There will be no room for guests in the historic white inn of Anloo in the coming months. Hotel De Koningsberg, which according to the books has been a stopping place for travelers with carriages since 1856, has been completely turned upside down. Two new owners have stripped the inside of the hotel from top to bottom to give it a fresh look. “But while retaining the old.”
Since October 1, Giuseppe Camera (61) and Jeroen de Graaf (45) have been partners as the new bosses of the hotel. They bought the building together and want to reopen on March 1. “At first we wanted to freshen things up a bit here and there, but once we got started, more and more was added. So first a lot of chaos, before it becomes nice again,” says De Graaf.
For example, the old kitchen has been completely stripped, a new bar will be built in the restaurant area and the old bar at the front of the restaurant will be given a new life as a reception desk. In the meantime, sanding and painting is underway on the ground floor. The biggest job is tackling the ten hotel rooms on the first floor.
According to the owners, they were quite dated. “Everything is going to be removed, old tiles from the shower room, carpet, curtains and also some windows that were still single glazed. There will be a complete renovation. If you do it, you have to do it well. People pay to sleep well here,” says Camera.
The two know each other because they both started a new adventure in Anloo a few years ago. Restaurateur Giuseppe Camera, known as Pino to friends, started a pizzeria in the former village café, after years of experience in the city of Groningen. And Jeroen de Graaf, IT specialist and economist, settled at the former Anloo campsite, as manager to get things back in order for the new owner.
The duo found each other when it turned out that the hotel was for sale. With more than forty years of catering experience from one and the financial knowledge of the other, the duo appears to complement each other well. “Pino does everything that has to do with the catering industry and I focus on renting out hotel rooms, IT and accounting. But I am also training to gain more catering experience,” laughs De Graaf.
There are no major changes planned at the inn for the time being. Except that they are also marketed as suitable meeting rooms, with additional packages. “With the Drentsche Aa around the corner, the beautiful De Strubben/Kniphorstbos, you have so much greenery around the corner. You can combine things beautifully.”
Although the duo wants to uphold the good name of De Koningsherberg, there will be a small change after reopening. Dinner is not yet served at Hotel De Koningsherberg, for which they have to cross the street diagonally to Camera’s pizzeria. “But it may well be that we will open a cafe here again after next summer. We will have to wait and see first and see where suitable staff can be found.”
After the renovation of the hotel and restaurant area, a second major job will follow. Because the house next door is also included in the purchase. This will be converted into four apartments, intended for rental. “Think of it as spacious hotel rooms with their own kitchenette, so you can cook your own food.”
According to De Graaf, one of the rooms could also serve as living space for a new chef. “They are difficult to find. So this way we can also offer a living room, which will hopefully make it easier to attract someone.”