Monastery hotel The Sweet Mother

- The reason for redevelopment of the monastery is linked to the increasing secularization. Since much of (former) religious buildings can be a burden on a city and space is limited within the urban environment, the municipality looked at the possibility to maintain the building, while repurposing it to current needs. By accommodating a hotel in the building, combined with a restaurant focussed on sustainable dishes, the monastery was reintegrated in the urban fabric and transformed a closed-off area of the neighbourhood to a social hub for locals and guests alike.
- The (former) closed-off environment of the monastery has been opened to the public, creating a pull-factor to its direct surroundings.
- Every year, 20 jobseekers - from 16 to 26 years old and in a difficult starting situation - are given the opportunity to discover and develop their talents. They will work in the hotel and will be given the opportunity to orientate themselves in various fields in the hotel industry. Under the guidance of socially involved professionals, they gain practical experience and professional skills and develop a professional attitude. The Soete Moeder team is designed to guide and instruct young people in three facets of the catering trade: cook, host / hostess and facility employee. The goal of the foundation is to ensure that the young people, at the end of the learning process, are ready to start, in a job or training.