Van der Valk Hotel ARA

The restaurant and buffet were easily the best parts, and the food was perfect. The hotel itself felt average and old. Our room had two single beds pushed together with separate blankets, which wasn't great for a couple, and there were no twin sized beds or shared blankets. We could hear people talking loudly in the corridors, so a keep quiet sign would help. With all the barking dogs in the restaurant and at night while trying to sleep, rest wasn't great either. There are no cameras in the corridors, which didn't feel very secure. One man working in the restaurant was really rude and needs to work on being friendly. We won't be back.

The staff were friendly and breakfast was good. Beyond that, the stay was unpleasant and ruined our holiday. We won't be returning, and I'm surprised this hotel carries the Van der Valk name after our stays at many other Van der Valk hotels. The pool smelled horribly of sewage, and the water didn't look clean. We couldn't stay longer than 15 minutes. It seemed to have no maintenance at all and really needs a health inspection. We first got a room with a very small shower, even though the website photos show a bathtub in each room. Reception were very nice and let us switch to a room with a tub, but that one had several problems. It was missing a faucet, so filling the tub with the shower head took ages. Then the water level kept dropping because the tub had a crack, so we couldn't take a proper bath. There was no makeup mirror in the bathroom either, and we had to ask reception for one. Our garden view room with a balcony didn't look onto a garden, just a field in the middle of nowhere with no flowers or anything garden like. Van der Valk in Heerlen has a beautiful garden, and those rooms really deserve to be called garden view. The description here felt misleading. There was no minibar for keeping drinks cold. The room also had no Nespresso machine like the other Van der Valk hotels we've stayed at, just a kettle and 3in1 powdered coffee. I might have put up with that if guests could use the coffee machines in the lobby, but they were closed to hotel guests and reserved for conferences. So a cappuccino meant paying €3.60 at the restaurant.

The breakfast was amazing, with anything you could wish for. Inside, the hotel is beautiful and up to date, even though the outside doesn't look like much. I loved the big, heavy looking doors and how easily they moved. My bathroom was huge and had everything included. The location was lovely, surrounded by fields and small canals. The one thing I missed was a minibar or small fridge.

I had a large room with a bathtub that was big enough for a comfortable, relaxing soak. It's a quiet hotel, with very friendly staff in the restaurant, bar, and reception. The breakfast was great, and so was dinner at the restaurant. I tried quite a few dishes: the cold cuts were amazing, though the portion was too big, while some of the other dishes were just okay and a little expensive. There's a lovely outdoor seating area for sunny days, and a few good Belgian beer options at the bar. There was no fridge in my room, so plan for that.