Hotel Zwartewater

Totally miserable experience. We came here on a long distance bike trip, needing a place to sleep for the night. Sat out on the terrace, had a drink and were going to have dinner, but then loud, pounding music started up, so instead we went in town to eat. We came back to the hotel, went to our room, planning to get a good night's sleep so we could bike 40 miles the next day, but Surprise! The loud pounding music could now be heard in our room, and we couldn't sleep. We asked them to turn the music down, but nothing happened. We asked for another room, but were told no other rooms were available. We asked for a refund, but all we got was a shrug and were told that the music would only go until midnight. I have never ever been treated like this in any kind of hotel from the most modest, inexpensive to high end hotels. It's basic, or should be: you pay for a place to sleep and that's what you should get. Unfortunately, not at the Zwartewater.

Fine place, we did not try any of the amenities, so I'm not sure it really is a four star hotel. We were asked if we wanted breakfast the next day, and we replied if we could let them know in the morning. That brought a very sour expression on the receptionist's face. Why not smile and say it would be a great help for the kitchen if we could tell them the day before?

Our reservation was lost by the hotel. They found a room for us but not a deluxe room as we had reserved. Our new room was at a lesser cost but it was a much smaller room than we had booked. Also two twin beds not a king bed as we had booked. An apology would have been appreciated but none was offered. Other than that our stay was comfortable.

The owner, Sander, is extremely typical in being tight and inconsiderate of customers who are not satisfied. We had a flood in our bathroom due to the walk in shower, and even though he tried to fix it, it still flooded afterwards. Nothing was done about keeping us happy or compensating for this terrible experience. Showers were limited for us, they were cut short and caused inconvenience with us left with shampoo in our hair! No complimentary drink to say sorry, in fact no-one even apologised for any of the unfortunate events that occurred with the shower! So shocking and completely unprofessional. When I then look at their target audience, I realise the majority of the customers are over the age of 60, so they probably are oblivious to all the problems. Very defensive staff, especially on check out who just looked as pathetic as a teenager being told off. She obviously had been warned by Sander and went straight into defence mode. Again, very amateur and unprofessional. Also, the soap and shampoo facilities for a so-called four star hotel was a joke. Locked in tubes and half empty on the day of arrival. Four or five star hotels usually utilise miniature toiletries. I have travelled a lot and know that this method is typical of 2/3 star hotels or motels, which I tend to avoid. Again a way of saving money and a short cut. Lame. Just lame. The buffet dinner was bland, tasteless and rather disgusting. It is not live cooking - it is a shambles; children fingering all the food with dirty hands, and then expecting us to eat it. No thanks. Waste of money and complete rip off room prices. Best of luck to this potential old people's home. If my grandparents were still alive, I would still not recommend the hotel to them. They would deserve better, as did we. Have the decency not to rate yourself on what is visible on the surface (the view/location etc) but actually on the ins and outs of staying there. It is terrible but the worst thing was the staff's attitude. I am so happy they do not treat customers like this in the UK. Shame on Sander and his appalling staff. Disgusting. Useless. Waste of space. Good luck.

The location is great. Right on water, easy walk to downtown restaurant and shopping. The main problem we had was that the lady at the front desk was rude. We called on phone to ask if we can get a extra blanket. She rudely and abruptly said NO. I asked if we can get a couple of extra sheets instead of a blanket. She just lost it on that and shouted NO, NO, NO. Yes, three times.