Quite the Journey

Grand Hotel de Draak is the oldest hotel and also the oldest company in the Netherlands. A visit to our hotel will take you back to the Middle Ages with contemporary comfort. Bergen op Zoom has a beautiful shopping centre, possesses more than 300 national monuments, including the Markiezenhof (1485), the Peperbus (1370), the Ravelijn (1703); it is an undiscovered pearl in the south-west of the Netherlands. In 2022, we will celebrate its 625 years of uninterrupted hospitality. De Draak has 62 4-star superior hotel rooms, 2 meeting rooms, Restaurant 1397, Wellness and Fitness.

De Draak is one of the oldest buildings in Bergen op Zoom. On 7 May 1397, Bergen op Zoom was hit by a city fire that burned down almost the entire city. Only two buildings were spared, De Olifant and De Draak, both on the Grote Markt. No one knows exactly how old De Draak is, because the city archives were completely lost during that city fire. The cellars under the building show that it is quite possible that De Draak had already existed for at least 100 years before the devastating city fire broke out. From 1406 onwards, De Draak is mentioned again in the newly created city archives as a city inn. There was also a city fire in Bergen op Zoom in the 15th century. Nothing specific is known about De Draak about this fire, except that it is certain that the building also survived that fire.

On 6 December 1984, the Hazen family bought Hotel De Draak. In 1994, the old former rectory was purchased from the then owner GE Plastics (current SABIC), which had its office there. After a renovation, this building could also be used for eating and sleeping. In 1999, the company was further expanded with the purchase of the Wapen van Henegouwen on the Fortuinstraat. This building used to house the Fortune brewery, which is where the name Fortuinstraat comes from. Under the management of the Hazen family, a Mediterranean restaurant was opened on the ground floor and the former Hotel de Gouden Leeuw on the upper floors was added to Hotel De Draak.

History repeats itself. It is quite a development in the centuries-old history of Hotel De Draak that after 425 years the building in the Fortuinstraat is once again part of Hotel de Draak.

On 26 February 2013, a major fire broke out in the brand new wellness centre that had only been in use for 4 months. The damage was enormous. The cleaning, rebuilding and refurnishing of the hotel rooms in the monumental building took no less than 15 months due to the extensive fire damage. The historical features have been preserved in the new hotel rooms and the furnishings meet all the requirements of the modern hotel guest. Thanks to the drive of the Hazen family, the hotel has risen like a phoenix from the ashes. They know they are privileged to be part of the centuries-old history of De Draak and to be allowed to help shape its hopefully centuries-long future. The Hazen family calls this policy 'Sustainable Stewardship'.

Frans Hazen and his Dragon

Want to read more about our special hotel? Frans Hazen has been writing fascinating memoirs for years, which he would like to share with you.