Radisson Blu Hotel, Klaipėda:

Retreat to elegant
seacoast luxury!

General Manager Tobias Ammon is rightly proud of the breakfast buffet that
Radisson Blu Hotel offers its guests. Here with waitress Kristina.

The Radisson Blu Hotel in Klaipeda has just celebrated its first ten years as the only truly international luxury hotel at Lithuania’s beautiful seacoast. Two months ago the hotel got a new General Manager, German Tobias Ammon (35), and I am sitting down with him in the hotel’s breakfast room this early July morning to let him explain to you, dear readers, why you should visit Klaipeda and his hotel – this summer as well as when the autumn winds already make the endless Baltic Sea waves powerfully roll in towards the port city shores.

“I must admit that I had to ask where Klaipeda is when I was offered this position, but I was astonished to see what a nice area this is, when I first came here,” tells the young manager, who now has moved here with wife and little daughter. He and his little family are now in full swing “testing Klaipeda as travel destination”, and they are using their bicycles to do exactly that!

“This area is really ideal for bikes, and we are now using our weekends to bike to the fantastic beaches in the outskirts of the city, riding through beautiful coastal pine tree forests, villages and over the wavy, green landscapes that characterise this area,” he tells.

To my question why people should come to visit this seaside town and district, Tobias answers: “First of all because of the experience. Klaipeda is still kind of a genuine, untouched place, and there is a lot to discover for those who haven’t been to this part of Lithuania or Europe. The genuine Old Town in Hanseatic style, the river, the yacht harbour, the beautiful nature, the smell of sea, combined with a long and interesting history starting in the 13th Century. In addition, Klaipeda is centrally located between the resort areas of Neringa and Palanga, The ferryboat trip over to Neringa (the Curonian Spit) takes only a few minutes. The Palanga resort town and international airport is only a 20 minutes drive from here. So this is really an ideal, central location for those who want to experience the beautiful Lithuanian seashores.”

“I agree that the summers in Lithuania are nothing but fantastic. The long, white, soft and sandy beaches that surround Klaipeda both to the north and west makes this a truly ideal summer paradise, but what about the autumn, winter and spring seasons out here at the coast? What can you offer our VilNews readers when this area again turns rainy or snowy and the icy Baltic Sea winds are whipping the faces of all those walking around in bowed positions to avoid being blown over?” I ask.

“Let me first say that our hotel has several corporate clients, many representing companies and organizations dealing with the Klaipeda harbour, shipyards or other sea related activities. They represent our core business. But let me also say that I am eager to get in touch with companies or organisations considering a seacoast seminar or conference. We can accommodate up to 100 delegates in our meeting rooms and we have 74 elegant guest rooms with all you expect from a branded high class hotel.” Tobias sounds very convincing when he describes all the advantages of the hotel and of Klaipeda as conference destination even during the colder seasons.

“What about weekend offers for people living in the Lithuanian inland cities or in other European countries?”

“Our hotel can offer excellent weekend packages for individuals and families. Just call us! In addition to the 74 rooms we also have fitness facilities and a steam bath. We have rooms for entertainment or meetings, a well assorted bar, and a restaurant that is famous for its delicious meals for all tastes and desires.

So why not follow his advice and go for a seaside experience next time you plan for a seminar or a team-building event in your company or organisation? Or simply for some days off, deeply breathing the refreshing sea air out here...

Palanga International Airport has direct flights from Copenhagen, Oslo, Riga and Moscow. There are ferries connecting Klaipeda with Sweden and Germany. Or you can come by train, bus or your own car. The excellent motorway between Vilnius and Klaipeda makes the 300 km trip a pleasant three-hour experience only...

To talk with Tobias Ammon feels very refreshing. One can easily feel that this is a gentleman full of ideas and energy that surely will be for the benefit of Klaipeda and the Radisson Blu hotel.

But despite his rather young age, Tobias is a man with a very impressive record of experience. Born in Germany, not far from Berlin, growing up in the seaside city of Rostock, moving to the Black Forest area to start in the hotel business already as a 20-year youngster, and since then learning the trade and ‘climbing the ladder’ in several German hotels, as well as in Austria, England and St. Petersburg, Russia, before coming to Klaipeda as General Manager of Radisson Blu.

“Already as a child I loved to entertain, make shows, prepare dinners and so on. For my parents and others. So it was probably not strange that I chose the hotel business, first of all within the so-called ‘food and beverage’ segment of the business.”

“I simply love to meet people,” he declares as his conclusion to our little chat at the hotel’s breakfast table this morning.

Text: Aage Myhre
aage.myhre@VilNews.com