Van der Valk Hotel Assen - Assen, Netherlands 

A large, rambling, quite modern property on the outskirts of Assen, beside the motorway. Miles from shops, although there is a Chinese nearby, Has one restaurant, one bar; basically a motel, with large rooms presumably designed for family stays. Adequate furnishings, broadband throughout at a reasonable price. Large but bare bathrooms with that blasted liquid soap that strips all the oil out of your skin and brings you out in a rash - take a bar of your own. Some rooms are a long, long way from the reception, through a maze of corridors, doors, stairs and bridges. A nightmare with luggage. Reception efficient, but the usual empty "tip" column on checkout - how I hate that. Restaurant service slow and haphazard, the staff don't really seem to care, but are pleasant enough. Food was fine when it came and portions good. Don't expect anything after 2100. A surprisingly high-tech bar, with rather cold decor and a chilly atmosphere. Breakfast was adequate but average, very typical Dutch fare, low on fibre and high on carbs and fats. Has room service and a minibar. No shop for sundries. Another anonymous hotel full of tired businessmen and corporate meetings on the cheap. Fit for purpose, forgettable.

We booked into this motel in Assen because we had stayed at a van de Valk motel previously and had been very impressed. This made our disappointment all the greater when we encountered a frosty reception from a surly and unwelcoming lady at the front desk and we subsequently found that this was typical of just about all staff we encountered. As we are both Dutch speakers there was no element of language misunderstanding to explain away the manners of many of the staff – they are just downright discourteous. During breakfast on two successive mornings serving staff seemed to find the presence of guests a major inconvenience and responded to questions in the curtest and most unfriendly manner possible. One gets the impression they would be happier working in a correctional institution rather than in the hospitality industry. The breakfast buffet proved excellent as regards quality and quantity – the only exception being the fried, or rather undercooked, bacon, which was of the consistency and appearance of rubber and swimming in grease. We ate dinner in the restaurant one evening – the quality of food was adequate to good but the service would have benefited for being less uncouth. The motel is very large and some of the rooms are remote from the reception area – women travelling alone might want to request accommodation closer to the central area since there does seem to be a crime problem in the vicinity, as evidenced by warning notices about thefts from the car-park. Our room accommodation was excellent and the bathroom (which was vast) contained a separate shower cubicle as well as a bath. Toiletries were restricted to a squeeze bottle of liquid soap on the wall. On two successive days other guest’s room service tray seemed to have been left in the corridors for seemingly endless times, making a very unhygienic impression. The motel is conveniently located for motorway access on the edge of the town, but since parking is difficult in the rather gaudy and characterless town centre this can be a drawback if one wants to go there. On balance, this is a motel which could be a very attractive proposition were a little more effort made by the management - courtesy costs nothing. We would not wish to stay there again.