets as we have received nothing but positive feedback from our guests so far,’ says Ingrid Gmach.

Redefining comfort in a complex structure

As hardly any room in the Hotel Birkenhof is the same, the planning of the bathrooms was a complex undertaking. Geberit specialists helped with ideas on how modernisation and space optimisation could go hand in hand. In the smaller rooms from the early days of the hotel, for example, the bathroom was integrated into the room and only the toilet was separated – with an electrical connection, of course, so that nothing stood in the way of the shower toilet.

Now that the renovation work is complete and the hotel has reopened, Ingrid Gmach can draw some initial conclusions. ‘We have already received a lot of positive feedback. Some guests are familiar with shower toilets from abroad and are delighted to find the same comfort in many of our hotel rooms here in Germany. This could make Birkenhof a pioneer in the industry.’