Four stars close to the artevel city

In the shadow of Ghent's Ghelamco Arena - and close to the Artevelde city's historic city centre - Van der Valk Hotel Gent opened its doors on 1 April 2021. The sixteenth hotel in Belgium of the well-known hotel chain combines excellent location, comfort, sustainability and hospitality. We visited Max and Dominique Van der Valk, a passionate management couple who are helping to put this new hotel on the map.

262 luxurious and spacious hotel rooms, 12 conference and meeting rooms, several bars and restaurants and a state-of-the-art fitness and wellness complex. Every guest or visitor is impressed by the ten-storey Van der Valk Hotel Gent. 

"Thanks to our excellent location, modern facilities and a passionate team of over 200 employees - our superheroes - tourists and businesspeople found their way to our hotel smoothly immediately after the opening," says Max Van der Valk, fourth-generation manager of the property together with wife Dominique. "With 262 rooms, we are the largest Van der Valk Hotel in Belgium. Despite that size, we still managed to create an atmospheric hotel full of cosy corners. Our guests are wildly enthusiastic about the cosy character of our property." 

Joining forces with renowned construction company

To renovate and furnish the hotel, Van der Valk teamed up with Group Jansen, a well-known renovation and construction company. Max and Dominique are full of praise for this collaboration: "It was quite a challenge to completely strip an existing building and turn it into a beautiful hotel. The Group Jansen construction team pulled out all the stops to finish the entire interior design, including all the technical installations, to perfection. They even insisted on fixed and loose furniture, curtains and TV sets."

Unique comfort islands

Max and Dominique are very proud of the climate ceilings in their hotel, an absolute first in the industry. Max explains: "Our hotel guests and visitors enjoy a pleasant indoor temperature day and night, thanks to radiant heat and cooling and perfect ventilation, acoustics and lighting. This innovative project is also a boon for our energy bill, as we can set the desired room temperature per room. This is made possible by linking the entire building management system to our reservation software."

Top location for seminars and events

A pleasant indoor temperature is of course also essential in the 12 conference and meeting rooms available in the hotel. Being in the heart of a business district, the demand for seminar and meeting rooms is high. Dominique: "We spared no effort to develop a diverse range of multifunctional rooms. In each of our rooms, we offer excellent audiovisual equipment, complemented by free Wi-Fi and extensive catering facilities. Last but not least, each room has natural daylight and climate control. A modular hall structure allows us to create one large room with a capacity of 500 people."

Three restaurants

No hotel without good food and drink. This is no different at Van der Valk Hotel Gent. "Hotel guests and visitors will not go hungry in our hotel," says Max with a laugh. "In one of our three restaurants they can enjoy a nice cup of coffee, a quick lunch or an extensive dinner. In fine weather, by the way, this can be done on our spacious terrace at the rooftop bar, with fantastic views of Ghent city centre. From Belgian classics to oriental dishes: the chefs in our restaurants conjure up delicious meals every time."

Fitness and wellness 

The hotel also has a lot to offer for sports and relaxation, including a fitness and wellness area. Dominique: "In our spa, our guests enjoy a Finnish sauna, experience showers, Turkish steam bath and relaxation area, while our gym - open from 6am to 11pm - is very popular for a healthy workout, as a start or end to the day. Every hotel guest may use this gym free of charge." 

"Together with our fantastic team of staff, we continue to work hard to further put our hotel on the map," concludes Max. "We set the bar high for ourselves so that customers and visitors always enjoy a unique hotel experience."■