Leonardo Hotel Almere City Center

Breakfast was inviting and varied, and the dining room had nice lighting. I had a lake view, a wide, comfortable bed, and some decent sleep that helped with my jet lag. The location was interesting, with a pleasant promenade nearby. But at nearly €120 a night, the value felt only middling, and the hotel seemed neglected. It falls well short of what I'd expect from a three- or four-star place. The ventilation was very loud, and the toilet area smelled of cigarette smoke, apparently from cigarette butts left in the bin. There weren't clear Wi-Fi instructions, and the room phone was disconnected, so I had to go back and wait in line at reception just to ask how to connect. The city tax wasn't clearly shown at checkout either, and only appeared later on my card statement. Other guests seem to have raised similar complaints repeatedly, but they don't appear to have been addressed. Management shouldn't ignore that pattern if the hotel wants to stay credible and meet basic guest expectations.

We've stayed here several times and found it comfortable. On two occasions, we had problems with the shower or bath that needed a plumber. They couldn't fix things right away, so they moved us to another room. Another time it was unreasonably hot and the air conditioning wasn't enough. We told reception, and they gave us a fan, which made the room comfortable.

I can tell this was once a nice hotel, but it seems to have declined over time and needs some care. The location was lovely, and the staff were nice, though I don't think they had much to work with. We didn't have a reservation for the restaurant and beer bar, so we couldn't try them, but they looked very nice. Our room wasn't clean. We were told to request cleaning through a QR code, but it didn't work. I tried calling reception from the room, only to find the phone was broken. The front desk said they'd arrange cleaning for the next day. I asked for daily cleaning, but during our six-day stay it only happened twice. The ironing board and iron were dirty and barely worked. Three stars still feels fair.

I won't have another experience like this. I paid for dinner and the city tax on the first day, but at checkout they asked me to pay again because the receptionist hadn't processed my debit card. I showed the payment confirmation from the desk, certified by Visa. It took 20 minutes before the receptionist understood the mistake. The room wasn't refurbished or cleaned because they call it a "Green Hotel," which was a first for me. Yet they use the elevators all day, while the stairs are so far away. Restaurant food was amazingly expensive: one beer cost €9. Next time, I'll stay at Van der Valk Hotel.