First kids-only hotel provides freedom and fun in Durbuy

Belgium's first children's hotel, where parents are not allowed, has opened in Durbuy, the popular tourist destination in the Belgian province of Luxembourg, in time for the Easter break.

The hotel caters for young people between the age of eight and 15 and, along with luxury accommodation and indoor recreation activities, it provides outdoor entertainment supervised by qualified staff in accordance with the coronavirus restrictions.

Bastien, 11, from Bruges, shares a room at the hotel with his brother, while their parents holiday at the coast. "Our parents are on holiday by the sea in our apartment in Knokke," he said. “Here I especially like the adventure park. You can run through the woods, climb, it's a fantastic camp."

But the most popular attraction of the hotel is the freedom it provides.

“When you go with your parents to a hotel, they often decide what time to go to bed, what to eat, what to do as activities,” said 12-year-old Louis, from the Antwerp area. “This is not the case here. It's a lot nicer than with your parents at a hotel."

Of course, this freedom comes at a price. That price is €550 per child in a double room for five days. An alternative holiday arrangement that not everyone will be able to afford. "The budget is high, but there are a lot of things that are included, and we have eight instructors for 30 children,” says Lise Maerten, the hotel manager. “And then there are the activities in the park."

During the time that the kids' hotel is open, the nearby Adventure Valley park is reserved exclusively for the hotel’s guests. The kids take part in activities in ‘bubbles’ of 10, which they keep to within the hotel, and are monitored by staff who are tested for coronavirus on a daily basis.

The kids' hotel will close again on 18 April after this first trial phase. Depending on the success of this first holiday season, future availability could be planned.