Boutique Hotel Westerlee

We tried the tomato soup, satay and the "12 o'clock" for lunch today, and everything was delicious. The plates were generously filled, the coffee was great, and we got a really warm, friendly welcome. We’ll definitely return for another lunch outside on the estate this summer 👌

The hotel is a beautiful building, with an impressive front house, and our room was spacious, clean and had high ceilings. We especially liked the balcony, where we could sit in the sun out of the wind. The rooms on the right get sun from late morning (see photo) until sunset. There was only one chair, though, so a second one would have been useful, and some hooks for clothes and bathrobes were missing. I found the bed a bit too soft, while my boyfriend thought it was just right. We also enjoyed the hot whirlpool bath by the room. We brought a generous cheese platter for dessert upstairs and ate it in the bath. We stayed for a few days over Easter and had a very relaxing time, with delicious food. The burgers were especially well prepared, and the rest was tasty too. The wine was good, though we missed having local beers on the menu. The sauna was lovely and spacious, but its showers were lukewarm or cold. Two hot tubs were already set up outside by the sauna, but they weren't in use yet. There’s a 5 km walk starting right across from the hotel, with information about the Battle of Heiligerlee and the landscape. There’s another similar walk further along, near Heiligerlee, and the area is nice for cycling too. A few kilometers away, near Meeden, we enjoyed the Easter bonfire. You can tell there’s still room for improvement throughout the hotel, but it has only just opened, so I’m sure that will come along. The hospitality is already there, at least. Could be worse!

It’s a former country estate on the edge of town, so it’s quiet and beautifully situated. There are lovely walking paths right across the street. We were looking for somewhere near Groningen to avoid a long drive into the city the next day, and this worked well.

The room was fine, with a good bed and plenty of space, and the jacuzzi/double bath was nice. The balcony was less appealing, with dirty chairs and no sweeping. Around the rest of the hotel, upkeep seemed to have slipped: the grass was long, weeds were everywhere, and the hallways, staircase and conservatory looked like they hadn’t been vacuumed in a long time. There were empty boxes in the hallways, and the toilet bowls had etched streaks. They were probably clean, but certainly didn’t look it. Nobody explained that a sauna was apparently available either. Breakfast was small-scale and fine in itself, but on the first day the rolls were nearly gone and weren’t replenished. The hotel has a lot of potential, but it seems the current owners don’t have enough time to get or keep everything in order. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t recommend staying here at the moment.