Enjoying a Ducktub External at B&B Chambre d'Amis

If you want to visit the beautiful cities in Belgium, then B&B Chambre d'Amis is where you want to be. It is centrally located between Antwerp, Ghent, Brussels and Bruges, making it the perfect base where you can completely unwind after a day of wandering. But it's also worth a visit if you just want to relax and enjoy wellness. With an outdoor swimming pool, sauna and a Ducktub hot tub as well as a beautiful interior, you are sure to return home happy and recharged.

From office to beautiful chambre d'amis (meaning guest room 🇫🇷) 

Initially, the idea for B&B Chambre d'Amis was not there when Faat and her husband Roland made the ground-floor room. "We planned to make a room for ourselves. We would use that first as an office and later if needed as a bedroom for ourselves. We have a garden that is about 2,000 square meters, so there was plenty of space. But due to health problems I had to quit my job last year. As a result, plans changed."

"Actually, everything was already provided to make it a guest room. It had a bathroom in it and we put in a kitchenette. And that's basically how we started on Airbnb." 

And it was an instant success. On Sunday Faat and Roland put Chambre d'Amis online and by Monday they had the first booking in. "All of a sudden people from all over came to us. We are very social ourselves, so we thought this was super fun! From May to the end of September, we were soon fully booked." 

"Our guests are somewhat younger: between 20 and 40, most of whom are between 20 and 30 and a small percentage over 50."

"A pool for the summer, but what do we offer in the winter?"

In the first months after opening, Faat's guests could already enjoy a pool and sauna in the garden. With the cold months approaching, they started looking for something else they could offer in the winter as well. 

"You can go in the sauna in the winter, of course, but the water in the pool is too cold. Since we don't think it's environmentally responsible to heat up the whole pool in the colder months, we started looking at hot tub options. That's when I pretty quickly ended up at Welvaere ." 

"What was important to me was that it wasn't just a bath in the garden. There had to be some animation with it; bubbles and jets, for example. But I did want it to look like a hot tub and not a jacuzzi, because that's not my thing. Then we went to the showroom in Deinze and after that I didn't look any further. We were quickly convinced of the quality and the offer just matched very well with what we had in mind."

"The showroom was a great building, really super nice. If someone doesn't find it here, you're not going to find it anywhere. There were so many beautiful things on display."

The bookings poured in

"We saw in October that bookings were down slightly. We still had some reservations, but a little less. We ordered the hot tub at the end of September and it was delivered in November. From November 1, I then started offering the hot tub. After that we had 70-90% occupancy all winter. I am convinced that this is because of the hot tub. It is with the sauna a very good combination."

"Even in the summer we just keep offering the hot tub. It's perfect next to the pool and so guests can decide what they feel like doing."

Hot tub with the perfect combination: electric and wood-fired 

"We chose a hybrid hot tub with a filtration system, bubbles and jets. Actually the complete picture. We deliberately chose the hybrid version. This is because we also have guests who come for one night. They arrive around 3 p.m. and if they still have to start heating it because you only have a wood-burning stove, it takes them 2-3 hours to heat the water. And besides, it just takes some getting used to finding the right temperature, you don't know that the first time."

"Since we have guests every day, we leave the hot tub at temperature (about 39 C°) with the electric heater, but if we don't have guests for a few days we turn it down and heat the water with the wood stove when people come again. Then we let it stay at temperature again with the electric heater. We really notice that guests like the fact that it's ready and they can go right in if they want."

Maintenance quickly mastered

Because of the filtration system, Faat does not have to change the water often. "We do this every two months or so. We measure the values regularly and even after those 2 months the water is still good. We also use chlorine for this. In the beginning we did try without it, but I think when you receive different guests, it is necessary. With maintenance, it was very searching for a while, but now we are completely out of it and it goes well."

Guests come especially for wellness

With one exception, everyone uses the hot tub, says Faat. "We also always hear back that they really enjoyed it. We also notice that the bookings we receive are also booked explicitly for that."

Some of the great reviews on Airbnb✨:

• At Faat and Roland's place you immediately feel welcome. After a short tour you can immediately withdraw in peace in the super cozy room, the hot tub, sauna or lounge under the roof. We really enjoyed our weekend with friends and our batteries are completely recharged.
• We thoroughly enjoyed our stay with Faat and Roland. We received a tremendously warm and friendly welcome and were then able to move into our beautiful and clean room. The beautiful, green surroundings and the hot tub made us completely unwind.
• We had a fantastic stay with Faat and Roland. The room was spotless and nicely decorated. The sauna, hot tub and swimming pool were the icing on the cake. Faat and Roland are very warm, jovial people and invited us to have a drink with them at the bar and exchange stories....
• We had a very nice evening at the residence of Faat and Roland. We received a very friendly and extensive welcome and enjoyed a great evening in the sauna and hot tub. Relax close to the city!

A tip from Faat

"I'm really into the hybrid system. I think it's such an added value that you can have electric heating as I mentioned earlier, for the guests who are only there for a short time, but you can also choose to heat with wood fire. If you always have bookings for longer periods of time then it might be a different story, but for nights and weekends I would recommend this. Also, I think a filter system is indispensable at an accommodation."

That adding wellness to your accommodation is a good idea, Chambre d'Amis is the perfect example. Would you like to experience it for yourself? See if a Ducktub is something for your accommodation and then also enjoy the beautiful surroundings and a wonderful stay? Then an overnight stay with Faat and Roland is definitely recommended!