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05/14/2020

Best Western Hotel Bad Rappenau, Bad Rappenau

World’s First Bikini Museum to Open at Best Western Hotel Bad Rappenau

A new building, fresh rooms, and new artworks in the spa town of Bad Rappenau, Germany: the Best Western Hotel Bad Rappenau has been expanded with an eleven million euro extension, featuring 50 new modern rooms. And there is even more to discover: the exclusive Bikini Museum, also located in the new building, has been completed. It is the world’s first museum dedicated to the famous two-piece and offers an extraordinary collection of what is probably the most scandalous fashion phenomenon of all times.


Eschborn / Bad Rappenau, Germany, 18 May 2020. 
Despite the Covid-19 crisis, the new building at the Best Western Hotel Bad Rappenau, which is worth around eleven million euros and covers 3,000 square metres, was completed. Its highlight is a completely re-imagined Art Deco style façade. 50 new guest rooms have been created, increasing the hotel's existing offering to 97 modern rooms in a modern style. In addition, the world's first museum solely dedicated to bikinis is located on the ground floor and in the basement of the new building. On July 5th, 2020, just in time for the International Bikini Day, it will open as the "BikiniARTmuseum". The history of the cult swimwear classic can then be experienced on an exhibition area of around 2,000 square metres. The museum is the first of its kind worldwide where the entire contemporary knowledge on the topics of swimwear and bathing culture is collected and presented to the public. Thanks to 1,200 swimwear pieces, of which about 400 will be on display in the exhibition, it will have the most valuable collection of swimwear in the world, from 1870 to the present day. "I hope that in a few years' time there will be BikiniARTmuseums in all of the world's most popular fashion capitals," says Alexander Ruscheinsky, Managing Director of 24 RE Real Estate GmbH in Regensburg and owner of the Best Western Hotel Bad Rappenau. "We are very proud of the weighty extension here in Bad Rappenau, which we have now been able to bring to a successful conclusion even under the difficult conditions caused by the Corona crisis. Bad Rappenau, a German spa town with therapeutic baths, is the birthplace and long-standing location of the two swimwear manufacturers Benger Ribbana and Felina. With the establishment of our bikini museum, our spa and bathing town is becoming a capital of swimwear," says Ruscheinsky.

 

A Bikini Museum in the Hotel Building: From Idea to Exhibition

The idea of integrating a bikini museum into the hotel was born about seven years ago. This is why the existing penthouse of the Best Western Hotel Bad Rappenau has been called "Bikini Cube" from the very beginning. It is even decorated with pictures of the cult two-piece. The future Bikini Museum in Bad Rappenau will have spectacular exhibits ready for its visitors. Art historian and director of the BikiniARTmuseum and Best Western Hotel Bad Rappenau, Reinhold Weinmann, is particularly proud of one sample: the black velvet and lace swimsuit worn by film legend Marilyn Monroe. "We are absolutely lucky that we can exhibit this piece of swimwear history in our museum," he says enthusiastically. The famous piece was hand-carried all the way from Paris to Bad Rappenau and handed to the museum team in person by French fashion expert Ghislaine Rayer.

In the bikini museum in Bad Rappenau, visitors will be able to marvel at the – by their own account – most complete and exclusive swimwear collection in the world. It starts with the beginnings of public bathing, in the middle of the 19th century, when full-body clothing made of wool was still mandatory. The journey continues until the recent days of Hollywood, and includes luxury brands such as Dior, Chanel and Pucci, as well as rarities such as the swimsuit of film legend Marilyn Monroe and, at its heart, almost all existing swimwear pieces by Louis Réard, the inventor of the bikini. The BikiniARTmuseum owns twelve originals by the designer, among which is the most special and unique piece: It is the historically most valuable bikini in the world, the "Golden Réard" from 1948.

