Inside England’s Euro 2024 training base: Inflatable unicorns, robot waiters and a £800k bill

England checking in for a major tournament in Germany throws up memories of the Baden-Baden circus during the 2006 World Cup.

The wives, girlfriends and families of the Golden Generation stole the show, taking over the Black Forest spa town for a month of luxury shopping and late-night partying.

Times have changed, though, and there will be fewer distractions for England this summer.

After flying to Germany on Monday, Gareth Southgate's squad have settled into their base camp at the Weimarer Spa and Golf Resort, about half an hour's drive from Erfurt.

It has been a theme of the Southgate era that the FA take a more holistic and considered approach to picking tournament bases these days. From Repino at Russia 2018 to Al Wakrah in Qatar, via their familiar St George's Park base during Euro 2020, the FA have gone to great lengths to build perfect conditions.

Their home this summer is perhaps the best of the lot, a secluded 350-acre resort in the Thuringia region. A small entourage of FA staff travelled out in December for a recce. A month earlier, Southgate had explained: "We want somewhere where we can be a little bit on our own. We need that nice contrast of relaxation and areas where we can work."

Hosts Germany trained at the Weimarer last month and had wanted to stay there this summer. But their main sponsors, adidas, insisted they instead use the national football centre, adidas HomeGround, near Nuremberg.

Germany's loss is England's gain — at the cost of £800,000 to the FA — with Harry Kane no doubt chuffed to check into a golf resort.

The 94-room estate also has two full-size training pitches and fully equipped gyms and pools. Players will be served food by Kehrbart, the hotel's robot waiter, meaning Peter Crouch will be present at least in spirit.

Families will be allowed into the camp on certain days, and there are table tennis and pool tables for entertainment when the squad are not training. The resort has also been kitted out with dart boards, basketball hoops and a cinema room.

FA staff have decorated the hotel with England merchandise, and the inflatable unicorns of Euro 2020 fame will also reappear for warm-down sessions in the pool.

Family photos have been put up in each player's room, as well as a personalised letter from Southgate. Bed linen and pillows have come with the squad from St George's. No expense has been spared, no detail neglected.