Hotel De Bilderberg

The room is why I settled on three stars instead of four. It felt very dated, and the slippery bathtub with its shower curtain felt dangerous. I also found a hair in the tub. The bed was comfortable, though the pillows were too soft. Noise was the worst part: my neighbors’ shower at around 6 am sounded as if a boiler were right beside my ear, and I could clearly hear them talking from the bathroom. People passing in the corridor at night sounded as if they were walking through my room. I was disappointed that this was the one part of the stay that wasn’t well managed, and I wouldn’t sleep here again. I came with 10 colleagues for a work trip, and the arrangements for our group were well handled. There were several bookable conference rooms, and extra snacks were available if wanted. The main floor had a cosy, clean feel, and the staff were friendly and helpful. The food was my favorite part: the snacks, lunch, dinner, and breakfast all tasted great, with plenty of options at breakfast and lunch. Dinner had good vegetarian choices too, including goat cheese salad, spinach pasta, and cheesecake for dessert.

The terrace was dirty, the flowerbeds were neglected, and the tables and chairs looked worn. Food service had no flexibility either. The hotel needs a full makeover, and it’s clear there aren’t enough qualified staff to give proper attention to service or detail. I’m really disappointed because I used to be a big fan of the Bilderberg group. Maybe its other hotels are better.

At checkout nobody asked how the stay had been or whether everything was okay, just said goodbye. Staff at the front desk could use more training in how to talk with guests both on arrival and departure. I won’t be back next year. There were too many problems for the price, and for a stay of a few days I’d suggest looking for a B&B or AirBnb nearby instead, which could be cheaper and more enjoyable. The hotel looks attractive from outside, and the reception and downstairs areas are clean and modern. The rooms are another story. I’ve stayed a couple of times, and they need a lot of updating. The interior feels like an old 1980s roadside motel. Neither of our two rooms had a fridge, safe, or even a bottle of water. The bathroom looked at least 30 years old, with a shower curtain around the bath. Its exhaust fan wasn’t working, and there was black mould on the ceiling. There was standing water in the coffee tray too, and it had soaked the sugar left by a previous guest. We’d been there four days out of seven before I asked why housekeeping hadn’t cleaned our rooms. I was told we had to scan a card in the room, but there were no paper instructions, only a QR code on a piece of paper. The rooms were cleaned after that, but not very well. Both rooms also lost power for four hours, while the rest of the hotel apparently didn’t. I suspect the faulty electrics may have got damp because the bathroom fan wasn’t working properly. The bar was open only on Saturday night, even though the hotel also caters to business travellers. I heard guests ask at reception several times why it was closed, especially on Friday night. That’s not good enough for a hotel that markets itself as one of the area's best. Breakfast had a sign asking guests to wait to be seated, but nobody ever came, so I found my own table. One morning I was told halfway through breakfast to move because they wanted to set up the tables for lunch. That was unacceptable, especially after I’d paid over £500 for breakfast for the week for four people. The breakfast selection was generally good, but the coffee machines kept running out of milk, leaving guests waiting in a growing queue.

Staff were friendly, and the hotel itself was very comfortable and clean. I’d consider returning once the renovations are finished. There weren’t enough toweling robes for my group, though. I could have had one on Saturday, but would have been charged, which didn’t seem fair. Julia's Kitchen had an acceptable dinner menu on Friday, but it was exactly the same on Saturday and had very little choice. I’d expected a larger menu. The pillows were too big and gave me neck ache.