Nice spots

In the second quarter of 2022, WestCord Hotel Arsenaal by WestCord will open in ArsenaalDelft, the national monument on the peninsula between the Oude Delft and Nieuwe Delft. It is the fifteenth hotel for the Dutch family business and the second in Delft.

Hotel Arsenaal will be a boutique hotel with 63 rooms, a restaurant, parking spaces and a courtyard. The original elements in the monumental building have been preserved and combined with a modern and stylish finish.

The buildings that make up the complex were built over three centuries. The Armamentarium and the East Indies Warehouse were later added to the ammunition storage dating to 1602. Between 1989 and 2013, the complex housed the Army Museum, which eventually became part of the National Military Museum in Soesterberg.

ArsenaalDelft is to become the new crowd puller in the southern city centre. With two new bridges and a floating terrace, the original peninsula becomes part of the urban public space again. A conference centre, restaurant, exhibition space and offices will be realized next to the hotel. Loetje restaurant has already opened.

Last spring, Jan Luyken Hotel opened, a quirky four-star boutique hotel in an old mansion in one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in Amsterdam. In the heart of the Museum Quarter, a stone’s throw from the P.C. Hooftstraat, Museumplein, Concertgebouw and Vondelpark, Jan Luyken is a great base for visitors who love art, culture and the good city life. The common thread in the 31 stylish and idiosyncratic rooms are the works of Jan Luyken, from the characteristic engraved lines in the carpet to his friendly eye that watches over every room. Jan is available 24/7 to make your stay unforgettable. Comfortable beds, good food, free wifi, good coffee and hospitality form are a given; personal attention and love for the city and the good life are the common thread. Jan Luyken is part of Eden Hotels.

Bilderberg Kasteel Vaalsbroek in Vaals, near Maastricht, Liège and Aachen, is located in an 18-hectare estate in the picturesque Limburg hills. The rooms and suites, located in the hotel next to the castle, offer a magnificent view over Limburg. Enjoy breakfast in the castle and for dinner visit the à la carte restaurant In de Oude Watermolen, renowned for its seasonal dishes made from local ingredients and with a nice terrace on the water. Here you will discover why Limburgers are renowned for their hospitality and gastronomic skills. After a day in the city or outdoors, relax in the Spa & Wellness Centre, with a swimming pool and sauna and various facial treatments and massages. bilderberg.nl

Coaching is increasingly used by companies and individuals to leverage results and constant high performance and not only to solve specific situations. In2motivation, as a company with more than 22 years of experience in international coaching and management training contexts, offers a perspective on coaching and how to choose the best coach. Ligia Koijen Ramos, as CEO of In2motivation, will answer our questions in a simple and practical way.

This is a very pertinent question, as the market has grown over the years, with more professionals offer coaching services, and often there is a lot of confusion. Coaching is a process focused on change. The process takes someone from A to B, using various and complementary “tools”. But the most important thing to remember is that coaching is a process that promotes change.

A good coach is someone that supports the greatest possible change in the shortest possible time, but in a sustainable way. Sustainable change assists the individual, company and context. That one change leads to more and more changes - it’s like the butterfly effect. A good coach is anyone who works together and facilitates a process of change, without offering solutions. This is one of the things that can cause the most confusion. A coach does not make change, offer change or advise change. A coach gives tools to the individual or group to make the change.

Well, the term is often used in sport, and just like in sport, coaching can be a daily attitude. It can be with a self-coaching process or with a coaching culture in companies, for example, or having regular meetings with a professional coach. A coach is a high-performance support, and as we always have things, situations and contexts that we can do faster, more effectively, more efficiently, and more naturally, all these are ideal moments to have a coach by our side. There is still the notion that a coach is only for moments of “big change” like a career change or a change of company, for example. But that is reducing the impact that a coach can have.

The match between a coach and a coachee is very personal. But I say look for one who is not only being nice, that is ocused on you and your business. You are looking for a partner in success – someone who will cheer you on when you get that gold medal. Someone who believes in your potential more than you do. Someone who has a huge toolbox, and not just a hammer (because, as in the metaphor, some situations can’t be solved with a hammer). Someone who is provocative and brave enough to assist the change that is needed. A coach is not your friend, but someone who sees your potential and wants to support you in using it to the full every day.

My first client, when I was 22 years old. He was a boy who was institutionalized and did not speak. He was seven years old and had many marks, even physical marks of violence. After three months of follow-up from me, he said his first word. I still remember his voice as a great gift. And it was he who made me believe that I could do this for the rest of my life. But throughout the ensuing 23 years, many other moments have told me that yes, with coaching we can change the world.