About us

Just before WWII, a young man named Paul Günther came to Boppard from Bernterode, Germany, where he had worked hard as a young businessman in the wholesale trade. During those troubling financial times he saw several of his fellow employees lose their jobs and he deplored the thought of himself being at the mercy of the boss. He decided to start his own business. Having always liked working with people, he decided that a hotel would exactly fill the bill. After some research he was convinced that Boppard on the Rhine was the town in which to settle and thus purchased Hotel Rheingold.

During wartime he met and married Martha Böttinger from Heidelberg. Martha was a cook, trained at the popular Hotel Lilie in Boppard. Hotel Rheingold flourished- both during war time and afterwards. Paul, with the help of his father, constructed the largest convention facilities in town. Hotel Rheingold often served groups of up to 400 persons for dinner.

After many successful years the Günthers were forced to sell the hotel to the city to make way for the Bundestraße 9 bypass. In 1962 they decided to purchase the eight-bed Pension Ladwein, which was located directly on the Rhine promenade. As a businessman Paul Günther was convinced of the importance of location, and in Boppard that means the riverside. The building was renovated and named Hotel garni Günther - "garni" meaning a hotel without restaurant.

In 1976 their daughter Doris and her American husband Jim Sunthimer took ownership. Doris, of course, had learned the ropes of the business starting as a child. She was also trained and experienced as a foreign language correspondent in English and French. Jim, with a Bachelor's degree from Kent State University in Ohio, had also become acquainted with the hotel business through his part time work during college days at the local Best Western motel.

Having renovated and added on several times within the last few decades, today Hotel Günther is a modern building with nineteen double rooms, fifteen of which face the riverside- having their own balcony.

It now appears that Hotel Günther will remain in the family for the coming generation as well, as daughter Sonya, with a degree in hotel management, and her American husband Scott Wise, with years of hotel/restaurant experience, have joined the business.