Mieke Arendsen

Convenient location and amazing amenities. Excellent breakfast!

Loved the renovations from being a church!

Awesome setting and amenities

So very convenient to the airport, especially with early morning flights!

We used this day for rest and spa. We walked into town for a delicious dinner.

Would have enjoyed more time here but we did see everything we planned!

This was my favorite! Loved the snacks and drinks on board. We enjoyed a lovely bottle of champagne compliments of our agent Mieke!

This hotel turned out to be a great location for us - right in the center and easy to walk to everything we needed. Room was comfortable and looked at the church. We loved hearing the bells chime and watching the people parade as they met up for drinks at the many cafes along the street (and of course participating ourselves in that activity!) The breakfast was well-done, restaurant meal was good, staff was very helpful and friendly. We had a great stay.

We enjoyed the town and this hotel, right at the heart, was a great fit for us. The room was well-done and had a sort of "upscale" feel, staff was accommodating and nice, and the restaurant there is excellent. Focus seems to be on the restaurant as it was always very busy with locals and travelers, but the rooms were nicely done and very clean. The garden side is quiet and nice and the other side opens onto the main square.

Our captain was so sweet and informative - we learned a lot about the town, history, architectural details, and had a great time ducking down under the bridges, seeing the canals, and seeing the town from a different perspective. The private tour let us really talk to the boat captain, ask questions and hear his insights. He included a lovely surprise of drinks and snacks, and we were so glad we did this outing. It was perfect.

The cruise was smooth and had an audioguide in a couple of languages as it took us among the canals of Haarlem. Overall the process of easy and user-friendly and gave us a glimpse of the city from the water and some details we would have missed walking around town. Haarlem felt sort of like a "mini Amsterdam" and this experience enhanced that impression while allowing us to get off the streets and onto the famous canals to see things from a different perspective. It was more "commercial" than our canal cruise in Hoorn (but that one was a private cruise) though the staff in the canalside shop were helpful and friendly here.

An old-time steam train with antique wooden rail cars that took us amidst the tulip fields - what's not to love? While there was some confusion at the station and the train was late departing, therefore not leaving us time in Medemblik to walk around, the experience of riding through the tulip fields was just lovely. It would have been nice to be able to walk between rail cars, but it being an antique train, I guess that wasn't possible. Having a beverage car would have enhanced the experience as there was little time at the stop in Wognum, barely enough to queue up at the tiny restroom and get back onboard, much less get something to drink or snack. I'd hoped they'd slow down more as we passed the tulips (they slowed more going through unused stations!) but I think it may have been due to the delayed departure and needing to get back in time. Medemblik was supposed to be "a tulip station" but didn't have any flowers on display as in Wognum. Despite the somewhat disorganized situation, we did enjoy the trip.

First, the hotel that Mieke set up for us was perfect - great location, lovely rooms, nice staff, very good restaurant and easy to get around. We enjoyed seeing Hoorn, which was a pretty town and lively; sitting on the square for a beer, watching the people parade, looking in the shops, watching sunset over the water...it was quite nice. Second, my main review is for the private driver that was organized for us. Robert was absolutely top-notch. He picked us up at the airport, assisted my husband, who has a disability, was personable and interesting while also professional. He took us to Hoorn by the backroads as requested, to allow us to visit some of the private tulip farms and see them up-close. He came back to Hoorn at an early hour to take us to the airport at the end of our trip, again going above and beyond for us and by the end of our time with him we felt like we'd made a new friend. We are so grateful to him for the help and the good time he showed us, that really helped make the trip special.

Lovely, boutique hotel in a perfect location, although previous warning that it was pedestrian only might have made our arrival a bit easier. Nice breakfast and bar.

Quaint, atmospheric and perfectly located.

Gorgeous and beautifully appointed. Our room was small, on the top floor. The roofline was peaked making the ceiling slanted very low on one side. Although it required being aware to prevent a bumped head, the beauty of the facility made this a minor inconvenience. We had the final meal of our trip in the hotel restaurant and it was outstanding. The food was sophisticated and perfectly prepared, staff was attentive and the dining room is stunning.

Right in the historic center with a view of the cathedral. Can be a little noisy but staff was very helpful and friendly.

Right on the main square and car access to rear. Very busy restaurant the two nights we were there but food is top-notch. Good room and comfortable bed. Staff was very friendly and accomadating.

Private boat with a very knowledgeable captain, great insights to the town and architecture.

Part of the problem was out of their control: we had some rain and delayed leaving Hoorn due to track repairs. We only had 30 minutes at the last stop before returning to Hoorn. Very clean and well maintained antique train cars and engine.

Was hoping for a smaller boat.

Breakfast is AMAZIBG

This was an adorable lodge located just outside the national forest. The breakfast was delicious. However, it was a bit tough walking from the bus stop to the lodge. Much of the path was packed dirt and kind of muddy.

