Fine Hotels & Suites
A touch chic, but accessible
DATE
21 May 2020
TEXT
Annerieke Simeone
IMAGE
Frank Jansen and PR
Corina Waaijer loves beautiful places, art, good food, beautiful interiors and pampering people. "When running a hotel, it all comes together," the director of Fine Hotels & Suites proves every day.
"Zull we meet at the Vlaamsch Broodhuys in a minute?", Corina Waaijer apps just before the interview. At 38 Laan Copes van Cattenburch, guests are currently having breakfast. The conversation therefore takes place around the corner from Stadsvilla Mozaic. As we step inside, Waaijer goes through the latest emails on her mobile.
Fine Hotels & Suites
The blonde director (45) of Fine Hotels & Suites - blue dress, gold jewellery - looks relaxed. Since her business has grown and she has more people supporting her, she works a lot less on weekends. "These days, I try to do everything in 40 hours. My children don't pick it up when I work at night."
The people working there are professional and provide good service.
City Villa Mozaic
Being efficient with her time is something she has to do anyway. Waaijer is co-owner of five hotels: Stadsvilla Mozaic (since 2008), Hotel Casa Julia Delft (2016), Stadsvilla Mout Rotterdam-Schiedam (2018), Hotel Bergse Bossen in Driebergen (2019) and - since this year - Huis Blaauwen in the centre of Delft. "Do you know that place? That used to be where the Army Museum sat. I love monuments, that's where I often pick my locations."
'Every guest gets individual attention'
She enjoys not only beautiful places, but also art, good food, beautiful interiors, pampering people. "When running a hotel, it all comes together," she says. This is why Waaijer saw a path ahead of her in hospitality from a young age. Not as a manager of a hotel, no, as an owner.
Read also:
Sun, sea, pool. in short, everything a person needs
Her studies at the Hotel School in Leeuwarden, she found, did not prepare her enough for entrepreneurship. "I needed an even stronger foundation in that area." So she added a study: business administration at Rotterdam's Erasmus University. She smiles. "Doing two studies, that was still possible in those days."
Flying hours
Immediately after graduating, she became a management trainee at Ahold. "With a group of girls, also management trainees, I lived in the Amsterdam Red Light District. We enjoyed that time, I saw every corner of Amsterdam. Out at night and back to work hard in the morning. When you're 26, you can have a lot."
'City Villa Mozaic is small-scale but with a great range of facilities'
After Amsterdam came London and her working area as a business manager at Microsoft covered parts of North and South America. She found it more than instructive. "American companies shift gears quickly and if you have entrepreneurial blood, that suits you. You learn how companies are structured. How budgets and decisions are made. Besides: I slept in the finest hotels. After seven years, I had literally done enough flying hours to know how I would later design my hotel."
Golden tip
Just 32 years old, she quit her job. In her farewell email, she concluded with: 'PS. Should you know another investor...' And lo and behold, that's where the golden tip rolled out via via. "There was someone who wanted to guarantee the purchase of a property. As time went on, his role grew. Now he has been my partner for 10 years."
Read also:
Sleeping under Michelangelo and Mondrian
Looking for their dream hotel, they very quickly came to the Archipel neighbourhood." Hotel Juliana had been for sale for a while. Due to the high asking price, several buyers had already dropped out. That worked out well. "After making an acceptable offer, we gutted everything from front to back and built a small piece on top," he says.
Diplomats
City Villa Mozaic was born. "Small-scale, but with a great range of facilities," says Waaijer. "We have five private parking spaces, the reception is manned 24 hours a day and there are two meeting rooms, one of which, the Style Room, can be locked." They regularly receive visits from diplomats and large companies. "The other day we had a group of lawyers over who used our Style Room during the day for a trial at the Peace Palace. If they then wanted to get some air, there was no need to pack everything up immediately."
'Our hotels share the same values but have their own identity'
When we ask her about the mission of Fine Hotels & Suites, Waaijer replies, "To offer sleeping, meeting and enjoyment in multiple special places. Our hotels are elegant and have a warm, open atmosphere. Every guest gets individual attention. The people working there are professional and offer great service. We try to put the icing on the cake everywhere. A touch of luxury. But no golden taps mind you, we do remain accessible. Our hotels have the same values, but their own identity."
House Blaauwen
Casa Julia ("small and a bit bohemian") and Huis Blaauwen ("a sturdy, old armoury with references to its trading past with the East"), like Mozaic, are popular with international guests. "For example, we get a lot of parents of TU students and guests from the Technical University and IKEA, but also tourists who want to visit the historic centre."
City Villa Mozaic: a touch of luxury. But no gold taps
Stadsvilla Mout, a suite hotel in a beautiful, listed canal house, is picturesquely situated on a canal. "The 17 rooms are large and charming. Make no mistake, Schiedam is on the rise and it is only 15 minutes from Rotterdam." According to Waaijer, Hotel Buitenplaats de Bergse Bossen in Driebergen is a real hideaway for meeting and relaxing: lots of business people and nature lovers, fewer international guests. "It is in the middle of the woods," he says.
Rest
Wanting to make herself more resilient to the competition and grow personally, Waaijer expanded her hotel empire in recent years. And what about now? Does she still get enough satisfaction out of it? "Yes, good question. I've been thinking about that a lot lately. At Buitenplaats de Bergse Bossen, I notice that I operate more at management level. That gives peace of mind, but at the same time I love interacting with people. That was an important reason why I started doing business. I want to keep in touch with all our hotels. To say now that it ends here..."
text Annerieke Simeone / image Frank Jansen and PR
Corina Waaijer loves beautiful places, art, good food, beautiful interiors and pampering people. "When running a hotel, it all comes together," the director of Fine Hotels & Suites proves every day.
