Hotel The VIC
A contemporary and stylish hotel
The VIC hotel in the centre of Leiden. A hip, colourful place to stay when visiting the city, containing 54 rooms. For the development of The VIC, building contractor Bulsink transformed half of the existing office building into a hotel. This was performed in close cooperation with the client Golden Green Hotel Group, based on a Design & Build approach.
Self-service
Experience through all senses
VR & AR use in construction
Wow factor
A contemporary and stylish hotel with the wow factor. That is what the Golden Green Hotel Group had in mind. Their wish turned into a striking choice for colours among other things. Purple, blue and pink – lots of pink. The significant branding starts on the exterior of the building with a large pink logo on the roof and pink contours on the facade and penthouse.
The animated logo on the wall catches your eye when entering the – just as colourful – lobby. When you walk to the lift a striking animation on the floor draws your attention. “Everyone talks about it and takes pictures of it,” says owner Lione van Duyn. “That’s exactly what we wanted: Experience through all senses. You can already hear the music outside at the penthouse. Inside we use fragrance dispenser.” In short: experience in fragrances and colours.
Self-service
mmediately on arrival, you can check in online through the contemporary check-in pillars or through your smartphone. Quick and easy, 24/7. There is a friendly hostess waiting to help if you want assistance. Would you like a cup of coffee or a snack? You can take it yourself and pay for it at the Grab & Go, an automated mini market. The VIC is fully designed based on self-reliance. This is a concept that turns out to excellently suit the needs of the – mostly young – target group.
That’s the power of The VIC, according to Lione: “An easy concept where the focus is on the guest, offering all that you need. A comfortable bed, a good shower and a living room where you can work, watch television, chill out, read or even play table football.”
But there is no hotel restaurant or bar. “There are so many cosy restaurants in the city. The VIC inspires guests to go into Leiden and to enjoy everything the city has to offer. From a gastronomic point of view as well as a cultural point of view.”
Transformation from an office building to a hotel
For the development of The VIC, Bulsink transformed half of the existing office building into a hotel. This was performed in consultation with the municipality and the lessees already leasing there.
“A part of the building had already been vacant for some time. Despite corona, this was the right time to transform the building into a hotel. We already started moving lessees to another part of the building a few years ago. The part intended as a hotel was then stripped completely and transformed from zero into a hotel. The other half is still used as office space. A very good combination. The lessees like it, they now have a beautiful entrance.”
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) were used to a great extent during the development. Lione herself also walked through her virtual hotel a few times at the office of Bulsink.
“It gives you an even better feeling of the ultimate experience. You can move furniture and walls, to just see what the room looks like then. For example, we noticed that a wall behind the bed created a lack of space. It’s hard to see this in the drawing, because what does a length of fifty centimetres really look like? Other rooms, on the contrary, looked small but were in fact bigger than expected.”
Golden Green Hotel Group about the collaboration with Bulsink
The VIC is part of The Golden Green Hotel Group, which the Golden Tulip Leiden Centre, Tulip Inn Leiden Centre and Ibis Leiden Centre are also part of. Owner Lione van Duyn and her husband Robert were closely involved in its development, from the first design sessions and building team meetings until its ultimate delivery.
“We wanted something completely different than the traditional hotels in our portfolio. Bulsink clearly listened to our wishes and put together a good building team. The concept they introduced was a perfect match with our ideas.”
“We know Bulsink from a previous project; the renovation of the kitchen in the Golden Tulip Leiden Centre. We were so happy with it. We did not doubt for one second: we wanted to carry out this renovation with Bulsink. They arrange everything from A to Z and they know exactly what they are talking about.”
Finally, Lione highly appreciates the digital technology that was used: “VR and AR. But also the digital measuring, enabling them to use the exact measurements from the start. Sharing online photos and videos during construction. That fast world, it suits The VIC quite well.”