 

Comfort on One of Europe's Main Travel Routes

The Best Western Hotel Bad Rappenau is located in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg near Stuttgart and Heidelberg. Among the 97 soundproofed comfort guest rooms, the de luxe penthouses "Bikini-Cube" and "Louis Réard Suite", each with 80 square meters and a 40 square meter roof terrace, exclusive interior and wellness bathroom are highlights. Guests can indulge the extensive offer of the "Caféino" à la carte restaurant, which is open around the clock, and the beer garden as well as the American-style restaurant "Burger'z". The newest addition to the hotel’s award-winning food concept is the wholesome food chain dean&david which now can be found in the entrance area of the Best Western Hotel. Located directly on one of Europe's main travel routes, numerous destinations can be reached quickly, such as Heidelberg Castle, the Christmas market in Bad Wimpfen, the Hockenheimring, the Rhein-Neckar Arena, the Museum of Technology and the Sinsheim Trade Fair Centre, as well as the Stuttgart and Mannheim Trade Fairs. Sights also include the Sinsheim spa and bathing world, the spa gardens and the Bad Rappenau golf course. The Best Western Hotel Bad Rappenau offers its guests a Tesla supercharger station, Allego fast chargers for all electric vehicles and a hydrogen filling station right outside the door. 

 

The future BikiniARTmuseum will be open daily from July 5, 2020 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; the entrance is 18 Euros.

 

The following press pictures are available for download:



The BikiniARTmuseum of the Best Western Hotel Bad Rappenau, Germany, will house the most complete and exclusive swimwear collection in the world.

 

Download PRESS RELEASES and PRESS IMAGES:
www.bestwestern.de/presse

 

 

About BWH Hotel GroupSM:

The BWH Hotel GroupSM is an international hotel group headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, and the umbrella brand for the three global brand families including Best Western Hotels & Resorts, WorldHotels Collection and SureStay Hotel Group with a global network of approximately 4,700 independent hotels in over 100 countries and territories worldwide.* BWH Hotel Group offers a total of 18 hotel brands worldwide that suit the needs of hotel developers and guests in every market: Best Western®, Best Western Plus®,  Best Western Premier®, Executive Residency by Best Western®,  Vīb®, GLō®, Aiden®, Sadie®, BW Premier Collection® and BW Signature Collection® as well as WorldHotels® Luxury, WorldHotels Elite, WorldHotels Distinctive and WorldHotels Crafted. SureStay®, SureStay Plus®, SureStay Collection® and SureStay StudioSMcomplete the group's brand portfolio.**  BWH Hotel GroupSM offers hoteliers operational services, sales and marketing support, multiple award-winning online and mobile booking options as well as the customer loyalty programs Best Western Rewards® and WorldHotels RewardsSM with more than 40 million members. 

 

BWH Hotel GroupSM Central Europe GmbH, formerly Best Western Hotels Central Europe GmbH, based in Eschborn, supports a total of around 300 hotels in ten countries, including Germany, Croatia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. 

Further information: www.bwhhotelgroup.de www.bestwestern.de  and www.bestwestern.com

* Numbers are approximate, may fluctuate, and include hotels currently in the development pipeline.

** All Best Western, WorldHotels and SureStay branded hotels are independently owned and operated. In Europe, SureStay Hotels are managed with the brand Sure Hotels. 

 

 

Further information and press contact: 

BWH Hotel Group Central Europe GmbH 
Austria | Croatia | Czech Republic | Germany | Hungary | Liechtenstein | Luxemburg | Slovakia | Slovenia | Switzerland

Anke Cimbal, Head of Corporate Communications
Tina Weik, Senior Manager Corporate Communications
Frankfurter Strasse 10-14, 65760 Eschborn, Germany
Tel. +49 (61 96) 47 24 -301 
E-Mail: presse@bwhhotelgroup.de
Internet: www.bestwestern.de  www.bwhhotelgroup.de

 

Contact

BWH Hotels Central Europe GmbH
Corporate Communications
Frankfurter Strasse 10-14
65760 Eschborn
Germany
Phone +49 (61 96) 47 24 - 300
E-Mail: presse@bwhhotels.de
Internet: www.bwhhotels.de
www.bestwestern.de/presse

Further information

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