For us giving a hotel 5 stars is not about how fancy or "white glove" it is. Rather, we value the…read morecomfort, feel, affordability and authenticity of the experience. Hotel de Magneet offers all of these plus the location is kick-ass. We arrived off the street and asked for two rooms. The hotel was full. However, they were able to shuffle rooms for us and we ended up in the two bedroom apartment (penthouse suite). This is not a fancy joint but it is comfortable. Our suite was in a typical Dutch home loft with sloped skylit ceilings and a bit of a maze to find the second bedroom and a full kitchen....oh and the stairs.....only in The Netherlands. We ended up with a private balcony with a view of a canal and the grotekerk. The hotel is outside the high street and main square area but Hoorn is so small it doesn't make any difference. The harbor is only a few blocks away and parking here is a snap. We suspect what happened to us is not part of their daily routine but their effort to accommodate us was. We would definitely stay here again. PS The Apple Pie was wonderful.

So incredibly beautiful. It's absolute tranquility. The amount of creativity just to remodel this…read moreold fort into a stunning spa is hard to imagine. We both stayed in the hotel and enjoyed the spa. I loved the ease of using wristbands to pay for everything. While we were probably the only Americans there, we didn't have any issues figuring out what we were supposed to do. Most people spoke English and they have English menus at the restaurants as well. It's worth the drive to visit

Located in de Beemster, in an old fortress. Clean, lots of sauna's, pools, relax rooms. Good food,…read morebit expensive but a relax whallah !

Nice hotel centrally located in Alkmaar. Rooms were very spacious and beds were comfortable. The…read morecinema next door did create a slight "explosive boom" at times during the night so if you are a light sleeper or go to bed early you may want to ask for a room away from it. Buffet breakfast had a reasonable selection including some hot food.

This is one of the best hotels I have ever stayed in. I upgraded to a room with a spa tub. The room…read morewas spacious and beautiful. The tub was enjoyable and is very comfortable for one person, perhaps even two. The hotel is in the historical center of the city, and is walking distance from several restaurants, shops, and the cheese market. Breakfast was included in the room rate, and the food looked better than I am used to from hotels, but I did not get a chance to try it. The hotel does not have its own parking, but it is possible to drive up to the hotel to unload baggage and park in one of the nearby parking structures at an affordable rate. On top of being one of the more enjoyable hotel stays I have ever experienced, it was also one of the least expensive.

This was a beautiful clean resort that we would definitely go back to. It was easy to navigate…read morethrough. And the staff was great

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.

Stumbled across this place when going to the cheese market and tried kitchens choice lunch special…read moreand it was amazing.

This is a very nice hotel within walking distance from the train station. Very nice rooms with a…read morelot of sunlight and large showers. They offer very nice breakfast with a lot of options. Staff is friendly and it is very fairly priced.

The staff is super friendly and helpful. We had an issue with air conditioning the first night. It…read morecouldn't be fixed right away, and the hotel was completely booked so we couldn't change rooms. We got plenty of fans and a lot of empathy from the manager and the staff (which goes a long way). The next day, we got a new room with excellent AC a view of the ocean and the sound of ocean waves to fall to sleep with at night. In response to the first day's AC issue, we were comp'd breakfast for all six mornings we were there... and, since we're talking about breakfast, let me tell you it is awesome! The spread of fresh meat, cheeses, eggs, salad, and baked goods is on par with what you would find at a Four Seasons in the US (with less posh). Oh, and don't get me started on the coffee maker that pumps out espresso, coffee and cappuccino with a perfect top of crema every time! I kinda got addicted to it. They miss the 5 star rating from me for one reason though: we had a "queen" room and it was just two twin beds pushed together. They weren't the nice, comfy, foam mattresses that I usually find in Europe but the type with springs, and the springs were old and had seen better days. And, since its two beds pushed together, there's always an extremely uncomfortable gap in the middle so, cuddlers beware--you're gonna both have to cuddle on a twin bed or fall into the crack! It is the only reason (and a major reason) I might not choose to stay here again.

We recently had a family reunion and stayed at the Stempels Hotel in Haarlem, Netherlands. We were…read moreso pleased with the location and charm of the hotel Not only did it have a great restaurant, but it was in walking distance to a variety of eateries. The rooms were very pleasant. I've never been to a hotel that had such a friendly and helpful staff. They were all WONDERFUL. If you get a chance to stay in Haarlem, Netherlands, try the Stempels Hotel.

Beautiful hotel with excellent service. You feel here in…read morethis hotel like a very special person! Everything is perfect! If you want a special experience, you have to visit this hotel.

The grounds are breath taking and impeccable! The castle setting and pristine views make you feel…read moreso royal. The location is serene and quiet.Rent bikes from the hotel and around the country side and ride to Harderwijk to sip wine by the river Vecht. The rooms are like little private residences and not hotel-esq at all. Updated, modern and clean. The restaurant staff and amazing food is mind blowing. I recommend the tasting menu with wine pairing. We will stay here again next year. The location is easy enough to take the train to Amsterdam or Rotterdam. We were over impressed with this hotel and wish we could have stayed another night. Highly recommend this hotel.