Gerrit van der Valk in earlier years by a sign

Nearly 100 Years of Hospitality

and Entrepreneurship

Van der Valk’s History

How it all started

Nowadays, people associate Van der Valk with modern hotels, lively restaurants, extensive facilities, meeting and conference venues, and naturally the familiar toucan. However, generations of history lie hidden behind this recognisable image.

This is a story of seeing opportunities, hard work, tackling issues together and above all: making guests feel welcome.

Van der Valk was officially founded in 1929, when Martinus van der Valk took over De Gouden Leeuw in Voorschoten. Together with his wife Rie, he laid the foundations for a family business in which food, overnight stays and hospitality became increasingly intertwined.

Almost 100 Years of Van der Valk From farmhouse with café to international hotel chain

Hospitality is in our DNA Passed down from generation to generation

Entrepreneurship since 1929 Van der Valk was built on courage, hard work and the ability to recognise opportunities

Still a family business A family member remains at the helm at virtually every location

Roots in Voorschoten

1862

The family history started back in 1862 when Nicolaas van der Valk bought the farm De Gouden Leeuw along the Veurseweg in Voorschoten. Over the years, the farm’s milking parlour developed into a bar.

After Nicolaas passed away in 1902, his second wife Elisabeth Groenewegen ran De Gouden Leeuw for years. Her youngest son Martinus grew up in an environment in which family, work and receiving guests were closely linked.

From 1926 onwards, he took on an increasing number of tasks and, in 1929, he took over De Gouden Leeuw for 12,000 guilders making that the year Van der Valk was officially founded.

Martinus and Rie: in Control Together

The founders of Van der Valk

Martinus was a multi-faceted businessman and saw opportunities everywhere. Rie controlled the day to day operations at De Gouden Leeuw and ran the bar. Together they further shaped the business.

Martinus wanted his guests to eat as well as his family did. Rie personified this concept by cooking for the guests thereby determining Van der Valk’s first menu.

Rie also played a crucial role in the development of the hotel as it was her idea to build bedrooms above De Gouden Leeuw. This is how overnight stays increasingly became part of the business’ activities.

Martinus and Rie had 11 children. To them, de Gouden Leeuw was more than just their home, it was the place where, from an early age, they learned to work, receive guests and do business.

When, around 1939, the Veurseweg was widened, the old Gouden Leeuw had to be demolished. The family constructed a new building slightly further back that incorporated eight hotel rooms. Development was temporarily interrupted by World War Two, however the family resurrected the damaged business after the conflict was over.

This habit of tackling issues together would come to characterise the family.

Every Child their Own Business

An entrepreneurial family

Martinus wanted his children to ultimately go into business themselves. His idea was simple: every child should have their own business.

From the 1940s onwards, the family increasingly spread out across the Netherlands. Their own children and those of in-laws came to run their own branches and expanded them as they saw fit.

These weren’t ready-made successes as the family often saw opportunities in locations where there was still much to do. And, if a new hotel was almost finished, the entire family would help get it ready to open on time.

Van der Valk did not develop as a centrally controlled hotel chain, but as an ever expanding family of entrepreneurs.

A lot of hard work by the Van der Valk family during a renovation in the past

The toucan as a symbol

A recognizable symbol

In the mid-1950s all this growth gained a recognisable image.

In 1956, Martinus took over the Avifauna bird zoo in Alphen aan den Rijn. Around the same time the family were looking for a joint symbol for the various locations. They decided on the toucan which would later develop into Van der Valk’s logo.

A full terrace at Café De Gouden Leeuw in the past

Expansion Beyond the Netherlands

International expansion

The family also saw opportunities outside the Netherlands. In 1958, daughter An and her husband Ben Wohrmann moved to Brasschaat in Belgium. 30 wooden motel rooms were built at Dennenhof.

In 1966 Van der Valk gained a foothold in Spain with Hotel Barcarola on the Costa Brava and in the 1970s, the family firm also established itself on the French Côte d’Azur. In the meantime, the motel concept was further expanded. Gerrit van der Valk had seen how practical motels situated along important roads could be during his trips to America: easily accessible, parking spaces right outside, and dinner and overnight stays in a single location.

Motel Nuland, the first Van der Valk location to be entirely designed and built by the family, opened in 1968.

Later on the business expanded to Germany where Moers became the first Van der Valk location in 1986. In 1989 the family took a new step abroad by opening the first Van der Valk Hotel in the Dutch Antilles.

By now the toucan could be found across the globe.

New Generations Continue Expansion

Passing the Business on to Future Generations

After Martinus passed away in 1969, the next generation continued to expand on what he and Rie had started together.

Brothers, sisters, partners and later on also their children took on responsibility for their own businesses. At the same time, Rie continued to play a major connecting role in the family.

Every generation added new locations and expanded the family. What once started with a single location in Voorschoten, developed into a family of entrepreneurs, each with their own ideas and room to capitalise on opportunities.

Girl with applesauce in the Van der Valk kitchen

The Evolution of Van der Valk

From motel to modern hotel

The famous roadside restaurants and motels developed into modern hotels with spacious rooms, contemporary restaurants and extensive business facilities. Meetings, conferences, events and business stays became an increasingly important part of the offering, complemented by wellness and leisure facilities. Alongside locations situated near major transport routes, city hotels and an increasing number of international properties were added.

Nowadays Van der Valk is run by the fourth and fifth generations. Young members of the family succeed their elders when the time comes, further develop existing hotels and build new locations.

What started in 1929 at De Gouden Leeuw has since grown into approx. 120 hotels and restaurants in the Netherlands and abroad with thousands of staff. Today, the locations welcome both leisure guests and business visitors for meetings, events and overnight stays.

Much has changed. Yet the foundations remain recognisable: seeing opportunities, tackling issues together and ensuring guests feel welcome.

What Martinus and Rie started together is still passed down from generation to generation.