Happy Birthday Queen Beatrix!

Queen Beatrix 70
Queen Beatrix by Anton Corbijn

Today is our Queen’s 70th birthday. The official celebration will be 30 April, the date of her mother’s birthday, so declared in deference to Juliana by Beatrix when she was crowned Queen of the Netherlands.

According to Elsevier the official photos for this milestone were commissioned to famous pop photographer Anton Corbijn who recently bought a property around the corner from where I live and now even goes so far as to call himself a citizen of The Hague (Hagenaar).

I watched a TV documentary yesterday and concur with its title: Spoken of by many, but unbespoken: She steered our little country through various difficult periods and situations. I admire her.

Funny though that in the sixteenth century (between 1581 and 1795) part of The Netherlands formed the Dutch Republic of the Seven United Provinces and was a Democratic Republic and now it is a Constitutional Monarchy (since 1830). Dutch like to do things the other way around.

The Hague’ s Grand Old Lady Le Meridien Des Indes Sold to Pehac


Pehac, Pan-European Hotel Acquisition Company N.V., is a blank check company recently formed under the laws of the Netherlands as a public company with limited liability (naamloze vennootschap or N.V.) to serve as a vehicle for an acquisition of one or more operating businesses in the hotel industry in Europe. It is AEX listed since spring 2007.

According to a press release dated 16nd November 2007:

PEHAC announced today that it has signed a stock purchase agreement with sellers Lehwood Vienna GMBH, Starman Deutschland Holdings GMBH and Lehwood Netherlands Holdings B.V. to acquire a freehold interest in Le Meridien Grand Hotel Nuremberg and leasehold interests in six additional hotels, including Le Meridien Park Hotel Frankfurt, Le Royal Meridien Hamburg, Le Meridien Stuttgart, Le Meridien Munich, Le Meridien Vienna and Le Meridien Hotel Des Indes in The Hague. Further, PEHAC announced that it is in final negotiations regarding the proposed acquisition of a leasehold interest in Le Meridien Barcelona, a 229-room hotel, from Starman Hoteles Espana. Assuming the successful completion of each of these transactions, these hotels will continue to operate under a license and management agreement with Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc.

PEHAC believes that this combination of acquisitions offers a rare opportunity to acquire a platform of high-quality hotel properties in key-European cities, enabling it to pursue a successful buy- and build strategy.

The portfolio, excluding Le Meridien Barcelona, represents an aggregate of 1,819 hotel rooms and is expected, based on performance year-to-date, to generate approximately €102 million in revenues in 2007. Under the terms of the stock purchase agreement, the total purchase price, excluding Le Meridien Barcelona, will be € 49.25 million, and is expected to be closed in cash, without the use of debt financing. PEHAC will commit to spend an additional € 10 million for necessary capital expenditures, which amount is expected to be used primarily for the refurbishment of the freehold property in Nuremberg. Each of the other hotels subject to the stock purchase agreement as well as the Barcelona property have been extensively renovated in recent years.

Based on operating results in 2007 and estimates it believes to be reasonable for the coming year, PEHAC expects the portfolio of hotels, excluding Le Meridien Barcelona, to achieve approximately € 8.0 million in earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, in 2008.
Given the high-quality assets in the portfolio, and assuming the successful implementation of a pro-active asset, property and project management strategy and the continued implementation of Starwood’s respected management system and favorable market conditions, PEHAC believes that there is significant potential for further operating improvements for the portfolio.

Well…what will happen with the name now?

The Hague Daily Photo Blog

The Hague Sculpture 2007 Message in a Bottle
Suitcase in A Bottle by Ram Katzir
Behind I O U
Photo © Happy Hotelier

I spotted her earlier – a great find – through Technorati tag “The Hague”: The Hague Daily Photo Blog, but I was a bit curious whether she would continue her venture on a regular basis as she started in September 2007 only.

Lezard is a French girl who is new to photography, but shows a keen eye for photography and for the beauty of The Hague and even succeeds to pick up details that I, born in The Hague, didn’t know before.

I do envy her as I simply don’t have the time to go around the city as she does.

The Hague Sculpture 2007 Message in a Bottle 2
Suitcase in A Bottle by Ram Katzir
Photo © Happy Hotelier

However she will envy me, as I have more photos of 2007 The Hague Sculpture taken on June 19, 2007 while testing my Sony Alpha: Two I post here. It is sad that two days after I took the picture the bottle was destroyed by vandals and later when a new bottle was made the object was placed in a conservatory to protect it from vandals. This year was the first year sculptures needed to be placed in conservatories.

Lezard divulges little about herself, but from time to time she posts about some pieces of the puzzle: her:-)

She works in accountancy…. I know an accountant or two, but seldom have seen the combination accountancy and photography.
She has been lucky enough to live in Montpelier, Barcelona, Paris, London, Amsterdam and now The Hague!
She has spent 6 months in Bogotá (Colombia) as a student, and would never ever forget that time…
She loves cooking.
She loves walking in the dunes in the early morning (when the sun is shining)…..actually this is not something new if you look at her choice of photos.
She is am very new in photography, but loves this way of communicating….. she has an eye for it.
She reads Dutch…

Enjoy!

Nato Top: 5 * Hotel and Town Groan under Security Measures

Nato Noorwijk Huis ter Duin
Huis ter Duin in Noorwijk changed into a fort

Today and tomorrow 27 ministers of defense meet “informally” in Noorwijk, just a couple of miles North East from The Hague.

According to the Nato site they will

discuss the way ahead for NATO’s operations and Alliance transformation.

The ministers will discuss ways to ensure that the NATO-led operations in Afghanistan and Kosovo remain correctly configured and properly resourced.They will also consider NATO’s role in Afghanistan as part of the wider efforts of the international community to support the development of national security, governance and development in Afghanistan.

They will also address the continued transformation of NATO’s defense capabilities and how best to continue ensuring the availability of forces and capabilities for the Alliance’s operations and for the NATO Response Force.

In the informal meeting of the NATO-Russia Council, the 27 Ministers will address civil and military activities, as well as cooperation in Afghanistan and in the framework of NATO’s counter terrorism operation in the Mediterranean, Active Endeavor.

Nato Noorwijk Huis ter Duin 02
Photo Pim Ras

In order to make the meeting as secure as possible luxurious Grand Hotel Huis ter Duin has been fenced off from the outside world and looks like a military fort. Its premises and the complete town of Noordwijk have been declared temporary military zone. Without due form of process anybody can be searched and moved away from the area. A Dutch Marine minesweeper is anchored in front of the seashore located hotel and secures the seaside. Airplanes heading for Schiphol Amsterdam Airport have to make a detour as the area is declared a no flight zone as well and Noordwijk is just located in one of the frequently used approaches for the airport.

I am not sure the Huis ter Duin Hotelier is really very happy with this prestigious venue.

Dutch Design (18): The Hague Post Stamp

The Hague Post Stamp
The Hague Post Stamp

Do you do snail mail? I still do!. And my first job today will be running to the Post Office to acquire a good stock of this new post stamp issued by Royal Dutch TNT Post in a series “Beautiful Netherlands” , which did a much better job than the The Hague Municipality itself when it launched its city marketing logo ( see my post Den Haag City Logo Launch).
Thanks AD