Van der Valk Hotel to become asylum seeker center: Restaurant will remain open as usual

©picture alliance / dpa | Bernd Wüstneck

The well-known Van der Valk hotel along the E17 in Nazareth-De Pinte, Flanders, will soon be repurposed: the building will become a European return center for asylum seekers. Remarkably, the restaurant will remain open as usual. “Brunch, lunch, and dinner: we’ll keep serving those,” says manager Thomas Torrekens in a statement to the Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad.

Belgium’s most famous toucan will, however, be gone: next week, the iconic sign will be removed from the roof. For the hotel itself, this marks the end of a difficult period. According to manager Torrekens, the business had been struggling for years, and the COVID-19 crisis dealt an additional blow. Despite investments in a renovated bar, events, and suites, running the business remained a financial strain. “This was our last resort, ” he says.

The return center is intended for people who have transited through Belgium via another EU member state and are not actually eligible for further processing here. The first residents are expected to arrive this fall. The hotel has 84 rooms, which will be converted into reception facilities. The lobby and meeting rooms will be taken over by the Immigration Office, while the hotel beds will be replaced with bunk beds.

However, part of the building will remain accessible to customers. The restaurant and banquet hall will retain their own entrance via the veranda, and the area separating them from the center will be physically sealed off. The operator hopes that regular customers will continue to come for lunch, brunch, and events.

No final decision has yet been made regarding the staff. Torrekens says the hotel wants to let as few people as possible go. It will close its doors to hotel guests on August 23, but the restaurant will continue to operate as a staple along the highway.