Hotel Kalken

The bathroom was the weak point for us. There was nowhere to put a toothbrush, and the shower was difficult to use: the temperature was hard to control and, once it settled, the water pressure was very low. Still, we had a nice stay. The hotel is right in the city centre, and our room was spacious, pleasant, and had comfortable beds.

The rooms were comfortable, the location was great, and breakfast was good, but I left with a very unpleasant memory from my stay. I was hurrying to visit a park and took a piece of bread to eat in the car. I later noticed a sign saying food couldn’t be taken outside, so I understand that I broke the rule. A woman with long black hair who worked in the breakfast area could have simply explained it, but instead she yelled at me in front of the other guests. I felt humiliated. Nothing like that has happened to me before, and there was no need to speak to me so aggressively. I hope management looks at how staff address guests.

The place felt more like a hostel, but without the hospitality you’d expect from one. Our supposed double bed was two single beds pushed together, and the shower had a plastic curtain. It felt as though the hotel was doing only the bare minimum to make guests comfortable.

We ended up booking somewhere else, which was frustrating. After reserving three nights through booking.com, I contacted the hotel and got confirmation. The next day they cancelled without giving a reason, and my attempts to reach them went nowhere. When we tried booking again in case it had been a mistake, the price had gone up to more than double. Since it was high season, we suspected they cancelled so they could charge more. That felt completely unfair and reflected badly on their service.