Contact Home About us History Hotels Our brands Vacancies Contact HISTORY 150 years of hospitality For more than 150 years, different generations of “Valken” have been building our family business. When Nicolaas bought the Gouden Leeuw in Voorschoten in 1862 , he could not have imagined that this was the beginning of an impressive empire in the Dutch hospitality industry. It was Martinus van der Valk who took over his father's company in 1929 and made it big. Their hard work and hospitable and homely approach made their own business a success. Everyone is of course familiar with our “toucan” logo, the unmistakable image of Van der Valk, with as breeding ground; the roof of Avifauna. Around 1956the family has been looking for a useful image as a symbol for some time now. Of course, a Falcon was also considered, but just after the war that was not such a good idea. In the years after the Second World War they built a number of restaurants together with their 11 children. Martinus had come up with his own business for every child. Their attitude and entrepreneurial spirit is exemplary to this day. for the new generation of “Falcons”. The third generation With the arrival of the third generation, the company was further expanded and expanded. Gerrit van der Valk opened the first large motel in the Netherlands in Nuland. He had seen a motel in America for the first time and was convinced that this concept, whereby you could park your car in front of your own hotel room, could also work in the Netherlands. In 1968 is het motel in Nuland geopend, dit was het eerste hotel dat door de familie werd ontworpen en gebouwd. Daarvoor waren het altijd panden die verbouwd werden. Volgende generatie We are now more than a hundred years later since the start. Many branches have been added in the Netherlands , but also in Germany, Belgium , France, Spain and the Netherlands Antilles . The next generation is already taking over. Compulsory entry into the hospitality industry is not one of them, but there are few family members who pass up such a unique opportunity to help build such a special company. Together we are building ever more beautiful and better companies, so that we can pass them on to the next generation. Exactly as Martinus once wanted. Home About us History Hotels Our brands Vacancies Contact Home Contact CSR annual report surprisingly obvious