The client
El Clandestino runs a collection of luxury romantic getaways in the Belgian Ardennes. Its four cottages, El Clandestino, La Roca, Luna and Refugio, are each restored with local craftspeople and designed for couples looking for a private escape, often with a jacuzzi, sauna or forest views. Guests book through Airbnb and other platforms, as well as directly through the company’s own website.
The challenge
The old WordPress site was outdated and no longer reflected the quality of the properties. It looked dated next to the cottages’ photography, worked poorly on phones, and was hard for the client to update. Each cottage’s details were maintained by hand across pages, so prices, guest counts and descriptions easily fell out of sync. The business also serves French-, Dutch- and English-speaking guests, and the old site didn’t handle multiple languages cleanly. Most importantly, it did little to turn visitors into direct bookings, which meant relying more heavily on third-party platforms and their fees.
The solution
I redesigned and rebuilt the website from the ground up in WordPress with Elementor, giving the client a modern, image-led site that matches the experience of staying in one of the cottages.
A design that sells the experience
The new design puts the photography first. Each cottage gets its own page with a gallery, description, location, starting price, guest capacity and review score. The homepage introduces all four properties side by side so visitors can quickly compare them and pick the one that suits them.
Structured cottage content
I built a small custom plugin that adds custom post types and taxonomies for the cottages and their features. Each property’s details are stored once in a consistent structure and displayed wherever they’re needed. Adding a new cottage or updating a price is a simple form, not a page redesign.
Integrated direct booking
The client’s external booking system is integrated directly into the site. Every cottage has a “Book now” button that opens its booking calendar in place, so guests can check availability and reserve without leaving the site. This gives guests a clear way to book direct instead of going through a third-party platform.
Three languages
The site is fully translated into French, Dutch and English using WPML. Visitors can switch languages from any page, and each language version has its own URLs for search engines. The client manages translations from the WordPress dashboard.
A website the client controls
Because the site is built with Elementor on a clean structure, the El Clandestino team can update text, photos, extra services and cottage details themselves, without needing a developer for everyday changes.
The launch
The new site replaced the old one in a planned cutover, with existing content carried over and reworked into the new structure. The site was tested across devices and in all three languages before going live.
The results
A modern, mobile-friendly site that reflects the quality of the properties
A clear path to direct bookings, reducing reliance on third-party booking platforms
A consistent experience for French, Dutch and English-speaking guests
The client manages cottages, services and content themselves, which reduces ongoing development costs
Tech stack: WordPress, Elementor, WPML, custom WordPress plugin (custom post types & taxonomies), external booking system integration