"Zull we meet at the Vlaamsch Broodhuys in a minute?", Corina Waaijer apps just before the interview. At 38 Laan Copes van Cattenburch, guests are currently having breakfast. The conversation therefore takes place around the corner from Stadsvilla Mozaic. As we step inside, Waaijer goes through the latest emails on her mobile.
Fine Hotels & Suites
The blonde director (45) of Fine Hotels & Suites - blue dress, gold jewellery - looks relaxed. Since her business has grown and she has more people supporting her, she works a lot less on weekends. "These days, I try to do everything in 40 hours. My children don't pick it up when I work at night."
The people working there are professional and provide good service.
City Villa Mozaic
Being efficient with her time is something she has to do anyway. Waaijer is co-owner of five hotels: Stadsvilla Mozaic (since 2008), Hotel Casa Julia Delft (2016), Stadsvilla Mout Rotterdam-Schiedam (2018), Hotel Bergse Bossen in Driebergen (2019) and - since this year - Huis Blaauwen in the centre of Delft. "Do you know that place? That used to be where the Army Museum sat. I love monuments, that's where I often pick my locations."
'Every guest gets individual attention'
She enjoys not only beautiful places, but also art, good food, beautiful interiors, pampering people. "When running a hotel, it all comes together," she says. This is why Waaijer saw a path ahead of her in hospitality from a young age. Not as a manager of a hotel, no, as an owner.
Read also:
Sun, sea, pool. in short, everything a person needs
Her studies at the Hotel School in Leeuwarden, she found, did not prepare her enough for entrepreneurship. "I needed an even stronger foundation in that area." So she added a study: business administration at Rotterdam's Erasmus University. She smiles. "Doing two studies, that was still possible in those days."
Flying hours
Immediately after graduating, she became a management trainee at Ahold. "With a group of girls, also management trainees, I lived in the Amsterdam Red Light District. We enjoyed that time, I saw every corner of Amsterdam. Out at night and back to work hard in the morning. When you're 26, you can have a lot."
'City Villa Mozaic is small-scale but with a great range of facilities'
After Amsterdam came London and her working area as a business manager at Microsoft covered parts of North and South America. She found it more than instructive. "American companies shift gears quickly and if you have entrepreneurial blood, that suits you. You learn how companies are structured. How budgets and decisions are made. Besides: I slept in the finest hotels. After seven years, I had literally done enough flying hours to know how I would later design my hotel."
Golden tip
Just 32 years old, she quit her job. In her farewell email, she concluded with: 'PS. Should you know another investor...' And lo and behold, that's where the golden tip rolled out via via. "There was someone who wanted to guarantee the purchase of a property. As time went on, his role grew. Now he has been my partner for 10 years."
Read also:
Sleeping under Michelangelo and Mondrian
Looking for their dream hotel, they very quickly came to the Archipel neighbourhood." Hotel Juliana had been for sale for a while. Due to the high asking price, several buyers had already dropped out. That worked out well. "After making an acceptable offer, we gutted everything from front to back and built a small piece on top," he says.
Diplomats
City Villa Mozaic was born. "Small-scale, but with a great range of facilities," says Waaijer. "We have five private parking spaces, the reception is manned 24 hours a day and there are two meeting rooms, one of which, the Style Room, can be locked." They regularly receive visits from diplomats and large companies. "The other day we had a group of lawyers over who used our Style Room during the day for a trial at the Peace Palace. If they then wanted to get some air, there was no need to pack everything up immediately."
'Our hotels share the same values but have their own identity'
When we ask her about the mission of Fine Hotels & Suites, Waaijer replies, "To offer sleeping, meeting and enjoyment in multiple special places. Our hotels are elegant and have a warm, open atmosphere. Every guest gets individual attention. The people working there are professional and offer great service. We try to put the icing on the cake everywhere. A touch of luxury. But no golden taps mind you, we do remain accessible. Our hotels have the same values, but their own identity."
House Blaauwen
Casa Julia ("small and a bit bohemian") and Huis Blaauwen ("a sturdy, old armoury with references to its trading past with the East"), like Mozaic, are popular with international guests. "For example, we get a lot of parents of TU students and guests from the Technical University and IKEA, but also tourists who want to visit the historic centre."
City Villa Mozaic: a touch of luxury. But no gold taps
Stadsvilla Mout, a suite hotel in a beautiful, listed canal house, is picturesquely situated on a canal. "The 17 rooms are large and charming. Make no mistake, Schiedam is on the rise and it is only 15 minutes from Rotterdam." According to Waaijer, Hotel Buitenplaats de Bergse Bossen in Driebergen is a real hideaway for meeting and relaxing: lots of business people and nature lovers, fewer international guests. "It is in the middle of the woods," he says.
Rest
Wanting to make herself more resilient to the competition and grow personally, Waaijer expanded her hotel empire in recent years. And what about now? Does she still get enough satisfaction out of it? "Yes, good question. I've been thinking about that a lot lately. At Buitenplaats de Bergse Bossen, I notice that I operate more at management level. That gives peace of mind, but at the same time I love interacting with people. That was an important reason why I started doing business. I want to keep in touch with all our hotels. To say now that it ends here..."
