Month: April 2016

Hilton Rotterdam

Leave a comment

13

Hotelchain: Hilton
Location: Rotterdam – The Netherlands
Classification: 5 star hotel
Official website: hiltonhotels.com/…erland/hilton-rotterdam

12

The Hilton Rotterdam is one of the finest 5 star properties of Rotterdam. It is perfectly located in the city center of Rotterdam and lies on the Coolsingel, next to the Hofplein which makes this Hilton suitable for both business travelers and tourists wishing to visit this city or for shopping. As you may know, Rotterdam is just great for shopping and all the main shopping areas are just within walking distance. Be sure to visit the Market Hall, the locals are pretty proud of that market and gorgeous it is!

This hotel is huge featuring 254 comfortable rooms and suites. You will notice as soon as you enter! Although the building itself is quite old, the entire hotel has been renovated in 2013. As most Hiltons, the reception/lobby area is spacious and luxurious! Everything in here looks brand new! I was in love with the overall decoration and style throughout the hotel, it is just beautiful and of a true 5 star level. The cozy sitting areas with fireplaces are great to hang out. Check-in staff was very professional and told us everything we needed know about the hotel and surrounding areas.

8
9

The rooms at the Hilton Rotterdam are beautiful (are there bad Hilton rooms anyway?). Again, they look brand new. I especially liked the beds, they are very comfortable and I had a great night’s sleep! I appreciated the small typical Dutch touches such as the decoration in the room. Other 5 star amenities are the Nespresso coffee machine, bathrobes and a Bose Docking Station. The small couch in the room was perfect for surfing on my iPad! The marble bathroom had a bath tub and single sink. All in all, great rooms here!

10
6
4 3

The modern Stadshal Bar & Restaurant offers a modern kitchen and the decoration is trendy. The brasserie styled menu is varied and they use fresh products and ingredients. Breakfast is offered here as well and the buffet style breakfast was amazing. I could not ask for a better start of the day!

5

Our room was located on one of the executive floors which means we had access to the beautiful executive lounge. The lounge itself is one of the nicest Hilton Lounges I have seen. What a nice place to relax and have a great evening! From 6pm – 8.30pm small bites are offered. Non-alcoholic cold and hot drinks are available all day long. Alcoholic drinks such as wine, beer and some spirits are available from 6pm – 10pm. I do recommend upgrading to an executive room. It is worth your money and you won’t be sorry! Guests can also enjoy a small breakfast buffet here during the morning.

1
2 7.jpeg

If you are into working out, a full size fitness center is available 24hrs. The gym is located on the ground floor and is pretty spacious with a lot of day light which is great as most fitness centers are located in some sort of basement.

11

The Hilton Rotterdam definitely is one of my favorite hotels in Rotterdam! What makes this hotel so special is the service they provide. Staff is always helpful and every request has been taken care of with a smile! Thumbs up and highly recommended!

InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam

Leave a comment

Knipsel

Hotelchain: Intercontinental
Location: Amsterdam – The Netherlands
Classification: 5 star hotel
Official website: amsterdam.intercontinental.com

1

The famous five star Intercontinental Amstel is one of the very best hotels Amsterdam has to offer! When we arrived, we were wowed by the beautiful building. It is such an amazing building… Since its opening in 1867, the hotel has been the most prestigious hotel in town and probably in the whole Netherlands and I can tell you why …

When they open the door for you, you will be amazed by the most amazing lobby area. Although the InterContinental Amsterdam is quite small with only 79 rooms and suites, you wouldn’t tell when you see such a stunning lobby. Did you know that originally the hotel would have been a lot bigger with some extra wings? Luckily, the hotel is now relatively small. It does have this grand feeling and we were welcomed as royalties. What a great start! To be honest, I experienced one of the best check-in’s ever! The staff was so accommodating and professional. No impersonal check-in here, they do take their time to explain everything while we were enjoying a glass of Prosecco. We were escorted to the room where they explained everything in a very professional yet no snobby way.

10
9

We stayed in an executive suite and trust me, they are amazingly decorated with plenty of space! It has a separate living area with comfy couches and oversized desk. The bedroom had the best bed ever and had another popping-up television, very fun! The marble bathroom was very large and featured bath tub, large separate toilet and shower with rain head and oversized single sink. Great toiletries here as well and plenty including dental and saving kit. Loved it!

11.jpg
19.jpg 21.jpg

One thing I truly appreciated about this place is that they kept almost every detail of the past, such as the beautiful grand staircase in the lobby. It has been there since the opening of the hotel, 150 years ago.

On the lower level there is a full spa center with gym. The indoor pool is just gorgeous and right at the same level of the Amstel river. It was like swimming in the river when I was looking outside, enjoying the pool. Right next to the pool, a sauna and steam room can be used as well. The (cold) dipping pool was great after a sauna session.

8.jpg

From the moment we walked in the door, until we stepped into our car heading home, everything was perfect here at the InterContinental Amsterdam Amstel! Highly recommended for a luxurious getaway in Amsterdam!

