Welcome & Bienvenue dear hotel SPIRATIONS 360° guest,

I’m Ulrike (also pronounced Eureka 🙂 – your host at Hotel SPIRATIONS 360°. At level 53, I’m a wife, twin mum, stepmum, and someone who has experienced both the highs and lows of a long career. I call Southern France, Stuttgart and Cologne home, while keeping a deep and lasting connection to New York.

Even as a professional 5 star hotelier, I often struggled to find truly heartfelt “hideaways”—those hidden gems where you can step away from the busyness of life, return to your roots, and open yourself to new possibilities in a beautiful setting. Out of this very longing, the idea of creating a virtual sanctuary—Hotel SPIRATIONS 360°—was born.

Now—I finally have the space to begin this new hotel project. It’s not about chasing the cliché of “living your best life,” but about living life well—by practicing every day to do what you love. No pressure, no excuses 🙂

I share with you what I love: nature, hotels & travel, arts & crafts, interior design, inner beauty, slow fashion, and the art of savoir vivre – always with intention and as much clarity as possible.

Have a most wonderful stay,

Love,

♠️ „Why place so much weight on “because of my age”?

This is a sunny space, born from my passion for people, the experiences of female entrepreneurs, and real conversations about life and aging. Every year adds another layer to the story. This beautiful photo from the art of Charlie chaplin (credits) shows so much of it.

Age is not just a number – it is the sum of our moments, our choices, our lessons, and our laughter. In the virtual hotel, age is something to be celebrated, not feared. Each year marks another chapter, another layer of wisdom and texture that makes you, you.

With each level we reach, life feels different. I realise that slowing down is no longer optional – it’s essential. I also know that not everyone gets to reach this stage, and that makes it even more precious. The race to be the fastest fades away; instead, there’s joy in choosing the pace that feels right. Unbelievable at first – and yet so liberating.

At 38, I buried a close friend – and with him, my idea of what happiness and family could look like. I resigned myself to the thought that my life would simply belong to the business. Until fate stepped in: I met my now-husband – and he was… persistent. Slowly but surely, he shifted my view on many things. And then: twins! I still believe it was a sign from above – because one child I might have “managed” alongside the businesswoman I was, but two?

Then came the moment of truth. The banks grew more doubtful, and the weight of expectations became too much to carry. With heavy hearts, we had no choice but to let go of the family business. A painful farewell that marked the end of one era and the hesitant beginning of a new one – full of doubt, sadness, and uncertainty.
And yet, today, a beautiful leisure park hotel stands where our Michelin-starred resort once proudly welcomed guests – and I began a life I would never have dared to imagine before.

“What do you return to, to keep your light steady when life feels full?”

I’ve always said – and believed in my hotel philosophies – that if you take a moment to observe nature… the trees, the animals, the blooming flowers… you’ll feel how simple life can be. It’s all about becoming your true self.

Being a woman entrepreneur can feel overwhelming – because everything happens at once. And when you’re in the middle of it, it’s easy to lose sight of the beauty around you.

That’s what I’d like to give you – tools that helped ground me. Tools that remind us that going slow is an art. That saying “stop” is sometimes the best you can do. And that somehow, everything has meaning – even the unexpected.

This is my vision for this virtual hotel: To inspire women around the world to live their dreams – and to be truly beautiful from the inside out. Not despite, but because of age and experience.