Two train stops or a 15 minute walk away from the venue of the International Conference on Freshwater, the Maritim hotel stands between a park and the highway or the autoban. Its self-proclaimed "high class elegance" and "international flair" has drawn close to 200 delegates so far. The conference starts tomorrow Monday, December 3 and will end on Friday. Susanne Zu Eicken, a receptionist at the Maritim told Conference News Daily that 150 delegates checked in today.

Eicken said that the hotel is completely booked for the next three days leading one to believe that most of the delegates do not intend to stay for the duration of the conference. Asked if this was true, Eicken said, "I do not know. I think most of the guests will leave by Friday. We are hoping they will otherwise we will have a problem." On Saturday the Maritim is hosting a large party for the German press. "We will be hosting TV stars," said Eicken excitedly.

Freshwater Conference is not drawing celebrities however it is attracting 1,400 delegates from around the world. Generally when they are full, the Maritim, which has a 410 rooms, send their patrons to their sister hotel, of the same name, across the Rhine. But currently that is fully booked as well because the Afghan peace talks are taking place there.

The delegates fortunate to be able to make reservations at the Maritim generally book standard rooms, according to Eicken. A standard single room in the hotel costs 299 Deutschmarks (approximately $150) and a double room costs 389 Deutschmarks (approximately $ 195). The delegates are given group discounts for this conference.

According to Eicken, this is a busy season for the four star Maritim. "There are a lot of conference during this season," she said. "Some of them are hosted by our hotel."