One stamp too few. That's all it took for Caroline's job application letter to make an extra round trip to the post office. She wrote it by hand, responded to an advertisement, and that's how she ended up at Saré. That was August 1985, forty-one years ago.
Caroline and Mies have both been connected to Saré for well over forty years. Caroline was the very first official employee, Marie-José followed a year later. They witnessed the growth up close, saw systems change and colleagues come and go. Now they look back on how it all began, on everything that changed, and especially on what stayed the same.
Anyone who walks into Saré today can hardly imagine how small it once was.
The job interview with Ruud and Irma was anything but formal. There was coffee, cigarettes, and above all, lots of conversation.
"I think it was basically settled right then."
After Ruud and Irma, Caroline became Saré's third employee. Marie-José followed a year later. She's never forgotten her first impression.
"It was like Dallas."
A sauna was something special back then. When Caroline told people she worked at a sauna, they were surprised. Wellness wasn't nearly as taken for granted as it is now.
There were no departments or fixed roles yet. Everyone did whatever was needed at that moment. The phone rang? Answer it. The bell at reception? Go there. Washing up in the scullery, flowers in the vases, cooking in the kitchen, and meanwhile everything had to stay clean and tidy.
"You just did everything."
Sometimes they were there alone. Then you'd answer the phone while juggling three other things at the same time.
"One moment, I'll be right with you," you basically said all day long.
The menu looked different too: a toastie, meatballs and satay, much of it prepared in-house. Later the pepper soup was added. You rolled up your sleeves and made sure things came together as a team. That sense of togetherness has always inspired Caroline and Mies.
The team back then was more than just a group of colleagues. They worked together, but also laughed and celebrated together. There are especially beautiful memories around the holidays.
On Boxing Day in those early years, Saré was still closed. A perfect opportunity to go out together. With Ruud and Irma and the whole team, Caroline and Mies would go to another sauna. "Those were really fun days."
Saint Nicholas Day wasn't skipped either. As a joke, the employees would put their shoes by the fireplace, hoping Ruud and Irma would put something in them.
And whenever there was something to celebrate or do, everyone joined in. So it could happen that you'd show up for work one morning and a promotional film for Saré was being made. "Then Ruud would say: we're making a promotional film, and we'd just take our clothes off and get in the pool or the sauna cabin. It was just part of it." Caroline can still laugh about it, though she did have to stand under a cold shower for ten minutes during one shoot.
Outside of Saré, they'd also regularly go out together. Evenings out could go late into the night, and there was even a time when someone slept at Saré. That was possible back then. Just on an air mattress in the basement, and the next morning Ruud and Irma had breakfast ready with fresh juice.
It says a lot about how the team got along: work and fun sometimes flowed seamlessly into each other.
Perhaps the biggest change in forty years was the arrival of the computer.
"From a pencil and an eraser to a computer."
Appointments used to be written by hand on large paper schedules. For Mies, the transition was a huge adjustment. She'd never worked with a computer before, was afraid of making mistakes, and could even barely sleep because of it.
Later, new systems continued to be challenging. That sounds strange for someone who's been with the same company for forty years, but precisely because they know Saré so well, it's difficult when the way of working suddenly changes.
Caroline and Mies recognize that digitalization is necessary, but not everything new is automatically better. In a world that's becoming increasingly digital, personal contact becomes even more important. These days there are wellness locations where guests check themselves in at a screen and where slippers or food come from a vending machine. Efficient, but according to them, something is missing.
"Personal service is also part of wellness."
A friendly face when you arrive, thinking things through together, a chat with a familiar colleague. Small things, but they belong to the experience, in their view.
What hasn't changed in forty years? They don't need to think long about that.
"The atmosphere."
And then:
"The coziness."
That feeling is hard to explain. You can't pin it down in a protocol or put it in a system. You have to feel it. New colleagues pick up on it from day one: you don't work here just for yourself. That used to mean taking over shifts for each other or staying longer, and it still happens that way.
Sometimes it's busy. Sometimes a day is rough. Sometimes at the end of a long evening you think: how are we ever going to get through this?
"It always works out."
Over the years, Caroline and Mies saw many colleagues come and go. But together with Inge and Marieke, they form a solid core, people who know each other inside and out and have experienced a large part of Saré's history together.
Friendships developed. There was laughter and hard work together, with long days, outings and evenings out on the town.
"It's become like a family."
After all, you see your colleagues several days a week, sometimes more often than your own partner.
Forty years of working together means you get to know each other inside and out.
Mies describes Caroline as enormously attentive: someone who forgets nothing, thinks of everything, and takes good care of others. Caroline sees in Mies someone who easily puts herself second. Caring, loving, and always willing to work hard.
They are different. Caroline is outspoken and quicker to show what she thinks about something. Mies tends to keep things to herself and thinks: let it be. Perhaps it's precisely that combination that's the reason they've stayed together for so long.
On September 1, 2026, Caroline started working at a company that makes kefir. An unexpected opportunity that aligns well with her interest in healthy nutrition.
It wasn't because she was no longer happy at Saré. Quite the opposite. It was mainly an itch: if she ever wanted to try something different, this was the moment.
"Now or never."
She knew that the chance to take a completely new direction later wouldn't get any bigger. Yet Saré still feels familiar. When she walks in, she automatically wants to head to the staff changing room. If Saré needs her, she can be called, and as a guest she'll certainly keep coming. So not really a goodbye, more a new way of staying connected.
On October 1, 2026, Mies will have been employed for exactly forty years. A special milestone that she herself remains quite matter-of-fact about.
"I've never been a job hopper."
Making a career or always looking for something new? Never felt the need.
"I'm happy here. What more could I want?"
She still works just over thirty hours a week in hospitality and will continue to do so for now. In two years she'll reach retirement age, a thought she doesn't dwell on much herself. If you're happy somewhere, why would you leave?
[ADD: photo of Mies and Caroline now, or a moment from the jubilee itself, such as flowers or a toast.]
If Caroline and Mies could pass one thing on to the next generation, it's not a working method or system. It's the atmosphere. Keep showing up for each other, keep an eye on the people around you, and don't forget that work can be fun too. It starts with something simple: making sure people are happy. The guests, but also your colleagues.
Because after forty years, much has changed: the way of working, the systems, the company, and the world around it. But that one feeling remains.
At the end of a busy day together, you can think:
We did it again. Together.
