Villa Ruimzicht

The hotel looks lovely, and the grounds have a nice park to walk around. The communal areas seem to have been renovated more recently and are pleasant. Parking is free across a busy road, and town is an easy walk away. The rooms were disappointing. They might have seemed modern 30 years ago, but now they’re dated and need attention. Breakfast was okay, a typical Dutch continental spread. British guests who don’t eat bread, cheese, yogurt, or eggs may struggle, and there are no beans. I wouldn’t return because the room rate doesn’t match the standard.

The food was wonderful, beautifully prepared and presented, and priced fairly for the condition of the furniture. It was very convenient to go down the stairs, or take the very slow lift that fits one or two people, for a meal. I visited in January, so couldn’t use the outdoor area, though it looks like a lovely place to sit in warmer weather. This is a handsome, quirky, interesting hotel, and the bed and everything else were comfortable. The carpet on the third floor and the bathroom floors are a little overdue for replacement, but still functional. On windy nights, the third-floor dormer windows shake noisily. I could have used bathroom towels to reduce the wind noise, but didn’t bother, even with the high winds. Nice place.

We enjoyed staying in my old school, and the location is great, but the hotel needs to invest in updates. The rooms are dated, and the stairs to the first and second floors need new carpets. We also saw dirty towels and sheets left around the third floor at different times of day. We understand laundry has to be kept somewhere, but it doesn’t need to look so messy. We were first put in a stuffy, dirty room with a broken light switch, so we slept with the lights on. There were only three coat hangers and no drawers for clothes. To be fair, they didn’t charge us for that night and moved us to a larger, better room, also numbered 315. They didn’t mention that it would cost €30 more per night, though. We had dinner there one evening. The food was very good, but the service was poor. They let us have a drink in another room, then forgot to call us for dinner at 19:30. We sat down at 20:00, and I had to ask several times when the first course was coming. It arrived at 20:45. Nearly €7 for a bottle of water is just bizarre and outrageous.

The restaurant is well worth a visit, especially for its local menu. The ingredients are all local, and the 4-, 6-, and 9-course meals were delicious. It’s a historic place with wooden floors, so you can hear people moving around the hotel.