HotelJudge.com: Netherlands, the » The-Hague

Impression
When we heard the name Sofitel, we could hardly believe that this could be a hotel, let alone a five-star hotel. Unfortunately, we were right. This hotel is situated right next to Den Haag’s Central Station – it’s practically attached to it. From the outside it looks absolutely horrible; big brown boards with white stripes cover the front of the hotel in order to make it windproof. You almost feel ashamed to unload your suitcase in front of this hotel. While speaking to the manager and staff we discovered how difficult it is for them to work here. For years they have been asking for permission to carry out renovations but the management of the Sofitel chain has to this day refused to give it to them.

reception
It’s already a big step to stop in front of this hotel and unload the trunk, if that’s even possible. There’s no parking lot in front of the hotel - which forces you to park your car on the sidewalk. Once you’re inside, you’re faced with a reception desk with wood that’s old and damaged. The staff would readily apologize for this hotel when you check in, but wisely chooses not to do so, as it would probably be against company policy to do so.

public areas
There is something that’s supposed to resemble a lounge, but we decided not to sit down since the chairs and couches were covered in stains and didn’t look very inviting. And we won’t even mention the floor. There’s also a bar/restaurant on the second floor, but it looks cheap and shabby.

rooms
The corridors leading to the rooms gave us new hope. Like the rooms themselves, they have been renovated in 2003 and this clearly shows. During our stay everything still smelled new. The rooms are decorated in a nice Portuguese/Spanish style, the only downside being that they’ve used too many dark colors. So the rooms actually look quite nice, but this isn’t enough to make a world of difference.

halls
There are two conference rooms in the hotel. These are nice, but hopelessly outdated; the lamps, for instance, look like they date back to the seventies. The ceilings, on the other hand, simply look awful and the size of the rooms is also disappointing. All in all, we advise you not to take the trouble of visiting this hotel, because it would be a waste of your time.

situation
The location is also unfortunate, as the hotel is situated right next to Central Station - which doesn’t make it a very pleasant neighborhood to find yourself in at night -, not to mention the fact that the hotel is miles from anywhere. The only positive side is that the station offers you a rich choice of trains, trams, buses and taxis that you can take to get to a different hotel.

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