Fletcher Landgoedhotel Renesse

A cozy little place near a small castle, with healthy food options.

The hotel was alright, about what you'd expect. The restaurant looked nice, but the food was bad, which maybe was also what you'd expect. At reception, we asked about vegan options and were told the cooks were very good and would make sure we had something suitable. When it came time to order, almost all the vegetarian and vegan choices were already out of stock. I got the burrata starter, which was supposed to come with bruschetta, but it arrived with just lettuce and burrata. When I asked about the bruschetta, I got half a casino toast, barely toasted, with a dot of pesto and half a cherry tomato. It was hard not to laugh. Definitely not worth the prices. Another disappointment with hotel food.

The restaurant experience was frustrating and upsetting, and definitely one to forget. My wife and I arrived at 18:50 and stood at the entrance for a few minutes without anyone greeting us. We saw plenty of empty tables without reservation signs and sat at one. The waiter immediately asked our name, said we weren't on the reservation list, and went to check if we could dine there. Once we got past that first struggle, we ordered mussels, since every table had a sign advertising them. They were sold out, though, and the signs were still up. We switched to a schnitzel and sea bass with gnocchi. The schnitzel, priced like a world-class authentic one, was a dry escalope half the expected size with fries and coleslaw. My wife's sea bass came with a small amount of undercooked potatoes instead of gnocchi. When she looked confused, the waiter who brought it walked off and acted busy elsewhere. Another waiter checked with the kitchen, then came back casually saying there were no gnocchi. I said we shouldn't pay the full price when potatoes weren't what we'd ordered. He offered drinks as compensation, which we accepted: a glass of wine for my wife and a large beer for me. After dinner, the first waiter asked if everything was satisfactory. My wife said no, because she'd ordered gnocchi, not potatoes. He insisted gnocchi and potatoes were the same and said we should be happy to have received a drink. I replied that it hadn't been compensation, and he walked away saying that was my opinion. At the end, the bill included the beer. The waiter said only the wine had been offered as compensation. Bad service and bad food point to bad management. The hotel itself was okay, no more than that, despite prices you'd expect at a five-star hotel. Not surprising for a Fletcher, there's always something to disappoint you.

The free parking was handy, and there’s plenty of nature around, so it’s a shame pets aren’t allowed. The hotel itself is a few hundred meters from the medieval castle shown in the picture. It’s a low, single-storey building that looks more like a group of chalets from the outside.