Van der Valk Resort Linstow

The drinks were excellent throughout my five-day stay, and I tried nearly all of them. Bowling and mini golf were lots of fun, and the resort has things for different age groups. The setting is beautiful, with a good range of places to stay, from hotel rooms to holiday houses. But the houses were a letdown for the price: they didn’t have towels, bathrobes, slippers, shower gel, conditioner, hand soap, or even a hairdryer. Hotel rooms are more comfortable and convenient. The buffet was disappointing too, with limited choice and food that didn’t meet expectations. Staff gave conflicting answers about what was included until the manager cleared it up. The à la carte restaurant was much better. I’d choose a hotel room over a house.

The park is beautifully landscaped, and the natural surroundings are lovely. That’s about the best I can say after a weekend here on a road trip through Germany with my dog. The bungalow was small but fully equipped, and also badly worn: there were dirty dishes in the cupboards and stains on the bed. The resort opened in 2001, and the place looked as if maintenance stopped then. The pool looks nice, but the rapid river and all the hot tubs were out of service, leaving only about 35 to 40% of it usable. At busy times it gets far too crowded, with very long slide queues. The park doesn’t make this clear. The website has a small note saying the rapid river is closed, but gives no explanation or reopening date. We could only get pizza in the plaza on the first night, for reasons no one explained, and it was frozen. The next day, coffee, a cocktail, and an afternoon snack were fine. The plaza is noisy, especially during the evening buffet, when carts of empty plates and dirty cutlery rattle over the tiles. Staff were unhelpful and gave us little information, so after our last cocktail we didn’t spend another cent. We waited 30 minutes in an almost empty plaza before going to the register ourselves. When we said how long we’d waited, there was no reply or apology, and placing another order was nearly impossible. Reception seemed irritated with us both when we arrived and when we left. Asking how the buffet worked and which themed buffet was on that weekend got us only a “no.” We ended up eating outside the resort on both nights. I’ve stayed at plenty of bungalow parks and hotels, but nowhere have I felt so unwelcome. The place has potential, but poor maintenance, communication, and customer service left us with a bad impression. I don’t understand why I had to return my bungalow keys at reception instead of dropping them in a box in the car park, especially when the staff seemed not to care that I was there. I’d drive on and find somewhere else.

It’s about two hours from Berlin, and very quiet, though it gets dark walking around at night. There are some activities and sports, but the food wasn’t great. I also found a small cockroach on my bed 🙈🤣. Hope you click LIKE if you found this review useful :)

One evening during our hotel stay, I became extremely unwell, and the front desk kindly called an ambulance. While I was in the hospital, Mr. Röff and a woman from the hotel’s reservations department helped me a lot. I’m sorry I can’t remember her name, but I’m very grateful to them both and will recommend the hotel to friends I know.