ROOM (1st (2nd?) Floor - Queen (2 Twins?))
FRIDGE (Yes)…read moreMICROWAVE (No)
SAFE (Yes)
COFFEE MAKER (Yes - Electric Kettle)
IRON & BOARD (No)
TV (Philips 32" LCD HDTV)
ACCESSIBLE OUTLETS (4)
DESK (Yes)
COUCH (Single Chair)
FOLD OUT BED (No)
INTERNET (Free Unsecured Wifi)
BUSINESS CENTER (No)
FITNESS CENTER (Yes)
POOL/HOT TUB (No/No)
PARKING (Free)
RATE (August, 2018- ? Euros/night)
SOME INFO FOR US AMERICAN TRAVELERS
** Floors
Must be a European thing, since this is the case in India too, but the ground floor is 0 on the elevator. The basement is the "minus 1 floor," with a "-1" button on the elevator. The physical second floor is "1" on the elevator.
** A/C is OPTIONAL!
BE CAREFUL when making your booking! There are actually rooms without A/C. I didn't know this, and accidentally booked a non-A/C room during the hottest week Alkmaar has had in years! Luckily the front desk had pity on me, so they upgraded me! Whew!
** Shower Glass Only Covers Half the Tub
See the picture. There is a shower glass, that is on a hinge, that only covers half of the tub. I end up scrunching myself in the front of the shower, where the glass is, so I don't splash water on the ground.
PROS
** 4 Way Switch for the Main Room Light
There is a switch for the main room light as you walk in, and then there is a switch next to each side of the bed!
CONS
** A/C is a Jerk
Ok, so if you're lucky enough to get a room with A/C, you actually have to constantly attend to it! First, it wants to stay at 25 Celsius, which is 77 Fahrenheit. The ambient temperature while I was there was between 24-25 C, and I just prefer cooler. When I set it to as low as it goes (16 C), after a little bit (~30 min?) the thermostat suddenly bumps up to 25 C! In addition, every day when I came back from the office, the A/C was off. I thought it was the cleaning staff doing it, but while working in my hotel room on a weekend, I noticed it just suddenly turned off in the early afternoon! This was particularly annoying for me!
To top it off, one night, the A/C switched to vent and couldn't be changed. I called the desk and they came up but couldn't do anything either so I just had to sweat the night out. They gave me a fan, which was nice, but the fan was broken! Unfortunately, with me being hot all the time, the hotel loses major points for me for having such an annoying A/C system.
** Spiders in the Window
Every day when I come back from work, I noticed the A/C is off and the window is open. There are lots of spiders camped outside the window, and there's no screen, so when they leave it open a few of those suckers come in and chill in the inside corner of the window. While I've never seen one leave the window area, I did wake up to find a mysterious bite on my arm one morning. If you have arachnophobia, this can be problematic. I was not happy about this bite.
** Motion Sensor Only in Bathroom
The bathroom doesn't have a light switch, but only works with a motion sensor, and you're under its mercy! One day I brushed my teeth almost completely in the dark, and it only saw me once I reached for the towel. In addition to sometimes having to do the Thriller dance to get the lights on, you also don't have a say in when the lights turn off. So, if you use the bathroom in the middle of the night, the light stays on for several minutes, which, depending on your light sensitivity, could be a bother.
** "Queen" Bed is 2 Twin Beds
I actually saw this in the picture on the website making the booking, so I was sort of expecting it, but it's still weird. It's 2 twin beds pushed together. That's 2 bed frames, 2 foundations, 2 mattresses, 2 sheets, 2 comforters. So yeah, if you roll over in between the 2 beds in the middle of the night, yes, you could potentially fall through!
** Central Iron
There is no iron & ironing board in the room. Rather, on Floor 2, as the elevator says, there's a vending machine room that has an iron and board. So, yeah, it's a public use iron. Not sure if this is a typical thing, but it's inconvenient. Oh, and that little room is really warm, so i'm usually drenched in sweat after an ironing session!
** Laundry Service Doesn't Press!
This is the first place I've seen where the paid laundry service doesn't iron shirts, which is why I had to sweat it out in that ironing room a lot. They also don't hang the clothes, but just leave them folded in the bag, so you really have to iron!
FINAL THOUGHTS
The staff is really nice and accommodating. The fact that they were understanding about the A/C situation is evidence of that. I was only mildly annoyed by all these cons after the first week, and (mostly due to the staff) actually gave it 4 stars, but now having stayed just another week, I can't take it anymore! Honestly, I'd take a simple Marriott Courtyard if I had to stay this long again.
