Poland builds mega-resort in Pobierowo on the Baltic: 1,200 rooms and opening in 2026 worry Ostsee hoteliers

Poland builds a hotel “giant” on the Baltic, German hoteliers on the Ostsee warn of pressure: what the 1,200-room project brings

On the Polish coast of the Baltic Sea, in the town of Pobierowo in the Rewal municipality, a project is being completed that has been causing debate on both sides of the border for months: the Gołębiewski Hotel, conceived as a complex with about 1,200 rooms, a water park, spa facilities, and large congress capacities. After years of delays, some sources and media estimates mention 2026 as a realistic deadline, with the possibility of a gradual launch – in the first phase, a part of the accommodation floors, restaurants, and pool facilities, followed by the expansion of the offer as technical inspections and procedures are completed.

For German hoteliers on the Ostsee coast (Baltic Sea), especially in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the project has become a symbol of a new wave of cross-border competition: large, year-round resorts that combine accommodation, entertainment, and wellness, offering packages at prices that smaller hotels and family pensions find difficult to match. The focus of the discussion is not only market competition but also the question of what model of coastal tourism prevails in a period of climatic, infrastructural, and social pressures on the coastline.

What is known about the project in Pobierowo: scale, facilities, and opening plan

According to data published by Polish professional and business media, the facility in Pobierowo was designed as one of the largest hotel investments on the Polish coast. Mention is made of a building with 13 floors and a total area of approximately 180 thousand square meters, with an accommodation capacity of several thousand guests when all planned parts are in function. The concept is a “city in a hotel”: along with rooms and apartments, the plans include a water park and pools, sauna and wellness zones, a wide gastronomic offer, facilities for families, as well as large congress spaces intended to attract business events outside the main season.

A portal that monitors large investments and permit procedures states that a phased opening is mentioned as a likely scenario. In this framework, in the first stage, a part of the floors and rooms, the reception, two restaurants, and pool facilities would be available to guests, while the remaining functions would be introduced later, depending on the dynamics of final inspections and necessary approvals. This “phased model” is often used when there is a desire to start the revenue-generating part of the business earlier, but on the condition that each opened unit is fully safe and formally approved for use.

For the wider region, the geographic position is also important: Pobierowo is on the Polish coast near the German border, so the tourist offer competes not only within Poland but also with German destinations on Usedom and Rügen, as well as numerous smaller places along the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In practice, this means that guests, especially those traveling by car, choose destinations based on the overall offer and price, rather than the state border.

From vision to delays: permits, inspections, and environmental issues

The project in Pobierowo has been followed for years by stories of shifting deadlines. Media reviews cite various reasons: the pandemic and disruptions in construction supply chains, changes in the organization of the construction site, but also a series of formal-legal issues. In Poland, questions of compliance of the execution with building permits and procedures related to environmental conditions were emphasized, which is typical for large interventions in sensitive coastal areas.

Official traces of such procedures are visible in public announcements by the local government. In the registers of the Rewal municipality, information was published regarding administrative procedures related to environmental conditions for the project “Hotel Gołębiewski in Pobierowo” with accompanying infrastructure and facilities. At the same time, specialized media state that technical inspections and final approvals were the key point that changed the previously mentioned opening dates, with a combination of optimistic announcements and subsequent delays appearing periodically in public.

For the investor, documentation and inspections are not just a formality. In the coastal area of the Baltic Sea, where coastal erosion and dune dynamics are constant topics, and local communities are sensitive to the load on infrastructure (water, drainage, traffic, waste), a large resort becomes a test of institutional capacity: can a higher intensity tourism model be implemented while respecting environmental constraints and public procedures. That is why part of the debate goes beyond the classic tourism story and moves into the area of public policies: who sets the limits of development, how is space protected, and what price does the local community pay for a strong economic impulse.

Why Germany is upset: prices, seasonality, and changes in demand

The German Ostsee coast has recorded strong demand in recent years, but also rising costs – from energy and labor to the renovation of facilities and pressures on labor availability. In such conditions, a large resort across the border that can achieve economies of scale often comes with a more aggressive pricing strategy: packages that include entertainment and facilities under one roof attract families, but also guests looking for a predictable budget. For some German landlords and smaller hotels, this means possible pressure on prices, especially in the “value for money” segment, which is sensitive to every difference in the total cost of the vacation.

Discussions sparked in the media emphasize that Pobierowo is not just another classic hotel, but an integrated complex that can redirect travel flows. A guest who usually chooses German destinations on the Baltic could move part of their vacation to Poland if they get a similar travel distance, more indoor facilities, and a lower total price. In a region where weather can quickly change plans, a “plan B” in the form of a water park and wellness often becomes a decisive criterion – not only for families with children, but also for couples and the older population who want secure infrastructure regardless of weather conditions.

