Swift And Cheap: Welcome To The Divorce Hotel

In the Netherlands a weekend break can become a weekend break-up for couples hoping for a swift and cheap divorce.

It is a concept called the 'Divorce Hotel' and helps husbands and wives to arrange all the necessary legal documentation to end their marriage over the course of just two days.

They meet a mediator and series of lawyers behind closed doors who will split assets, agree alimony payments and arrange visitation rights - all for a fixed fee.

It is the brainchild of entrepreneur Jim Halfens, who said he spotted a gap in the market in a country where the average divorce can easily run into five figures and take months to complete.

"When they leave the hotel, all work is done," he told Sky News.

"The only thing that happens then in Dutch law is that they have to show the agreement to a judge in the Netherlands and that takes a couple of weeks.

"They walk divorced out of this door and to make it official takes a couple of weeks."

He uses a number of high-end boutique hotels around the country, including the smart Carlton Ambassador Hotel in The Hague.

Sales manager Ninke Bons explains that the couples, who often check in together, but mostly choose to stay in separate rooms, are handled with care by the staff.

"We treat them as any other guests, we just try to keep a closer eye on them or make sure they are not wandering around by themselves," she says.

"Just as an example - we would normally enquire if a guest enjoyed their stay at the hotel. Well, obviously that's not very appropriate in the case of the Divorce Hotel."

Couples have to apply to use the process and are rigorously screened by the hotel legal team. If the husband and wives are squabbling, or barely on speaking terms, they are deemed unsuitable for the process.

A businessman called Hans spoke to Sky News off-camera about his experience in the hotel. He and his soon to be ex-second wife actually enjoyed the process.

"When we were not in the hotel and discussing arrangements, we were going out in the city and having a bite to eat and having a drink and actually a few laughs as well!"

One of the mediators who guides couples through the weekend is Anne Marie Van As.

She said: "Today, more and more is known about the damaging effects of a fighting divorce especially... on children.

"So a concept which binds mediation with a comfortable environment in a relatively short space of time in which a divorce can be finished is a brilliant concept."

It is also a brilliant concept for TV and the multi-Emmy Award winning Base Productions is pitching a series to television networks in the US, and several are said to be interested.

Producer Mickey Stern says rather than a reality TV show (a genre born in the Netherlands) they are proposing a high-gloss documentary series examining couples as they go through the process and how conflicts are resolved as the spoils are divided.

And the obvious potential for expansion into other countries is also being explored by the creator: the US and Germany may be next to experience the check-in check-out road to divorce.

The cheap and speedy legal solution is perhaps appropriate for these times of austerity.