“The greatest place for a Baltic vacationn”

We had never been to the island of Usedom, so we were unsure where the "best" place or area to stay might be. We decided to look for something smack in the middle and found the Wasserschloss Mellenthin, which actually advertises as "Usedom's Center". The Hotel is in a modern/ized wing of the old ca… more

We had never been to the island of Usedom, so we were unsure where the "best" place or area to stay might be. We decided to look for something smack in the middle and found the Wasserschloss Mellenthin, which actually advertises as "Usedom's Center". The Hotel is in a modern/ized wing of the old castle, while the ground floor of the 16th century castle proper is reserved for restaurant and bar. A beautiful center courtyard offers al fresco dining (or coffee and pastries.) A second wing is reserved for event gastronomy, breakfast buffet, the brewery and a small gift shop. The entire grounds just exude serenity - unless you come for one of the special event buffet style dinners which happen Tuesday through Saturday. Apart from delicious food there is themed entertainment, as in kids-fun pirate night, oldies night, secrets of beer-brewing with an interesting talk by their master brewer, Pomeranian night and others. These events draw large crowds of day-guests and diners who usually leave around 9 pm, after which time you can go back to feeling like the chatelain/e, quietly enjoying yourself nestled into one of the typically German "Strandkörbe" (a type of canvas-roofed wicker beach loveseat recliner) and enjoying some of their yummy homebrew or their homemade soda. The grounds are absolutely spectacular and punting on the reconstructed moat is a special treat - as is breakfast on the gorgeous breakfast deck overlooking moat and hills. Rooms are modern (don't expect canopied four-poster renaissance fair lodging!) appropriately sized by European standards and meticulously clean with on-suite three quarter baths. Food is delicious, as a house guest you get to decide whether you want to do the buffet events or have a pre-set three-course dinner. We've found them very responsive if we felt like making changes to any of the courses. Our only complaint was their WiFi connections - while free in-room WiFi is provided, the connection is SO BAD that we were barely able to check emails, let alone surf or stream. My understanding is that that's in part due to the generally bad broadband internet connectivity on the island. Maybe it doesn't register as a pressing matter since most of the clientele seem to be vacationing best-agers and not business people dependent on fast and reliable internet. The most amazing part that has you feel utterly appreciated and pampered is the staff - every single one of the people that took care of us, from the bridge-guard to reception to waiters to the lady in the wellness department were genuinely, utterly and wonderfully attentive, friendly, accomodating, at times chatty, fun, quick, knowledegable, helpful, professional and laid-back. We had one of the best European vacations of our lives in Mellenthin and we'll definitely try to come back!

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“Hidden Treasure”

In the middle of the mostly German Island of Wolin, that sits at the mouth of river Oder as it empties into the Baltic Sea, there is a miniscule village of Mellenthin, whose name alone sounds as if it has come from Tolkien’s books. In this typically German clean and tidy settlement you will find a… more

In the middle of the mostly German Island of Wolin, that sits at the mouth of river Oder as it empties into the Baltic Sea, there is a miniscule village of Mellenthin, whose name alone sounds as if it has come from Tolkien’s books. In this typically German clean and tidy settlement you will find a charming little old village church with remains of wall paintings as well as beautifully painted benches. Well worth a visit. But the real treasure is the 17th century Wasserschloss (water castle) some 3 min away from the church along a cobbled alley shaded by old lime trees. The short walk itself is magical in early July when the warm air is saturated with sweet perfume of the lime flowers and the humming of bees overhead. There is a spacious car park at the end but it does get crowded as from 11am people flock there from all over the island and perhaps beyond. Entry fee:2Euro unless you are a Hotel guest. The Schloss is not a museum but a hotel(left wing), restaurant/café (the right and center) as well as a brewery. They also roast their own coffee and bake their own waffles, which you can order for your afternoon tea. This remote corner of Germany is still undiscovered by international tourists and it is predominantly aimed at domestic(German) customers. This perhaps explains why all information is in German, which is a pity and an inconvenience. But who can blame them? We have only come across a few Poles who hopped across the border to visit the immaculately clean German seaside resorts of Ahlbeck, Heringsdorf, Bansin and others. On the plus side basic English is widely spoken though it does help to know a bit of German. We stayed at the Hotel for a couple of nights this being our base for seeing more of the Island. Our room was not the top range as the hotel is rather pricey but certainly very comfortable and clean; spacious bathroom, comfortable bed, flat screen TV(only German channels), a safe. All the fittings, woodwork etc. was of high quality and nice design. There was also a sun terrace (sonnentarace) at the end of our floor. The food was fantastic. Continental breakfast with excellent coffee. We deliberately returned to the Castle to have afternoon tea (in fact it was coffee) there instead of having anything di veloce along the way. Romantic dinner was the conclusion of the day and a must. Service was excellent to the point they remembered our preferences with regard to food and drink and the table we would chose to sit at. And you could sit in the inner courtyard, on the terrace by the moat or inside where shining copper and brass working(!) brewery tanks are on display as yet another attraction. The restaurant in general is located in the right wing(if you face the Schloss) which is also a working brewery. How clever is that?! In some evenings there is life music/entertainment; in German of course. In a little castle shop you can buy the beer and other castle produce. When we had our dinner on the terrace we could observe fox cubs frolicking in the meadow across the moat, a vixen trotting along it, ravens, white storks, numerous song birds-a veritable paradise! The Schloss and its small rear garden and lawn is surrounded by a moat. Beyond there is yet another circular path leading on to the ancient wood and then right or left along fields and meadows. On the island of Wolin there are innumerable cycling routs (bicycles for hire everywhere incl. the Schloss), some of them very scenic, which we unfortunately had now time to explore. We visited instead some of the immaculate seaside resorts. Not too crowded I am happy to say and the quality of Baltic sand is the best in the world! The sea can be freezing though. Getting to Wolin should not be too difficult as German motorways are the best in Europe and taking a detour in this direction will transport you to a different time plane and offer you a unique experience you are not going to forget.

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“A very nice hotel”

This is a well-maintained hotel with an exceptional staff. The hotel is located about 10 kilometers to the beach, in a peaceful area with walking trails through woods and fields. Our rooms were palatial, clean, and very pleasant with comfortable beds. Breakfast is lovely. We had the fixed price din… more

This is a well-maintained hotel with an exceptional staff. The hotel is located about 10 kilometers to the beach, in a peaceful area with walking trails through woods and fields. Our rooms were palatial, clean, and very pleasant with comfortable beds. Breakfast is lovely. We had the fixed price dinners, which we cannot recommend (extremely bland and not well thought -out course combinations), but other from the menu meals looked better. The castle does have themed nights - we were there for a pirate night with lots of happy and boisterous children. This might not be for everyone. We would absolutely stay there again as our overall impression was of a friendly, comfortable hotel.

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