The issue of seasonality is particularly important. Traditional coastal tourism on the Baltic relies on summer, while autumn and winter months are weaker. Projects like Gołębiewski count on the water park, wellness, and congress segment to fill capacity outside the peak season. For some German small and medium hotels, this is a challenge because many do not have the infrastructure for year-round operation on that scale, nor can they easily finance facilities that are capital-intensive. In such a game, resorts with a thousand or more rooms can “spread” the cost of investment over a larger number of guests and a longer part of the year.

“The largest and perhaps the ugliest”: how the German press framed the story

The story also gained a cultural-political dimension after publications referring to comments from the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, transmitted within the framework of Deutsche Welle. In these reviews, the facility in Pobierowo is described in very critical terms, with an emphasis on the monumental architecture and the impression that the project is changing the identity of a small town. Polish portals that reported the discussion emphasize that, alongside aesthetics and scale, questions are being raised about the environmental impact and the quality of life for residents, i.e., how a small coastal resort will handle the new level of visitors.

Such rhetoric may not reflect the stance of the entire German tourism industry, but it shows that competition in the region is increasingly interpreted through the prism of values: is a model of a large resort that attracts mass flows desirable, or should the Baltic stick to lower-intensity development, with an emphasis on the natural landscape and less construction. In the background is also the classic dilemma of coastal destinations: tourism brings income, but physical space and infrastructure have a clear limit of endurance.

The Baltic Sea as a unique region: a market without borders and a shared ecosystem

The Baltic Sea is specific in that tourism takes place within a shared ecosystem and in a space where borders are crossed easily – by car, ferry, and sometimes by train. This intensifies competition, but also the need for more harmonized standards. In practice, a guest compares destinations by very concrete criteria: price per night, service quality, availability of facilities for children, options in bad weather, beach condition, traffic accessibility, and a general sense of “value for money.”

In this framework, the Polish coast has been investing in higher standard accommodation and facilities targeting guests from Poland, Germany, and the wider region in recent years. The German coast, on the other hand, increasingly emphasizes sustainable practices, but simultaneously faces rising prices. The result is that the Baltic is less and less viewed as a set of separate national markets, and more as a single region in which guests freely “overflow” toward the best offer. That is precisely why the opening of a large complex in Pobierowo is not local news: it is a signal of the direction in which the coastal economy of the entire northern Europe could move.

What the project means for the local community: jobs, traffic, and pressure on infrastructure

For Pobierowo and the wider Rewal municipality, a large resort can mean a new wave of jobs – from hotel and catering to technical and logistical ones. The very appearance of public announcements and recruitment signals, which Polish specialized portals wrote about, indicates preparations for the operational phase. However, local effects are not one-dimensional. Increasing the number of guests during the peak season can burden roads, parking, local clinics, and municipal systems, thereby increasing the costs that the local community must cover or manage. In such conditions, traffic solutions, the organization of access, and systems that can buffer sudden jumps in visitor numbers become key.

In coastal towns with a relatively small number of permanent residents, accommodation capacities that bring thousands of guests in one wave can change the rhythm of everyday life. Hence some of the public resistance: some warn of the loss of the town's quieter character, while others point out that tourism dominates the local economy anyway and that a strong investment can mean higher consumption, better-paid jobs, and more stable work outside the season. On the ground, the debate often boils down to the question of balance: how much growth is enough to bring benefit without “eating” what made the destination attractive in the first place.

How competition on the Ostsee could change

For German hoteliers, the question is not only whether some guests will go to Poland, but also how to respond to the change in preferences. One part of the industry has long emphasized the need for differentiation: a stronger focus on authenticity, local gastronomy, sustainable practices, a smaller number of rooms, and a higher level of personalized service. Another part, especially in larger destinations, is thinking about investments in wellness and offers that transcend the season. In both cases, the goal is the same: to make the offer distinct enough so that competition does not reduce to simple price undercutting.

Large resorts, however, have the advantage of integration: a guest does not have to leave the complex to get entertainment, pools, restaurants, and facilities for children. If the hotel in Pobierowo truly achieves its planned functions, it could set a new reference point for family vacations in the region, and thereby force competitors to redefine their offers – either through specialization or through investments in facilities that extend the season. This can simultaneously accelerate broader changes: the development of new transport lines, the strengthening of cross-border weekend travel, and a greater fight for labor in tourism, which is already being fought on several fronts in northern Europe.

Opening in 2026 and open questions

Although 2026 is increasingly mentioned in public as the year the facility could receive its first guests, some information remains subject to procedures. It is key when inspections will be completed and all necessary operating consents issued, and whether the opening will proceed in one or several phases. It is equally important how the relationship with the environment and the local community will be managed in practice – not just through documents, but also through measures on the ground: traffic solutions, energy efficiency, waste and water management, and the way the space along the forest and dunes is used.

In that sense, the story of the “mega resort” on the Baltic Sea is not just a story about tourism. It is a test for the entire region – from local institutions to the hotel industry on both sides of the border – as to whether growth can be aligned with spatial constraints and the expectations of guests who increasingly seek both comfort and responsibility.