Van der Valk Hotel Schiphol A4, Schiphol

As we sat in the car getting lost on the way to the hotel, my colleague Karin entertained me with horror stories about the hotel we were about to visit. Firstly she told me it was 'the one with the big bird outside' which sounded pretty ominous. My mind was filled with Sesame Street images. Next she said that the sales guys from her office claimed the hotel was 'full of prostitutes' especially during trade-shows (we had just been to a trade show ...
...all the normal rooms were taken and been given a jungle-themed room with a four-poster bed and plastic palm trees. Apparently that room was normally rented 'by the hour' and the porn channels were second to none (hence the massive 42 inch flat screen TVs). I shuddered at the thought of what sort of place I was heading towards. Would my bed still be warm, I wondered?

==We arrive - with some trepidation ==
To say that my expectations ... more

As we sat in the car getting lost on the way to the hotel, my colleague Karin entertained me with horror stories about the hotel we were about to visit. Firstly she told me it was 'the one with the big bird outside' which sounded pretty ominous. My mind was filled with Sesame Street images. Next she said that the sales guys from her office claimed the hotel was 'full of prostitutes' especially during trade-shows (we had just been to a trade show of course). Another colleague had allegedly turned up late when all the normal rooms were taken and been given a jungle-themed room with a four-poster bed and plastic palm trees. Apparently that room was normally rented 'by the hour' and the porn channels were second to none (hence the massive 42 inch flat screen TVs). I shuddered at the thought of what sort of place I was heading towards. Would my bed still be warm, I wondered?

We arrive - with some trepidation

To say that my expectations were low would be an understatement. I was expecting a pretty dodgy hotel on the side of the motorway with little to offer anyone not looking for a very specific type of entertainment or a little bit of 'afternoon delight' with someone else's spouse. It didn?t get much better when we pulled up in the car park and Karin proceeded to hide or remove anything even vaguely valuable because she has Belgian number plates and was likely to get robbed. Excellent! You can guess how I was looking forward to my stay. We debated which of the many service station food options we would go for if we didn't fancy the hotel restaurant and I was expecting a pretty rubbish evening.

We trundled our bags through the car park, past some uninspiring looking Toblerone-shaped buildings, up the ramp and into an absolutely unexpectedly posh lobby. This was not the Dutch equivalent of a Travelodge which I'd been expecting. The lobby was massive, with lots of big leather Chesterfield sofas, a large check in desk and a warm and very inviting open fire. Yes, I'll admit there were some very tacky aspects of the place ? the giant eagle statue half way down the stairs and the stunning frilly-knickers curtains made of a fabric whose design was based on Delft blue pottery for example ? but overall it wasn't at all what I'd expected. In short, it didn't look like a knocking shop.

Checking In and not wanting to run away

We were checked in quickly and effectively and I was asked if I wanted to pay then or in the morning. Not knowing what costs I might need to put on my room (i.e. DINNER, not any of the other 'delights' on offer) I opted for the latter and they pre-authorised my card for 150 Euros. I'd been assigned a room at the opposite end of the hotel to Karin and when I commented on that, the receptionist offered to see if she could get us rooms in the same wing and proceeded to put me just a few rooms down from her. Already I was impressed at such service in a Dutch hotel. I should explain at risk of offending any Dutch hotel workers or waiters (and probably all Dutch people) that Dutch hotels and restaurants are the laughing stock of Europe for their typical 'couldn't give a damn' attitude to service.

My Room

Our rooms were downstairs from the lobby but not, thankfully, underground. If I'd wanted a lift, one was available but I didn't use it. When I reached my room it was spacious but the colour scheme in shades of brown and ginger was a bit drab. Being on the ground floor, I had a door onto a small terrace and the garden although the weather wasn't likely to make sitting out very viable. The room was furnished in mid-brown wood furniture with a very large bed (two full singles pushed together), a narrow desk and drawers and the biggest TV I can ever recall seeing in a hotel. All the better for viewing the 'extra' channels available for a supplement from reception. Dutch TV can be a bit racy at the best of times ? my modest and puritanical upbringing means I'm trying not to even think about what smut you can get for a few extra euros.

Two narrow wardrobes were available ? one with shelves and a safe, the other with long hanging space ? and there was a suitcase stand between with a mirror above. The bathroom was clean and basic with a separate shower hidden behind the door and a large bath. I can't tell you if there was a hair-dryer as I tend not to notice unless it's located somewhere really obvious. The toiletries provided were basic but adequate. Overall, the room scored well on size and not so well on décor, being a few years overdue for a bit of a refurb if the cigarette burns on the carpet were anything to go by. My husband rang to tell me that I'd once again forgotten my alarm clock but the phone system had an easy to set alarm system so I didn't need to worry.

Time for Dinner

The weather was cold, we'd had a long day and we didn't fancy going out to look for somewhere to eat so we headed up to the restaurant. I was amazed at the size of the place and can't recall when I've ever seen such a huge hotel restaurant before. The hotel was busy because of the trade show and many of the tables were set for large groups of 20 or 30 people but fortunately, they still found space to squeeze us in. Like the UK, Holland's not a country greatly renowned for its cuisine so we were expecting the menu to be rather basic but we were very wrong.

Because I don't eat meat it's usually quite easy to choose from a menu because there aren't that many suitable dishes but this time I had to really think hard about what to have because there were so many dishes to choose from including a lot of different dishes based on fish we don't see so often in the UK, such as panga. Karin was also struggling to make a decision and we were on our second drinks before we'd come to a firm conclusion. For starters I ordered scallop and salmon sashimi and she had an oriental chicken dish. For mains I wanted a field mushroom dish that wasn't available and settled instead for grilled barramundi, whilst Karin chose some kind of meat dish.

Waiting for the starters, we tucked into hot, fresh bread and when the starters arrived the portions were generous. Mine had about 8 thick slices of raw scallop and salmon laid across a shredded lettuce mound with little dots of wasabi to decorate the plate and a bamboo tube of soy sauce. Chopsticks were provided so I used them. Karin was oohing with delight over her chicken.

My main course was even more enormous ? two large pieces of juicy barramundi lying across a heap of vegetables. One piece would have easily been enough but it was so good that I polished off both. When reading the menu, we hadn't been too sure what the vegetable was supposed to be but I think that it should have been a bed of samphire, which to be honest, I don't really like. Fortunately there was no sign of samphire and I found bits of asparagus instead. The mains were served with three bowls of vegetables ? mixed boiled veg, small roast potatoes and crispy chips. Despite the hotel being ridiculously busy, nobody hurried us on our way and we spent another 45 minutes or so talking long after the food was finished and the plates taken away. My dinner came to about 37 Euros which would have been pretty good value if the pound hadn't collapsed in recent weeks.

Next morning we met for breakfast and nobody moved us on even though we stayed for about 3 hours covering off things we needed to do for work. We popped back and forth for more coffees and eventually left at around 11 am.

Check-Out

Check out was a nice surprise ? my room had cost just 79 Euros including breakfast ? a rate so good that I commented on the price to the receptionist who said my company had certainly done well to get such a good rate. Before we left I sent Karin downstairs to check out the outrageously glamorous bright pink ladies toilets. Not something you could live with long term, but impressive for a few minutes.

We both left the hotel feeling much more impressed than we'd expected and I'd certainly consider staying here again. The airport was a five minute drive from the hotel and served by a shuttle bus. Compared to other Schiphol airport hotels, this one beat all the others that I've tried including the Hilton, the Mercure and the Ibis.
 

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