Beat the Dutch Travel

Friendly and great location.

Good location off the beaten path of all the tourists. Quite and an old heritage hotel. We did have issues with the elevator not working a lot of the time. We did enjoy our stay.

Had major issues with this hotel. We were placed on the 3rd floor where there was major construction happening. The construction made it uncomfortable as saw's, drills, hammers and workers were always on the floor making noise. The finally ended their day about 6:30 and started at 8am again. The AC was turned off when we arrived, and took all night to finally cool down. We did not have a good experience with the front desk staff either. Very rude and non-apologic about the situation. Cannot recommend.

Hard to find but in a great location. The decor on the walls and ceiling were kind of odd as there were half naked 'ruben-esk" women with chubby cherbs on the walls and ceiling. The sink and shower are open to the room but luckily the toilet was in it's own room.

This was very interesting, especially the building itself, as they have maintained the interior architecture from the original period. The paintings are displayed beautifully, and the colors are brilliant.

Our driver and tour guide, Lucas, was fantastic. He guided us through Flanders on a moving and educational tour. It was an exceptional experience, and we were very grateful for his personal stories and insights about the locations we visited. This turned out to be another highlight of our trip.

Enjoyed the private tour and guide. He was able to bring the medieval world around Brugge to life.

As expected, the old master's artwork is stunning. I loved seeing all of these Flemish painters: Rubens and Van Dyck. Huge paintings with lots of religious and historical subjects. Magnificent. A real delight was the special exhibit of Gormley sculptures, which was very fun to see and experience. One of his pieces filled an entire 2-3 story room, and you could walk inside the sculpture to see a beautiful lighting of soft gray, white, and black. Very well done.

I am at a loss for words to describe how wonderful this museum was. It was spectacular, filled with countless exhibits, old masters, and endless beautiful art. A true treasure! I loved it immensely!

Veronique was an excellent guide. She spent more time with us than necessary and was truly wonderful. Engaging, funny, easy to walk with, and very informative, she shared captivating stories about her time in the city and explained how Belgium is organized both politically and historically. Her insights provided a perfect foundation for the rest of our trip in Belgium. We found her to be incredibly helpful and enjoyable to have as our guide—a real gem!

Enjoyed the retrospective of Rene's work. I especially enjoyed his later work. The museum is very informative of how he matured his art and philosophy of art.

I had a wonderful hands-on experience at the museum. While the museum itself was enjoyable, the highlight was watching the women who were making lace. They were patient, informative, and a joy to watch and learn from. I really appreciated their willingness to teach us how to lace weave and share stories about when and how they learned their craft. I hope they can keep this museum and their trade alive for the future. It showcases a beautiful and historic talent. Unfortunately, my phone battery died, so I don't have photos.

The Van Gogh museum was quite crowded during my visit. While it was a bit overwhelming, one pleasant surprise was seeing the Almond Blossom painting, which was on temporary display. Years ago, my brother-in-law created a replica of the painting using a Virginia Dogwood flower, which I now own and display in my home.

It was incredibly moving and sobering—one of those places that makes you stop and reflect on both the best and worst of humanity. The museum and annex were very well organized, and I appreciated the effective crowd control inside. In the annex, they showed great respect by pausing the audio guide, allowing visitors to reflect on the space and consider how the people lived during their captivity there.

It was simple and so easy to use everywhere!

It was very interesting to learn about the history and the process that immigrants had to go through. I appreciated the ancestry information provided at the end, as I am currently trying to find out if my family passed through Antwerp during their immigration.

This place is super interesting and a lot of fun to visit. You have complete access to the entire castle. The audio tour is excellent, as it includes humor in the storytelling about the castle and the royals who lived there. I definitely recommend visiting! We had a very fun visit.

Another fun experience in Ghent. I recommend that everyone take one of these boat tours. We had a fun driver and good boatmates on our tour. It is a lovely way to see the city.

The museum was quite interesting, although it was perhaps a bit outside my usual taste in art. The first exhibit featured a large mud hut that visitors could enter after removing their shoes. The second exhibit was created by artists who were denouncing the concept of 'beauty.' While I understand the message they were trying to convey, it felt as if the artists had a strong disdain for anything related to beauty. This exhibit might resonate with some people, but it wasn’t one of my favorites.

The museum was lovely, situated away from the crowded main streets, which made it a peaceful place to visit. The Flemish art was beautiful, and I enjoyed admiring the works of the old masters. Their ability to capture landscapes, family life, and religious history is truly spectacular.

I had a wonderful walking tour of Antwerp's old district as well as the diamond district with Luc. He was excellent and met me at our hotel, which was located in the old district rather than near the train station. Luc thought it would be better to walk around and show me some historic sites, such as City Hall, the Cathedral, and Saint Carolus Borromeuskerk Church. Of course, we also made our way to the diamond district. It was fascinating to hear him explain how the diamond wholesale process works, and I learned that the diamond district is highly secure. Barricades with gates line both ends of the street, and a police station is nearby, with active military surveillance in the area. Luc was fantastic, and I am so grateful for the time he took to explain everything. It was very well done!

We were thrilled to have tickets to see this incredible piece of history and art. The tour before the viewing included virtual reality (VR) glasses that provided background information on the painting, the artist, and the fascinating history behind the artwork. The VR tour was well executed. When we finally saw the painting, it was unbelievable. The vibrant colors, incredible details, and beautifully arranged panels were breathtaking. I had not expected it to be so clear, bright, and filled with extraordinary details. This is definitely a must-see in Ghent. It was very well displayed.

