Duinzicht

Had a wonderful stay on a cold moody Winter Solstice. I watched the sunrise on the beach in the south and road the farms of the north all afternoon and only saw three other people the entire day. It was an incredibly special experience. As I arrived back in town the first warm and welcoming sight I saw was The Duinzicht Hotel. Usually I would look at the place and think, wow, I wish I was staying there, this time I was. What a delight.

Pros: Great restaurant and the jacuzzi tub in my room. Staff was friendly and the food was delicious.

Cons: Only complaint. No chairs on my outside patio, even in the dead of winter I wanted to sit and catch some fresh air. May have just been an oversight.

Location: Bike riding and wild life watching. Miles of endless sandy beaches.

I had booked a room with a balcony/terrace.We were given a room without either. The owner firstly blamed myself for changing the booking and then he blamed the booking agency. He was rude, arrogant and talked across me when I tried to speak. There was no proper reception as it also functioned as the bar in the dining room. When we arrived there was no welcome - just a woman who said "Name?" I never saw her smile once. The owner and other staff were all too busy serving the diners to give hotel guests any attention. The only pleasant and friendly member of staff was a young woman working as a cleaner who showed us to our room. The rest of the staff could learn some great interpersonal skills from her. At breakfast, no member of staff appeared until five minutes after opening by which time there were already 20 or so people sitting down. Again, there was no welcome or smiles given to any person that I saw. Altogether this was an unfortunate and unpleasant choice of hotel and the unfriendliness and the outright rudeness of the owner made me think of the sitcom 'Fawlty Towers'. However, it was not nearly so funny in real life. Clearly a mistake had been made in our booking, but the owner refused to accept any responsibility for this and refused to even offer an apology as he said it was not his fault. Blaming the customer and the booking agency was clearly not the right thing to do. If you want a pleasant stay on this lovely island, please do not go to this hotel.