Rosewood Abu Dhabi

Leave a comment

Knipsel         

Hotelchain: Rosewood hotels
Location: Abu Dhabi– UAE
Classification: 5 star hotel
Official website: rosewoodhotels.com/en/abu-dhabi

1.PNG

The Rosewood hotel Abu Dhabi is one of the top rated hotels in the city. It was the first time I got the chance to explore a Rosewood Collection hotel and truly was blown away with this property. The 34-storey building itself is ultra modern and huge, but the Rosewood hotel has ‘only’ 189 rooms and truly has a boutique feeling. The Rosewood Abu Dhabi opened in 2013 and is ideally located on the waterfront of Sowwah Square. It is directly connected with the largest luxury shopping mall of Abu Dhabi, The Galleria.

8.jpg

This ultra luxurious hotel is not just a ‘hotel’, to me it is a destination… Let me tell you why…

Upon arrival we were greeted warmly and we were really overwhelmed by the design of the lobby area. Very tastefully and attention to details. We couldn’t have felt more welcomed by the staff. The check-in staff were absolutely excellent, they could not have been more friendly and helpful. Check-in was seamless with zero wait.

13
10

The room we stayed in was absolutely breathtaking. It was spacious to the point that we felt we had an apartment. We declared that we could just live here. The quality of furnishing was excellent. The bathroom was one of the nicest bathroom I have seen in any hotel. I took a bath in the most wonderful bath tub ever and enjoyed every single second of it! Standard amenities were of a very high standard. Everything in the room such a lighting, drapes, etc. is electronically controlled with an iPad. I just can’t say enough good things about the rooms at the Rosewood Abu Dhabi! You really have to experience it yourself! By the way, the views were amazing (as you could see on the second picture – just stunning!)

4
15
2

The outdoor pool area is stunning with a the nicest swimming pool I have seen in Abu Dhabi. Sun loungers are of a very good quality and they provide complimentary water, sun cream and a refreshing facial spray. Top service! There’s a separate tanning area where you can enjoy sunshine all day long.

11

The Rosewood Abu Dhabi has 9 dining options, from lounges to fine dining restaurants… they have it all! Breakfast is serves at Aqua and as you could expect from such a luxurious hotel, the quality of the food was excellent. The lobby lounge is a perfect place for hanging out, relaxing and reading a book. I should also mention the cleanness of the entire hotel. If you told me that the hotel opened just a few days ago, I would have believed it!

6

We had dinner at Sambusek with a Lebanese cuisine. Sambusek delights seafood lovers with the quality and freshness of its ingredients from the local fish market. The atmosphere was so nice here, we were sitting outside and enjoyed the cool vibe around the place. Do try the hot mezzeh ‘Cheese Sambusek’ as a starter… a fried dough stuffed with feta and akkawi cheese, it is just delicious! As a main course I enjoyed the traditional kebab and enjoyed every bite. As said, the atmosphere is great and live music was sooo nice.

17
16 18

I was sad to leave the Rosewood Abu Dhabi as I felt at home here! Can’t wait to visit this hotel again! Highly recommended!

Suite Novotel – The Hague

Leave a comment

Hotelchain: Suite Novotel
Location: The Hague – The Netherlands
Classification: 4 star hotel
Official website: novotel.com/…haag-city-centre/index.shtml

1

Located in the center of The Hague, the Suite Novotel is a centrally located 4 star hotel. I must say that this beautiful city is great for shopping and this hotel is right in the middle of it all. The Suite Novotel The Hague is a brand new hotel and the concept is fairly new as well. No regular rooms here, just suites which I will write more about later. There’s a young and cool vibe throughout the hotel and the design is quite trendy. The reception area is bright and airy, I saw several people actually working in the lounge area socializing with other guests, great! The reception is not located on the ground floor, you first have to take the elevator to access the hotel’s reception. Complimentary hot drinks such as coffee, tea, etc. are offered all day long here. The home made cake was yummy too, by the way! A must try!

8
9

As I told before, this is an all-suite hotel. The suites are pretty spacious offering a small sitting area with comfy couch, small kitchenette and comfy bed. The bathroom has both a bathtub and (rain)shower. I felt quite at ease here, they used neutral colors and trendy furniture. I truly appreciated the comfy couch! It was so nice to relax after a full day of shopping, watching a great movie in this great couch. I wanted some light bites and luckily there’s a small shop in the lobby area where you can buy some snacks and drinks at fair prices.

5.jpeg 2.jpeg
3.jpeg 4.jpeg

There’s a fitness center available and although the place wasn’t huge, the equipment was great. By the way, they give free (!) massages on thursday nights, how cool is that? This hotel even has an ironing room.

6.jpeg

The next day we had breakfast and what a great start of the day it was! There was plenty of choice and the overall quality of the food was excellent! The freshly squeezed orange juice was delicious!

The Suite Novotel The Hague is an excellent four star hotel with great service and outstanding suites! All the main shopping malls and restaurants are within walking distance. Highly recommended for a short getaway!