We checked in shortly before 2 PM on 9th Oct. 2022 at the Van der Valk Akersloot for a 3 day stay (Deluxe room incl. breakfast). We were asked to pay in advance & were also asked whether we wanted to book a table for dinner, which we agreed to, & were also asked to pay for in advance, so we made a deposit of 100 € by credit card.
We were both very thirsty & wanted to make a cup of tea in our room but there were no cups available, only tiny espresso paper cups.
My husband had been unwell in the car so we had the idea to made a Covid self-test. My husband tested positive whereas I was negative.
We decided to inform the hotel immediately & went to reception. We both wore FFP2 masks.
The lady at reception said she would get someone from the management which I was grateful for because I did not really want to discuss this in front of other people.
She came back on her own, however, and told us we were to stay in our room & were not allowed to go to the restaurant, which seemed obvious to us. I just complained about being thirsty and she said we could make tea in our room, but my husband said there were no cups, so she said I will give you cups and turned around to take tea glasses from the bar and, WHILST HANDING THEM OVER TO ME, she intimated me to “KEEP DISTANCE!!!”
I said “Calm down, I do not have the pest” and my husband added we were both wearing FFP2 masks. At this moment “THE” manager, (who had remained under cover until then), made his entry, raised his voice & made sure ALL EYES WERE ON US whilst he said he was not willing to argue about the effectiveness of masks with us and we were to stay in our room for 3 days and order from room service. He looked really nasty. A NASTY BIT OF WORKS.
At this point I said to my husband in French that, under the circumstances, I had no intention to stay for 3 days. “THE” manager was quick to say that he could arrange for some refund if we left early.
We came back to our room, made tea and ordered dinner for 18:00 and breakfast for 08:30 next morning. I wish to stress that I have myself always felt perfectly fit though I was worried about the long trip back home next day.
I had asked the receptionist whether she had a thermometer and she said no and whether there was a hotel doctor, which was also negative.
There was no interest for two people obviously not very young (my husband will soon be 85), no compassion or empathy for our well-being. We were just left to our own devices.
We went back to the room, made tea and I ordered dinner for 18:00 and breakfast for 08:30 the next morning. My husband later called reception to confirm we were indeed leaving the next day.
In the morning I packed everything again and was busy in the bathroom. 08:30 came and went and no breakfast was served, so I called reception and was told that “breakfast had been cancelled”. What do you mean, cancelled?
“Breakfast is not included”, she said. What do you mean, I asked? We have paid 3 nights in advance including breakfast, plus have deposited 100 € in advance for dinner, and now you are telling me breakfast is not included & you CANCELLED breakfast for 2 people who are segregated to their room? I got quite mad by this time. At this point I was told that “If you are screaming, I am just going to hang up”.
No, you are not going to hang up, I said, because I have ordered breakfast last night at the same time I ordered dinner, I have even specified what we would like and you cannot just cancel it, you have got our money IN ADVANCE.
Well, she finally admitted there was a mistake, so I said, “OK, you make it right again, then”.
Breakfast was eventually served at 9 o’clock. There were two calls from reception afterwards, to ask for a Bank Account for the reimbursement and one asking us to leave “BY THE BACK DOOR”. (!!!)
and the refund was delivered BY ENVELOPE to our door (!!!)
A final comment on our experience is that Hotels are - or should be - all about people. They are not about design, furniture, gadgets, or swimming pools. Hotels are about hospitality.
We started off from Switzerland on Oct 2 for a tour of the Netherlands exclusively in Van der Valk Hotels. Akersloot was the 4th Van der Valk of our trip.
Covid is among us. We only stayed and ate at Van der Valk Hotels, so the chances are great that my husband picked it up in one of those hotels along the way.
These things happen but it was the very first time it happened to us in 3 years and it was scary - because of our age of course - but more so because of the way we were treated. No assistance whatsoever was offered, no interest about our fate, they just wanted our money and that we disappear. So to all of you who would like to take a break but are unsure because of Covid: do not go to Van der Valk Akersloot. They are totally incompetent. They have no idea how to cope with Covid. They just want to airbrush Covid from their hotel. They have no idea about hospitality, they are an excuse of a hotel.
A side note to say that the evening we arrived we felt a little chilly, so I went to have a look at the radiator in the left corner by the bed of room 25 on the ground floor. I deeply regret that I did not take a photograph, but the filth of many years was solidified in it, as thick as a carpet. Horrible. Never seen anything like that anywhere else. Filthy, disgusting. And the carpet on the floor was equally filthy. Never again.
