Thermen Berendonck demonstrates how a five-star guest experience is created by carefully aligning architecture, hospitality, wellness, catering, organization, and a holistic vision. The result is an environment that guests will remember for a long time.
You can decide who you want to be, but ultimately the guest shows who you are.
In conversation with general manager Rodolf Weytingh
Thermen Berendonck – Hotel Thermen Berendonck
Judith Woordes Scheepers visited Thermen Berendonck on behalf of Pretwerk.nl. We stayed overnight at the five-star hotel, enjoyed the gastronomy (fine dining), participated in various mini-retreats, experienced the tranquility in the early morning, and also witnessed the busier moments in the middle of the day.
In a conversation with General Manager Rodolf Weytingh, it becomes clear that they prefer to experiment and learn in practice rather than use grand words. The resort has been open for a year now, but processes are still being adjusted, spaces refined, and new ideas tested. Much attention has been and is being paid to things that guests do not consciously mention, but certainly experience.
Efficiency versus 'creating space'
Everything has to be right. Light, sound, smell. If one element isn't positioned correctly, you feel it immediately.
At Thermen Berendonck, there is a belief that the guest experience is created by consciously considering every detail. Home-created scents, luxurious materials, spirituality, subtle music, and inspiration from world travels reinforce each other and together form a unified whole.
During the stay, that conviction is constantly confirmed. High ceilings, abundant daylight, calming materials, soft music, and a carefully crafted scent experience together form the foundation of the experience. From restaurant Numa and the fine dining restaurant Sapna to the corridors and hotel rooms, it is evident that hardly any compromises have been made regarding quality, materials, and finish. It is precisely these elements that determine how an environment is experienced. Everything exudes luxury and invites you to naturally slow down the pace.
If we had made the corridors narrower, we would have had more commercial square meters. But it is precisely that space that creates a sense of calm and a different atmosphere.
Wide corridors, generous sightlines, and spacious rooms ensure that guests behave differently. They walk more calmly, take more time, and seem less rushed. In doing so, the spaces actively contribute to the overall experience of the stay.
Many leisure entrepreneurs seek ways to accommodate more functions within the same surface area. Thermen Berendonck demonstrates that not every square meter needs to be utilized to its maximum potential to add value. Sometimes, that value is created precisely by providing space for tranquility, comfort, and experience.
Professionalism and softness
During the conversation, a less visible layer of the concept also emerges. There is talk of crystals, energy flows, scent experience, and the energetic cleansing of spaces. Regardless of whether you personally believe in it, what stands out most is how consistently this vision is translated into design, maintenance, and guest experience.
It is a business, so money has to be made. But there are also things that regular hospitality would say are a waste of time or money. For us, that is actually essential for the feel and strength of the company.
With this, Weytingh touches upon an issue that many entrepreneurs struggle with. Not everything that adds value translates directly into revenue or occupancy rates. Consciously investing in things that contribute to feeling, energy, well-being, and experience. That is the philosophy that Thermen Berendonck promotes, and which could be described as spiritual entrepreneurship.
Rest requires organization
Perhaps the most interesting entrepreneurial lesson lies in the combination of functions within the resort. Many leisure businesses recognize the challenge of serving different target groups simultaneously.
Hotel guests, wellness visitors, retreats, yoga sessions, and business meetings all use the same location. This requires constant coordination. A yoga session calls for silence and concentration. Conversations from an adjacent room can immediately disrupt that experience. A hotel guest expects tranquility. A business meeting, on the other hand, requires dynamism. According to Weytingh, the solution lies not only in architecture but, above all, in organization. Routing, planning, acoustics, and usage times are continuously aligned with one another.
The guest determines the direction
Now that the hotel has been in operation for over a year, it has become apparent that guests do not always behave as planned. That is precisely why actual behavior is continuously monitored, rather than assumptions.
We think we explained it well, but ultimately it turns out it didn't sink in.
Rodolf explains
This applies, for example, to the reception process. Information provided during check-in is not always retained. Guests listen with half an ear because they want to get to the thermal baths as quickly as possible. The explanation is not the problem. At that moment, guests' attention is primarily focused on the stay that is about to begin.
In doing so, he aligns with an earlier ruling:
You can decide who you want to be, but ultimately the guest shows who you are.
Crowds are not the same as the perception of crowds.
The hotel and the thermal baths form two different worlds under the same banner. This is noticeable in small details, such as different drinks menus in the hotel bar and the lounge at the thermal baths. In terms of appearance and atmosphere, both worlds complement each other well. Nevertheless, one important difference is visible:
The hotel exudes tranquility and a slower pace. The thermal baths experience peak moments, rituals, and popular spots where more activity emerges.
Rodolf acknowledges that this area of tension requires constant attention.
Crowds are relative. It is about where people are. Some places are popular, while others are quiet. So it is more a matter of distribution.
According to him, managing expectations begins with communicating honestly about what guests can expect.
Positioning and expectations of the German guest
In Germany, wellness and sauna use have a much deeper societal and medical foundation than in the Netherlands. While a visit to a wellness resort in the Netherlands is often viewed as luxury, relaxation, or a day out, in Germany it is much more frequently part of health, recovery, and prevention. The question of whether this concept would also work in Germany therefore directly relates to positioning.
The way Germans use saunas also differs. There, the sauna is viewed less as entertainment and more as a ritual centered on health, relaxation, and physical recovery. Visitors take their time, follow fixed cycles of heat and cooling, and are accustomed to clear sauna cultures and rules.
It stands or falls with communication. People need to understand how big it is and what it is. Otherwise, false expectations arise.
Many German wellness locations are either large-scale public thermal baths or exclusive hotel wellnesss accessible only to hotel guests. Thermen Berendonck is situated precisely between these two worlds. For this very reason, a concept like Thermen Berendonck calls for a clear explanation beforehand. Not about the quality, but about the layout of the resort.
What entrepreneurs can learn from Thermen Berendonck:
- Not every square meter needs to yield maximum return.
- Luxury often arises from space, tranquility, and simplicity.
- Rest requires active management.
- Guest behavior is more valuable than assumptions.
- Managing expectations begins before arrival.
- Routing is at least as important as layout.
- A concept is never finished after opening.
- Distinction often lies in details that guests hardly consciously perceive.
Continue to develop
The question of whether Thermen Berendonck sees itself as a visionary is answered with striking pragmatism. “That is something others should say. We are primarily focused on continuing to develop and innovate.” Development is not viewed here as a project with an end date. It is an ongoing process of observing, adapting, and refining.
More information: www.thermenberendonck.nl
With thanks to (author of this article): Judith Woordes Scheepers, owner of Snibbit (park maps), has an excellent sense for the experiential aspects of a recreation business.