GLAMPING AND CYCLING IN BELGIUM WITH FLANDRIEN HOTEL

Not even in my dreams, I could imagine that one day I will get an invitation by a boutique hotel owner from an international destination to visit and stay as a guest for free. In addition, an opportunity to ride a titanium road bike, meet some of the young riders from around the world-including India, admire the charming interiors of the clubhouse enriched with a unique collection of classic bikes aesthetically strapped into the interiors of the hotel property, and ride the pro-cycling trails. This blog will take you to a virtual tour of the Flandrien Hotel.

The idea of Flandrien Hotel:

Jamie Anderson is the co-founder of the Flandrien Hotel located in Brakel, Belgium. Jamie comes from a humble family and was born in Australia. With great hardships and perseverance he found success as a Professor in Business Schools in Europe. He later added consultancy services to his profile and started advisory services for international firms and business projects. A transformation thought about ‘Real success means spending time with his family and children and not money’ changed his perspective towards life. Jamie restructured his professional life and started investing more time with his family. Returning back to his teenage passion for cycling became a turning point earning him the title of ‘Jamie Anderson as a Master cyclist’. Eventually, his observatory skills and experience triggered a business plan of starting a dedicated hotel for cyclists. Thus the idea of the Flandrien Hotel was born.

Teamwork wins:

To bring alive this dream project, Jamie collaborated with his like-minded friends Bernard Moerman and Ann Dusauchoit who had the prior knowledge and experience of running a cycling development centre for young riders in Belgium. During their research, the trio found that more than 1,50,000 international cycling tourists visit the Tour of Flanders every year, but there was not a single hotel in the region that was fully focused towards serving them. And this gap needs to be filled. The Flandrien Tourism Board joined as the 4th pillar of support adding valuable resources and insights for the success of this property. And together, they opened this cyclist friendly hotel in June 2021.

Jamie explains, “In reality, most hotels are designed and conceptualised with the leisure travellers in mind. Possibly, they might position themselves to be a cyclist friendly destination, but what it means is that they tolerate bikers and might have a dusty room someplace in the basement to store your bike. I started to imagine what a hotel that is 100% geared to cyclists might look like.”

Outside my Glamping tent with a bottle of Flandrien beer- I don’t consume alcohol so, its just for a photo.

Standout features of the Flandrien Hotel:

When I visited the Flandrien Hotel in June 2025, I observed that the hotel looks exactly the way it is shown on their website with no deviation from what it claims to be. It has all the curated amenities that a cyclist needs for a flawless cycling holiday and focus on training. Some of the facilities I would like to highlight are – an impressive collection of classic bikes including the ones used by former professional riders which forms a spread out museum across different sections of the hotel. A commercial art gallery, techno gym fitness centre, a cosy club house where guests can watch cycling events on big screen while enjoying delicious and healthy meals, cold and hot drinks, the famous Belgian chocolate and a collection of Belgian beers. The hotel offers essential services such as a fully-equipped bike workshop, secured bike storage, free bike wash, self-service washing machine and a dryer. Visitors can rent a bike from a collection of good quality road and gravel bikes and can even hire classic and ex-pro team bikes if they desire. One of the biggest USP’s I saw at the hotel is the 1979 Peugeot-Michelin Team Car which is used to shuttle its international guests and I joined the premier league of people who got a chance to go for a drive in it. Besides, there are multi-seater vans to transport large groups of riders along with their bike bags and cases. For people who wish to take back home memories in a physical form, the Flandrien Hotel has a limited collection of merchandise in the retail area. I picked up a jersey, cap and socks.

Glamping by the night:

From walking on concrete sidewalks in Mumbai to feeling the softness of the green turf spread across the lawn area, this shift is a relaxing experience. I sat and shuffled between a wooden bench and a garden chair feeling the calmness of the open space. It was Mumbai like summer and the kind of day temperatures I am used to. But after the sun set, the temperature dropped and it became cold. Shifting inside the tent was a safe idea. I wore a jacket and socks to keep my body warm. It was peaceful. I scrolled the mobile screen for a while and kept it away to avoid getting distracted. I fell asleep in no time. The morning alarm woke me up as I wanted to record a time-lapse video of the sunrise. I went out and noticed the dew drops had changed the color of the wooden table. I placed the tripod on it and went back to the tent for another round of naps. I am happy with the shot I have recorded.

I spent two nights sleeping peacefully in this tent.

Meeting Prerana from India:

Before the visit, Jamie told me that the Flanders region is a cycling hotspot, and they frequently host professional cycling teams as part of the National Cycling Development Programs. Applications are invited every year for a Scholarship program for young athletes from the commonwealth – Apply Here or email: info@flandrienhotel.com. Prerana Sravan Kumar from Bangalore, India, is one of the sponsored athletes to stay and train at the Flanders Hotel under their scholarship program. Prerana has been into endurance sports since a young age and competes at national and international triathlons consistently pushing her limits.

Over a breakfast conversation Prerana say’s, “As a recipient of the Flandrien Hotel Scholarship program in Belgium, I am gaining invaluable exposure to world-class training and the global endurance sport community. This experience is deepening my commitment to continuous improvement for future competitions. It would have not been possible without Jamie Anderson and I want to thank him and his team for this learning opportunity.”

Morning ride in Flanders:

Prerana and I hit the road on our titanium road bikes. She knew the way and I followed. Having stayed there for a few weeks before I arrived, she got accustomed to the area and guided me to a forest route. We passed through typical red brick houses and farms admiring the raw and natural beauty of the surroundings. With a pit stop for photos, Prerana talked about the Flandrien Challenge which is popular with many cycling tourists.

“The Flandrien Hotel has partnered with Cycling in Flanders (the Tourism Flanders team focused specifically on cycle tourism) to create a whole series of rides routes that can be downloaded from cyclingflanders.com or the hotel’s website. Guests can even follow the ‘Flandrien Challenge’ which is a specially designed three-day experience that covers all the major climbs and cobbled sections of De Ronde. Upon completion they get their names engraved on a cobblestone at the Tour of Flanders Museum in Oudenaarde – and a special finishers jersey from the hotel.”

“I regret to miss this opportunity”, I replied. “Due to my limited stay of only two days here, this challenge is now a future goal and goes in my bucket list.” I told her.

We pedalled into the forest, captured some moments in the camera and returned back to the hotel for breakfast. With a gentle smile on my face, although I was internally super satisfied and happy, I expressed my gratitude to Prerana for her companionship. She is an amazing rider and has a great career ahead. And I must confess that I requested her to ride slow and match my speed so that I can film simultaneously and she obliged.