De Admiraal – and Admiraal van Gentstraat – are named after Willem Joseph van Ghent tot Drakenburgh (1626-1672), a Dutch nobleman who made his career in the army and the royal navy. A confidant of Michiel de Ruyter, he was responsible for the Raid on the Medway or Battle of Chatham in june 1667, which resulted in the largest maritime victory ever of The Netherlands on the English. In response to an English attack on the Dutch island of Terschelling, he reduced to ashes the main ships of the English fleet on the river Thames. A few years later, during the short-lived peace of Breda, he fought the pirates of Algiers near the shores of West-Africa shoulder to shoulder with the English fleet. In 1672 he died from English fire in the battle of Solebay. His mausoleum is in the Domchurch in Utrecht.

Today we leave this violent past behind us, but we share his international orientation, loyalty, and persistence. For decades now, De Admiraal is a symbol of hospitality on a personal scale. Since early 2008, Marc Krebbers and Ruard Ganzevoort are the faces of De Admiraal. Marc has a background in hospitality and event organisation and Ruard works at the university. They both love traveling and know what is needed to feel at home. As they live in the hotel, they make you feel welcome as if you are staying at their home.