How this is rated as a 4 star hotel is beyond me. I arrived a bit early and they allowed me to check in but the room was FREEZING. They told me the heat would be turned on at the desk at 3 pm (official check-in time). I came back after 5 pm and still no heat. I have NEVER stayed in a hotel where the temp is controlled by the desk. I also discovered the glass door would not close completely and the wind howled through it making it even colder. After several trips to the desk, they finally moved me. The second room was also cold and I was advised the heat was out in the whole building and because it was late in a holiday weekend they couldn’t get anyone to fix it. They had a space heater in the room(s) upon arrival and I found that odd. After reading Google reviews, the HVAC issues had been going on for over a year and NUMEROUS complaints were listed. THAT explained why the space heaters were already in the rooms.

This had to be one of the cutest boutique hotels I’ve ever been to. The room was small, but big enough for me. I had a beautiful view of the canal and it was very close to Amsterdam Central train/bus station. The breakfast was good, they even offered a couple of selections “on demand.”

I had a solo cabin with a twin bed. It was perfect for a solo traveler. It was a bit crowded with my suitcase needing to be on the floor. Some nights it was hard to make the room warm enough for me. The food was AWESOME. The boat had a chef and dinners were curated for us.

I cannot give this hotel and staff enough praise. They took care of me from the moment I walked in, quite early I might add, until I left the city. They got me into my room right away so I did not have to store my luggage. They made sure I had an appropriate vegetarian breakfast on my checkout. I had problems with my Uber and they helped me get another one do I could get to the airport safely.

I walked/hiked over to museum from the lodge. It was a good activity for my arrival day. However, the tickets were date specific and it would have been better for the rainy following day.

I got caught in the rain, so it wasn’t very enjoyable on the bike. I did enjoy the nature center/museum including the section underground

You can’t go to Belgium without learning about chocolate. I have been to cocao plantations in the Caribbean and I have come full circle to the finished fine Belgian chocolate. The tasting at the end was awesome.

I actually did not do a “self-guided” walking route, but found a guided tasting tour.

This was a self guided audio tour. I chose the comfy tour and was not disappointed.

The whole reason I went to the Netherlands was for the bike and boat tour. On our first day we “sailed” to Haarlem and biked into the town. Saw Grote Markt and the church.

We stayed at the Singel Hotel on the Singel Canal, and it was a perfect location for us. It's right on the border between the old city and the Jordaan neighborhood, which we really enjoyed. The hotel was comfortable, and while the rooms and bathrooms were small in typical European fashion, we didn't mind at all. The location more than made up for that, and we loved having the convenience of walking to various places in Amsterdam. It was a great stay!

Our trip to the flower auction and the bulb fields was delightful, though the flowers weren't quite in full bloom yet. Nevertheless, the narcissus were totally in bloom, and the hyacinths and tulips were blooming to varying degrees. We also visited an indoor area at Keukenhof where everything was fully in bloom, providing a splendid spectacle of colors. Later in the trip, we visited Hortus Bulborum in Limmen, which had more blooms. So if you plan your timing right, you can really see everything in its glory.

The food tour in Amsterdam was a major highlight of our trip. Our guide, Thijs Van Rooyen, was fabulous. As food enthusiasts, our family loved learning about the cultural significance of various Dutch foods. The tour provided a delightful and informative exploration of Amsterdam's culinary scene. I would highly recommend doing a food tour early in your visit to get a taste of the local culture and to learn about the foods that are important in the area. It was amazing and thoroughly enjoyable!

The hotel is small and charming but unfortunately the staff are not so. They don’t greet or even acknowledge you when you come into the hotel and housekeeping is practically useless since after tipping them, they don’t even replace the ameities that you used (not like they provide much to begin with). The gym is practically useless with no weights. The only saving grace is its location and the only nice and friendly gentlemen uncle serving in breakfast.

Fantastic family run hotel that is almost like staying in an intimate B&B or welcomed into someone’s home. Although no gym and the breakfast is pretty limited, the warm service and deco more than make up for it.

The breakfast was phenomenal and hotel was a modern mox of modernity and old school charm. No view in the room but it was spacious and beautiful. It is located very close to the main tourist stretch without it being too intrusive.

A small boutique hotel with good breakfast and limited service

Absolutely charming and beautiful, although it was perpectually crawling with tourists and the lifts and hallways are too cramped and small for ita own good. The staff may be overwhelmed and don’t appear very warm or friendly at all, much like the weather in Amsterdam right now. Breakfast is great although you have to book in advance and you are only given a 45mins time frame to finish.

They claimed they did not get our reservation at all and did not seem to care otherwise. Only because others did not turn up did they give us the slot. The boat was small and it was freezing, hece there was limited view. Not very comfortable although the boat guy was funny and nice.