Find the Cheap Vijlen Hotels

I stayed here as part of a group holiday from 'SNP Natuurreizen'. The location is great for walking and cycling. I liked the wall paintings, the garden and the small aviary in the courtyard. The personnel was very friendly and accommodating. I had a nice room with a view on the courtyard and (over the opposite roof) to the hills. Breakfast was good, and we enjoyed good dinners at Geulhof Mechelen, since the dining area was closed (for refurbisment, as I understood it).

Though we weren't expecting our rooms to be in the Kasteel itself, the accommodation in the modern blocks was corporate and dingy and though described as ”deluxe with a balcony” had no views of the ancient pile or anything of particular interest. To be honest, I have stayed in more interesting Travel Lodges in the UK and paid half the price. The whole place oozed mediocrity, from the check-in clerk who volunteered no recommendations on how to experience the Kasteel which was, in effect, sealed off to tourists, to our bathroom which had no natural light or air and a shower situated in the bath. All very disappointing. Dinner in the Old Water Mill was marred by a delay of 25 minutes before we saw a menu and extremely long gaps between courses which we put down to a shortage of kitchen staff or maybe a lack of english menus; both seemed plausible. The food itself was high quality/mid-range though definitely not gourmet or fine-dining. Oddly, Limburg wines were not included on the wine list but a very limited number of bottles from the best promoted vineyard in the region were available by the glass on request. The entremet was literally inedible though I appreciated the free glass of dessert wine I was given in compensation. Service had its faults such as asking us what we wanted to drink before we had been given any kind of drinks/wine list but was generally characterised by a sincere effort to provide attentive service. We opted not to have the breakfast buffet at 23 euros a throw and though the check-out clerk verbally acknowledged we hadn't partaken, somehow he included a line item on the bill ”breakfast excluded” which added 46 euros to the bill (yes, added) which we only discovered as we prepared to drive off. Utter stupidity and a symbolically apt end to our misadventure at Kasteel Vaalsbroek.

Wij verbleven in dit hotel voor 3 nachten met een herfst arrangement aanbieding van der Valk Exclusief. Hotel heeft zeker een kasteel uitstraling met ruime hoge gangen en een klassieke inrichting en een mooi ingerichte bar. In het herfst arrangement zijn ook 2 x 3 gangen diners opgenomen, daar hebben wij wel opmerkingen over hoe dit afgehandeld werd. 1. Bij het eerste diner kwamen wij er achter dat er geen keuze mogelijkheid was, er was een 3-gangen menu voor ons vastgesteld. Dit vonden wij wel vreemd, bij andere van der Valk hotels met hetzelfde arrangement heb je wel keuze vrijheid. Wij zijn wel akkoord gegaan met het voor ons vastgestelde 3-gangen menu, wat verder een heerlijke culinaire ervaring was. 2. Na het 3-gangen menu hebben wij nog een koffie en een thee besteld om het diner af te ronden, hierbij werden wij verrast met een presentatie van 6 handgemaakte bonbons. Even waren wij in de veronderstelling dat de bonbons een geste van het restaurant was, echter toen wij de rekening kregen bleek dat deze geste een sigaar uit eigen doos was en ongevraagd was toegevoegd aan onze rekening. 3. Bij het t****e diner, konden wij ons niet verenigen met het voor ons vastgestelde 3 -gangen menu, 1ste en 2e gang waren visgerechten en wij zijn geen vis liefhebbers. Het 3-gangen menu kon wel aangepast worden echter bij het opmaken van de rekening is hiervoor wel een meerprijs in rekening gebracht. Het eten was wederom heerlijk. 4. Ook na dit t****e diner hebben wij weer een koffie en een thee besteld en ook dit keer kwamen de 6 handgemaakte bonbons weer op tafel, wij hebben vriendelijk medegedeeld dat we deze niet hoefde. De bediening gaf aan dat het gebruikelijk was dat de bonbons deel uitmaakte van een bestelling koffie en thee. De bonbons bleven op tafel. Maar zijn door ons niet genuttigd. 5. Bij het opmaken van de rekening kwam natuurlijk de kwestie met de bonbons naar voren, want deze waren wederom toegevoegd aan de rekening. Er ontstond een redelijk heftige woordenwisseling met de leidinggevende van het restaurant, welke de toevoeging op de rekening probeerde te verdedigen met het doortrekken van de culinaire ervaring van het diner. Deze discussie was buitengewoon klant onvriendelijk en in onze ogen buitengewoon onprofessioneel daar uiteindelijk de rekening toch werd aangepast. Jammer dat het zo geëindigd is anders was de belevenis helemaal top geweest.

We stayed here for a night and it’s basic and fine. The breakfast just had the necessities like some eggs, bread, cheese, ham, etc. but it was good. They also had a nice coffee machine so if you want to drink a cappuccino you can! While the breakfast area was small, it was enough to seat quite a few guests. When we arrived (I believe it was around 8:30am) there were tables that were not cleared yet and during our breakfast only one of those tables was cleared and cleaned which is something they could improve so the guests don’t have to stare at trash all the time. The room did not have a fan or an airconditioning, which is fine, but we also could not open the windows at night because they did not have screens and there were quite a lot mosquitoes and other unwelcome guests waiting to get into our room. The windows were also extremely dirty which is quite disgusting since they open inwards. The beds were clean and the mattress was soft and surprisingly comfortable! The bathroom had soap and showergel/conditioner attached to the wall and the showerhead was small but powerful. For the elderly there was a chair in the shower so you could sit down. The towels were clean and there were two shower towels per person. (the smell in the room also gave away a lot of elderly stay there) The surroundings of the hotel are beautiful so for people wanting to cycle or hike its perfect. Outside the hotel is a seating area where you can drink something. The seats were comfortable and there was plenty of shade. While you drink your cold beverage you can enjoy the view of a small lake and fountain separating the hotel from a main road. We read online this was a 2 star hotel but it was worth 4 stars. In our opinion everything was fine but compared to other 2 and 3 star hotels we stayed at it is definitely not worth 4 stars. Definitely a hotel to consider for an event so you basically only have to sleep there. Don’t expect too much. + comfortable mattress + nature + fresh breakfast - cleanliness - check-in - heavy old school room key