Kasteel Engelenburg

Lovely dinner with family and friends. Never disappointed when we dine here or stay . The food is amazing and staff is incredibly attentive. Last summer spent four nights here for a family event and loved it. Beautiful setting and wonderful accommodations

Impressively handsome and historic old pile in a fabulous rural setting, a large proportion of which is a 9-hole golf course. Very well maintained, the house and its associated buildings are actually on a small island within the scenic grounds so the aerial view must be quite something. There's plenty of parking availability just an invigorating suitcase drag away from the main building. Happily, once inside, heritage retention rather than modernisation has been the strategy so there is a lot of character, and nothing on public view which grates or feels incongruous. All staff that we encountered were courteous, efficient and anxious to assist. Accommodation seems to be in two converted stable blocks which flank the main house. There's a bit of a South African theme in the Cape Dutch block where we were situated in a Deluxe Room. Once inside, to be honest, it felt small and a lot less than the 35m sq indicated. Not much in the way of free space and the bed was so close to the wardrobe that you could fall out of one into the other. In fact, there was so little room between the two that in lieu of a bedside cabinet was a wonky wooden flap about the size of a paperback. The rest of the room was a little on the drab side and furniture, fittings and decor were showing clear signs of wear and tear. Noise from the adjacent room and the external corridor was also apparent, but probably less of an issue once the golfers have headed home after the weekend. On the upside, the bed was really comfortable and we had a view over a jungly part of the lake. Also, the ample and old-school bathroom was attractively tiled and had a roomy and effective shower. The loo was separate which can also be beneficial. No problem with the cleaning or servicing either- the standard was always high. It was a short walk outside to get to the main house for breakfast each morning. We were always dealt with very civilly and given a good lakeview table in the rather swish conservatory restaurant. Always rather an occasion when the food arrived, with a flourish of presentation revealing some very creative output - certainly more theatrical than a buffet! We liked the breakfast guys; always very professional and on the ball in an understated way. We visited the bar each evening; an enjoyably gloomy but distinctive location illuminated mainly by the well-stocked bar itself. Although not manned all the time, someone regularly popped in to make sure that we were amply lubricated. We also used the lounge each afternoon for a quick reviver after a day of exploring. Very comfortable, with a lot of acknowledgement towards the golfing bias of the hotel and some very intriguing cabinets of elderly whiskies. It actually felt rather like scottish country house in there. In general, we enjoyed our stay at the Engelenberg and there is no denying that is a lovely hotel. I would certainly recommend, however, upgrading from a Deluxe Room for a visit longer than overnight. Apart from that -