Van der Valk Hotel Haarlem

I liked the balcony and the set up of the room. The tv by the bed was nice for a few days-like having a home theatre. Nice big bathtub (comfort +). The lounge was nice to have sparkling water (it’s in its own fountain).

The bath and shower were not well cleaned-had hairs, dirt, gross things. The spa’s foot bath was VERY dirty. A BAD experience for handicapped person. This place fall under the too fancy so it’s too convolutedly secure. Take the stairs/escalator/elevator up one flight, then an elevator to floor 3 for the lobby, then walk across the hotel to another elevator for your room, extra doors everywhere. As an American, the split beds are stupid. I wish there was a regular queen bed with the bath at the same price point. Convenient to the Expo center and Haarlem downtown. If you want to take the bus, it’s a much longer walk to the stop than it needs to be. Overall, too expensive for what it was.

We had a fantastic stay in a beautiful suite with its own private sauna and whirlpool bath! The bed was enormous, with an exceptionally comfortable mattress and wonderful pillows. The staff were warm, welcoming and attentive, and every one of our requests was taken care of. The suite also featured an electric fireplace with the gentle sound of crackling logs, which made the atmosphere even more cosy and relaxing. Another lovely detail was that we could enjoy both the sunrise and the sunset from different sides of the suite. And during sunrise, the reproduction of Girl with a Pearl Earring came alive in the most stunning colours as the morning light fell upon it. Such a beautiful little moment! :) The breakfast was absolutely superb! There was an impressive variety of everything, with plenty to choose from. I particularly appreciated the overhead cooling system that kept the cheese and cold meat platters perfectly chilled. There was a wonderful selection of drinks and different types of milk, a pancake-making machine, freshly baked bread and an abundance of fresh fruit. Everything was beautifully presented, well stocked and thoughtfully arranged. A truly excellent breakfast experience!

One small thing worth mentioning: I’m not deducting any stars for this, as it’s purely a personal observation. However, light sleepers might find it a little inconvenient that the lighting in the whirlpool bath seemed to switch itself on for no apparent reason. I woke up a few times during the night just to turn off the unexpected rainbow light show! :) Overall, a wonderful experience, and we truly enjoyed our stay!

Excellent bed. Very clean. Helpful staff. Refreshment availability (tea, coffee, sparkling water, fruit..). Parking availability was an extra bonus.

The staff was friendly and it was located conveniently to the airport bus #300 stop. It was a 30 min walk into the old town. There was a good grocery store (Albert Hein) across the street.

The main reason I'd never stay again is there wasn't a coffee maker in the room. This is something I expect in the caliber of a hotel and generally even lower starred hotels do offer it. They did offer coffee in a public room which was a 5 min walk from our room...I do not want to get up and get dressed to go get a coffee in the morning. And if I do have to walk outside my room for coffee...please choose beans that are not bitter 😩. They also had a nice tap to refill your bottle with water (but the sparkling water cartridge had run on our first day...4 days later, still had not been replaced and I mentioned it to the staff responsible for maintaining that coffee area). Lastly, I was confused about the cleaning staff...we stayed 4 days and they didn't take away any of our dirty coffee cups, glasses, empty wine bottles. We stacked them right by the front door and everyday they cleaned the room but didn't take them away. We felt this was strange. The beds are quite soft and the pillows are rather thick.