Hotel Mercier was great.The location is perfect for exploring central Amsterdam. The staff is very friendly and and helpful. My room was large by European standards. The mattress was way too soft and the topper moved during the night. The hotel itself is beautiful and tastefully decorated. I enjoyed the breakfast in the bright and airy restaurant. I would return to the Hotel Mercier.

This museum is impressive, well laid out and has an excellent audio tour. The grand masters are worth seeing

The windmills are fasciitis see and learn about.i had no idea of the role they played in Dutch industry.

Aisha’s a great public transport system and the OV card made it easy to access the system

This was a very fun, interesting and informative experience. I enjoyed the guide very much and would highly recommend this experience. The food was excellent, especially the Indonesian satay.

The cruise was a lovely way to see Amsterdam. The captain was really nice and welcoming and our waitress was great and shared interesting information about the city. The dinner was delicious and accompanied by good wine. I highly recommend this experience.

I love Van Gogh’s work and really enjoyed touring the museum.

Seeing this house and Anne Frank’s diary and letters was very moving.

Rooms were very nice, and since it's August, we appreciated the air-conditioning. Staff were helpful.

Henk and Anne-Marie are amazing hosts. They helped orient us to the city, find some places to eat, and shared information about events taking place. The breakfasts were simple and delicious. We were traveling as a family, and we were able to have a space in our room to play boardgames and wind down for the evening.

The location was great in the city, but our room was very small and musty with little air circulation. We were there during some hot days in August and there didn't seem to be any fans or solutions available even when we asked. Luckily, our party had two rooms, and the other room had a fan that they shared with us. The staff were kind, but didn't have the English skills needed to assist our basic knowledge of Dutch; this led to a few instances of miscommunication that left us all frustrated.

The Private Grand Dutch Food and History Tour in Amsterdam was fabulous. It was such a great way to arrive in the city, combining a tour with some delicious food. It was very convenient as we didn't have to find a place for dinner that first night. I would highly recommend this activity to anyone visiting Amsterdam.

The museums we visited, including the Rijksmuseum, were fabulous. We really enjoyed the cultural experience and the art collections.

The canal cruise in Amsterdam was fun and enjoyable. It was a nice way to see the city from a different perspective and relax after walking tours.

Tour guide was fun and full of information. Hit all the big food spots in 2.5 hours

We would probably skip this next time and just head to the chocolate shops :)

Full of information and pictures to explain the history of Bruges. Was the perfect length for the group and kept the attention of all

The Dominican was really good stay, Located at very centre and prime spot. The room was spacious and well occupied with all the facilities. Staff were really helpful and friendly. I felt really comfortable and safe staying here. On top of it, the interior and history of the hotel was also very interesting and as an Art nerd, I found it really fascinating. I never had breakfast or any food from the hotel though, so no comment on that.

Ghent travel was very scenic and absolutely beautiful. Liked it

This is another day trip that was absolutely tailored to my interests of architecture, history and art. The St.Peter's Church visit was everything I wanted as an art and history enthusiat. University visit as well was really good. The botanical garden was a really beautiful and nice place to relax after

This is one of the best experience of the trip. My guide was really friendly, knowledgable and really really interesting to spent time with. By the time of this event, I have been in Brussels for almost 4 days and have been to majority of the tourist places and experiences. But he quickly adapted to that, enquired about my intersts and personality, and took me to places , which are not the common tourist places, that fit my interests. Both for food and sights. And as somenone who is interested in history and general politics, he was able to answer many of my queries regarding Belgium and many things related to it, which made a really interesting evening. Really thankful for this experience.

Visiting the castle was intersting and the audio tour was fun. It is quite a short item and not a must have in my opinion

A nice and beautiful place to relax, very well and beautifully maintained, a photo spot for sure

Beautiful and clean. The blackout curtains were magical. Great location for getting to the central station or anywhere in Amsterdam. The in-room laundry was very convenient (but quite slow ~5 hours per small load, so plan accordingly if you are needing to do laundry). Very friendly staff at the front desk.

Great location to walk into the town center or along the river. Quiet street. Very clean. There was not hand soap for the kitchen or bathroom. And there was no soap for the shower. The lack of soap in the shower is understandable, but no hand soap in the bathroom was not great. I understand that A/C is uncommon in a house like this. But it would have been lovely if they had a couple fans for the bedrooms.

Best museum in Amsterdam. Underrated to be sure.

Joris thought of everything and was very personable. 10/10!

Centrally located hotel - stylish furnishings, clean - great breakfast! A true gem!

a fun trip

Tour guide was excellent - well-paced and informative, visited the Jewish and synagogue.

Factory tour was interesting - very high prices at the gift shop!

This was a wonderful - interactive museum Learned so much!

This was invaluable!!! We used all the time - once you get the hang of the train and tram system, you can travel like a local and save money

this was a weird activity - it helped that we had seen many of the art in person or otherwise this would have felt like an acid / drug trip

So unique and easy to get to - had to pay extra to get inside the mills and museums.

So much amazing and iconic art in a beautiful, historical mansion next to the binnenhof

A must see in Amsterdam to see this in person will always with us - a sad story, difficult to imagine that such hate existed and what people did to survive. Bravery to hide the family