Stayed here recently on business as i have done previously, the rooms depending on location in the hotel can look tired or very modern. In both cases are the rooms comfortable and clean, the two essential points to any hotel stay. The bathroom was similarly well sized and fully equipped.

Breakfast was the only slight let down, when i arrived the warm was fully gone and the replenishment rate seemed to be not keeping up with demand, what makes up for this slight disappointment were the fantastic dinners i had in the hotel during my stay. Well portioned and really tasty.

Hotel bar is friendly and welcoming, WiFi is free in the bar / main area of the hotel but unfortunately not in the rooms unless you pay for a hotspot...when will hotels learn that a small investment on their part will pay off in the long term!?!

Staff neglected to charge the credit card I provided upon check-in and check-out, though they assured me payment was secured. Weeks later the sales dept threatened legal action for "non-payment". On top of the archaic understanding of hospitality, service and technology, they overcharged me for the number of room nights I actually stayed, and would not even acknowledge the numerous emails I sent attempting to explain their mistake. I was either to pay 800 Euro beyond what I owed, or be forced into a long legal battle that would inevitably damage my credit. This was simply an act of extortion that I had no choice but to give in to. Short of calling the staff and management criminal... they certainly have no business dealing with the public... or computers, or numbers, or telephones, or food, or elevators (a comically huge number of mechanical malfunctions occurred during my stay). The rooms were fine... aside from the perpetually sticky light switches (and I don't mean the switch was difficult to switch on and off, I mean the surfaces of ALL switches were covered in a thick layer of mystery goo) and the lack of wireless internet (which I was also charged for). The hotel motto should be "Like The Shining without the intrigue". One last observation. I once heard a member of the restaurant staff call a guest who asked where her room was, a "(reviews do not allow profanity)". - Enjoy your stay

Nice clean hotel with great restaurant and nice staff

I have traveled quite a bit through Europe, so I want to start off that I am not the "ugly american" who cannot handle different environments, but this place is ridiculous. You are greeted by this luxurious looking lobby, but that is basically where it stops. We checked in and my first room had a very weird odor. I saw another traveler remarked on the same thing through another website. They have a farm with roosters that wake you up at 2a.m, 4a.m. and 5a.m. We tried moving to the other side, but wouldn't let us. None of the staff are helpful not even the owner. You ask for information and they wave you off, not sure why Van Der Valk chain thinks it can cater to an international crowd. They have very low levels of service and I think do fare better with the more provincial crowd. The pinnacle moment was getting food poisoning from what they deem is their five star restaurant called Upstairs. We spoke to the owner about the situation and she told me a bunch of excuses. We went back and forth that she didn't know if her food was that fresh. Needless to say, I gave her a couple of examples that might improve her level of service when these situations arise and instead of being appreciative, she got offended and stomped off. No one from the staff even offered a bottle of water or to help call the doctor, but she kept claiming they always help. We weren't asking for much just an acknowledgement that it was a bit of a pain to change our flights and have to stay an extra night due to their food prep issue, but she offered absolutely nothing in form of compensation. Not even a credit for the bad meal. Basically my advice is if you have the choice, do not stay at the Van der Valk properties. If the owner doesn't want to admit that mistakes happen then you can imagine how the staff act at these locations. They have 60 hotels across Europe, but they act like a provincial, local motel. They certainly don't have the customer service levels of the Marriott's of the world, also family owned, but definitely have a far different way of training their staff and ensuring that a guest's stay no matter where you are in the world will be acceptable. I have never been treated so poorly and definitely never plan to return to a Van der Valk property ever. The photos are deceiving, staff and owners are rude and if you want to be woken up by roosters every morning then this is your kind of place.