History
The hotel is situated at the corner of Hoogstraat - Peperstraat – Komijnstraat, in the heart of the city of Gent. The oldest part of the building is a typical, eighteenth century hotel or town house, built in the Louis XIV style. Its interior reflects a prestigious empire style, including a commanding winding stair case and various empire chimneys. The architect was lord Olivier Reylof (1684-1742), a Gent merchant’s son and adept poet composing Latin poetry.
The facade of this noble property is designed of sandstone, the plaster of which was removed. Originally, it came with eight bays and a slate mansard roof with two dormers. The original construction request dates from 1724 and it was restored in 1919, 1923 and 1964. The renovation in 1964, as well as the one carried out later in the nineties, was initiated by Christelijke Mutualiteit Gent (Christian Mutual Society of Gent). Until 2006 they owned the entire city complex. Since 1990 the town hotel, Hoogstraat 36, together with the coach house are listed monuments.
The salons, refreshment rooms, the lobby and the living room were named after historical Gent figures. The refreshment room on the ground floor was named after Maurice Maeterlinck, author and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1911, born in the Peperstraat (near the hotel). You will also come across the names of painters such as Valerius De Saedeleer, Emile Claus en Jacob Smits in this hotel. The refreshment room on the first floor was named after Lieven Bauwens, founder of the mechanised textile industry in Gent.
