'Divorce Hotel:' Couples end their marriage in luxury hotels - USA Today
Often, hotels are where relationships start. But now, you can end them by "checking into" a luxury Divorce Hotel, PRI's TheWorld.org tells us.
We're not talking about a 300-room hotel filled with angry couples.
Instead, the report says, Dutch entrepreneur Jim Halfens has created the "Divorce Hotel" for couples capable of ending their marriage without lawyers during a three-day mediation process.
The process takes place in the luxury hotel of their choice.
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They might check into the Hotel Karel the Fifth in Utrecht, which oozes charm and - yes - even romance, the story says. Lawyers aren't invited.
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"It's a divorce in three days, roundabouts, in a hotel," Halfens tells TheWorld.org.
Apparently, there are enough unhappy couples who have at least one thing in common - a love of high-end hotels - to keep interest high around the world.
Halfens tells TheWorld.org that people email him for more information from as far away as Brazil, Taiwan and Italy.
Only one country where you can 'check in'
Due to differences in divorce laws, however, he says only Dutch couples can participate although he's working on launching Divorce Hotel in Germany through partners.
But not everyone is suited to check into his Divorce Hotel.
Couples first go through an extensive interview process. Halfens looks for couples who can settle their differences quickly, the TheWorld.org tells us. They then pick a four- or five-star hotel, check in and get down to business.
Over three days, a mediator talks the couple through the divorce process. Other specialists – such as notaries and psychologists – are available as well, the story says.
The process is said to be a faster alternative to the regular process, which could normally take six to nine months - or longer if the parting is especially bitter.
A Divorce Hotel "stay" costs $3,500 instead of thousands more for an official divorce, the piece says.
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14 Sep, 2011--
Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGql15cQoVP1cCGDN7KRn7VOGNZVQ&url=http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/post/2011/09/divorce-hotel-concept-quick-divorce-in-luxury-hotels/547049/1
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