Intercontinental Hotels Group’s (IHG) premium collection brand, voco Hotels, has opened its first property in The Netherlands. voco The Hague sees quintessential Dutch design and voco’s unstuffy style come together in the royal and administrative capital of Den Haag (as it’s known in Dutch).
Location
Based in the city’s Royal Quarter, this striking former bank building is located near the city’s shops, museums, and heritage sites, plus the embassy quarter and Peace Palace are within walking distance. The historic building, which dates back to 1923, has undergone a complete transformation with bank offices and ATMs making way for the hotel, which is spread over seven floors. With the help of tram, guests can reach Central Station in 10 minutes and head to the seaside in 15 minutes.
Design
When walking through the doors of the hotel, guests are immediately greeted with a spacious, airy atrium full of greenery which sets the tone for the hotel design which is inspired by nature and offers an indoor green oasis. Guests can admire the hotel’s butterfly installation named ‘born of flowers’ when walking through the lobby. The 3D installation was specially curated and stretches 143m across the hotel’s ceilings into the atrium. Made of thousands of metal butterflies composed into an enchanting swarm of flying flowers, the piece leads guests to a beautiful garden. In keeping with voco’s sustainability credentials, the hotel’s Garden Terrace was designed by an expert ecologist who created a welcoming space for nature to thrive.
As is the tradition at every voco hotel, at voco The Hague, guests can enjoy a traditional Dutch fondant “Borstplaat” which is said to be one of the oldest sweets in the Netherlands dating back to the early 17th century as a welcome treat upon arrival.
Accomodations
All of the 204 elegantly furnished guest rooms at voco The Hague have a metropolitan design, with a warm, but also playful touch, in true voco style. Rooms include signature voco touches, such as high-quality bedding made from 100% recycled materials and eco-friendly large size bathroom amenities from Antipodes, an award-winning plant – based organic skincare company.
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Dining
The hotel’s Botanica Kitchen Bar & Lounge serves fresh local ingredients with an 80% vegetable-based menu, whilst offering tranquillity in an extraordinary space that blurs the boundaries between the inside and outside. Standout dishes include the grilled vegetable platters and proteins cooked in a Josper charcoal oven.
By day, the hotel’s Ultramarijn Wonderbar is a place to start the day with a pastry and dark roast Java coffee. All-day breakfast dishes, and authentic comfort food are served fast and made simply with the best ingredients. Come evening, entering via a spiral staircase from street level to below ground; an underground bar serving creative cocktails inspired by Dutch Sea explorations.
Inge van Weert, General Manager, said:
This iconic building on the Kneuterdijk has been transformed to be the first voco hotel in the Netherlands, nodding to the brand’s diverse portfolio of hotels located in new and heritage buildings. “voco” means ‘to ‘invite’ or call together’, originating from Latin. This is exactly what we hope guests will do at voco The Hague. From their first cup of coffee in the morning in our butterfly garden, to locals coming for lunch in restaurant Botanica, or ending their day with a cocktail in gastrobar Ultramarijn, we hope to bring people together to enjoy a slice of voco life.
As IHG Hotels & Resorts’ fastest growing brand, voco is now open in more than 19 destinations around the world, with a further 29 hotels in the pipeline. IHG recently announced the signing of the first-voco hotel in South Korea and voco The Palm in Dubai.
Meanwhile, the hotel chain has also announced the signing of Intercontinental Riyadh King Fahed Road, three hotels in Bangkok and Pattaya and Holiday Inn Express and Suites Jalandhar.
Featured image by IHG
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