Hotel Du Helder

The whole place needs updating, and the carpet looks so worn that I wondered how it passed health and safety checks. It was also quite noisy. The hotel smelled bad, especially in the corridor and room, and the staff were just OK. The shower was shockingly weird, with only one way to find out what it was like, by staying there. Worst shower I’ve seen. The TV had no English channels. Outside, people were taking and selling drugs, which felt worrying when going out. I saw people urinating in the street and a lot of dog mess.

The area felt pretty sketchy after dark. A couple of guys tried to pickpocket my phone just around the corner, so I’d avoid going out late. Still, the hotel itself is a nice old building with basic but comfortable rooms, close to the center and reasonably priced. I’d probably stay again.

The building has some history, though the room itself was basic. The bathroom was quite clean, and the hotel let us store our luggage. I would’ve liked a kettle in the room.

With 35° outside, we were hoping for a cool room, but ours was like an oven. It was on the sixth floor near the roof, and still hot when we arrived around 11 pm. They should have opened the windows before we got there to cool it down. There was a fan, which helped, though its noise could make it hard to sleep if you’re a light sleeper. In the morning, you can hear birds singing.