Best Western Hotel Walram - Valkenburg, Netherlands     

Perhaps I should cross post to the Hotel de Boegarde, as that is actually the old part of this hotel, they use each other's rooms despite the De Boegarde not being a Best Western. However, the staff there being very pleasant and doing there best (no pun intended) it is a shame about the one night manager and the farce that ensued. Indeed, it's taken me four months to bear to remember the experience. Dramatic? Well let's see. Went there as part of a coach trip, was not expecting luxury. However, we arrived at 10.30 and I, case-laden and a solo female traveller, was advised that the lift did not go to "my part of the hotel". Duly, I dragged my case and laptop with me up a very typical (i.e. STEEP) staircase for three storeys. Place was deserted - eventually I managed to find my room and was (as many have pointed out) taken aback at how small, shabby and generally unpleasant it was, and also how cold - this being Ferbruary it was well under zero. There were cobwebs all up the walls and everything was dodgy - TV - everything. There was no heating at all in the bathroom, a skylight and the room was not really larger than a cupboard (getting to the shower was a challenge as the sink came out into the "room" without even being opposite the door - getting out of the shower was a shocking experience to the posterior even after the heating was fixed. So I tried to call Reception, having tried to put on the heating. No dial tone. I went down to Reception about that and also that there was no remote control for the television, which wouldn't function without one properly. I was told that everyone's heating had not been turned on but it should warm up within ten minutes (I'd turned it on 30 minutes before). They said they would look into the phone line and also gave me a remote control, confirmed that I COULD use the lift and off I went with the promise of a fan heater if I was still cold. 30 minutes later I called reception from my mobile phone, and was told that the heater would be brought up. Another 30 minutes later I went down to reception and this time spoke to the duty manager, who was - frankly - appalling. He didn't believe me about any of the issues so he came up to the room - and had to admit it was freezing. He didn't believe me about the phone so he went to get the emergency phone out of the lift and tested that (all in the manner of "stupid woman" despite me taking a very reasonable line with him - I am a Customer Service Manager by trade). Eventually he admitted that the phone was not working, and came back again (well after midnight) with a fan heater and an alarm clock. I finally had some form of heat so I braved the aforementioned shower - no sooner was I in there than the manager was banging on my door shouting to see if I was ok - the smoke detector had triggered cos the heater was old unused and dusty. I woke up in my cold room - which felt like a dystopian punishment cell - wondering why the hell I'd put myself into this situation. In fairness the heating was mended the next day and by morning three of four the room had actually approached something slightly above tepid (very cold outside!). The phone never did get fixed and it turned out that all the lines in the old part on that floor were down. The other passengers were in couples or with families in other parts of the hotel, they also were concerned about the lack of phones but none of them had spent the night in the chiller cabinet. Even as a single room it was small, there was less than a single bed's width from the edge of the bed to the wall, with space to totter and accomodating a shelf and a single door wardrobe. All in all it was dreadful. The Walram itself is pleasant enough, the other staff were all very helpful and the restaurant was very nice considering that it was out of season. The location is also great ... but make sure if you book that you specify exactly where you wish to stay, get confirmation from the hotel and complain like hell if you get put in one of the manky de Boegarde rooms. And if that Duty Manager is still there - I don't recall his name, began with a G ... be ready to be patronised massively and encounter one of the most unpleasant and incompetent hotel staff members I have ever EVER met!