From land and from sea onto the rivers – a family history

The Hamburg businessman Theo Gerlach built his first hotel because back then no other, or only very few other hotels, met his demands of design, cuisine and service. One became two, then three, then four. Today, a total of twelve hotels in Germany, Spain and on the Maldives belong to the Seaside Collection, including the Grand Hotel Residencia, the only member of the Leading Hotels of the World on Gran Canaria, and the Maldives resort Finolhu. All owned and managed by Gregor and Anouchka Gerlach. A perfect team. Like their father, both of them combine a passion for hotels with a love of detail. Both of them gained professional experience at highly-reputable companies. Gregor Gerlach, after studying Business Administration, at McKinsey, Anouchka Gerlach after completing her studies in Hotel Management in Lausanne, at One & Only. As Hamburg residents they have long had a great affinity to the water and ships. And this created the idea, in addition to hotels in cities and on the sea, of also putting hotels on Europe’s rivers. Under the new aegis of Riverside Luxury Cruises, three of their ships cruise on the Rhône, Rhine and Danube. From 2024, this will reach a total of five. And with the same philosophy as the hotels of the Seaside Collection. Simply making guests happy.