Villa Ruimzicht
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Hotel Details
Location
Villa Ruimzicht · Doetinchem, Netherlands
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Key Highlights
- ✓Beautiful Surroundings: The hotel is situated within a historic park (arboretum) featuring ancient trees, offering a serene and green environment.
- ✓Breakfast: The breakfast, often a live cooking buffet, receives consistent praise for being wonderful, exceptionally good, and offering plenty of choices.
- ✓Slow Elevator: Several guests have mentioned the elevator being exceptionally slow, leading them to prefer the stairs.
- ✓Inconsistent Service: While generally excellent, some rare feedback indicated less enthusiastic or proactive service from certain staff members.
Expert Review: Villa Ruimzicht
Hotel Review: Villa Ruimzicht, Doetinchem, Netherlands (Michelin Key Selected Property)
Villa Ruimzicht in Doetinchem, a Michelin Key Selected property, offers guests a unique blend of historic charm and contemporary luxury, set within a beautiful monumental building and park. It is widely praised for its exceptional dining experiences, distinctive design, and tranquil location, though some minor points of contention occasionally arise.
1. Overall Rating & Sentiment
The general consensus for Villa Ruimzicht is overwhelmingly positive, with guests frequently describing it as an excellent and atmospheric hotel. It is often highlighted as a luxurious 4-star establishment that prioritizes service and comfort, providing an unforgettable experience for both leisure and business travelers. Review scores for staff, location, cleanliness, and comfort are generally high.
2. Key Highlights
Guests consistently praise several aspects of Villa Ruimzicht:
- Historic Ambiance & Design: The hotel is housed in a magnificent monumental building from 1853, formerly a boarding school, which has been transformed into a luxurious space that beautifully fuses its historical character with modern Dutch Design interiors. Artworks contribute to a charming ambiance.
- Culinary Excellence: The on-site Restaurant Lokaal, led by Chef Bjorn Massop, is a major draw, boasting a Green Michelin Star for its sustainable and farm-to-table approach, utilizing seasonal and local ingredients from the Achterhoek region. The restaurant also holds a Gault&Millau rating of 14.5/20.
- Beautiful Surroundings: The hotel is situated within a historic park (arboretum) featuring ancient trees, offering a serene and green environment.
- Service & Hospitality: The staff are frequently commended for being welcoming, friendly, and highly supportive.
- Free Amenities: Free Wi-Fi and ample free private parking are appreciated conveniences.
3. Room Quality
Villa Ruimzicht offers 42 spacious rooms with unique themes and styles, combining the historical atmosphere of the building with contemporary design. Guests have described rooms as luxurious, well-equipped, clean, and comfortable. Some specific room features mentioned include large spaces, comfortable beds (though one guest found a bed soft), good coffee makers, and comfortable, large bathrooms. Rooms also typically feature air conditioning, flat-screen TVs, and tea/coffee making facilities. While generally positive, some guests have noted that certain rooms or bathrooms can appear "a bit dated". The lighting system in some rooms has also been described as difficult to operate.
4. Dining Experience
The dining experience at Villa Ruimzicht is a significant highlight:
- Restaurant Lokaal: This restaurant is celebrated for its multi-course meals crafted with sustainable, seasonal, and locally sourced ingredients, reflecting a "farmer-to-plate" concept. Many guests have described the food as fantastic, excellent, varied, and remarkable, with high-quality flavors.
- Breakfast: The breakfast, often a live cooking buffet, receives consistent praise for being wonderful, exceptionally good, and offering plenty of choices.
- Bar & Bites: For more informal options, Bar & Bites offers a relaxed setting for lunch, cocktails, and snacks, also focusing on local ingredients.
- Criticisms: Despite the overall high quality, some guests have expressed concerns regarding the portion sizes at Restaurant Lokaal being too small, especially considering the price, leading to a perception of poor value for money in some instances. Some have also found the breakfast to be expensive when not included in a package.
5. Service & Staff
The staff at Villa Ruimzicht are frequently highlighted as a strong asset. Guests consistently report them as welcoming, friendly, highly supporting, and professional. The hospitality and attentiveness of the staff contribute significantly to a warm and cozy atmosphere. However, there have been isolated comments suggesting that some younger staff might appear less enthusiastic or proactive. One guest also reported that feedback on room issues was not adequately addressed.
6. Location & Accessibility
The hotel boasts an excellent location just outside the city center of Doetinchem, within a special city estate with monumental trees. It is within comfortable walking distance (5-15 minutes) of the city center, offering easy access to shops, restaurants, cinema, and theater. Doetinchem itself is noted for its charming center and is part of the Achterhoek region, known as a beautiful area for cycling and walking with forests, castles, and historic towns. The hotel is also easily accessible by car via the A18 and is a short walk from the train station. Free private parking is available on-site.
7. Value & Pricing
The value for money at Villa Ruimzicht is generally considered good, especially when considering the luxury and unique experience offered. The average room price is around $154, which is comparable to other hotels in Doetinchem. However, specific items like breakfast or restaurant portions can be perceived as pricey by some guests. Package deals that include dinner are often seen as good value.
8. Common Complaints
While overwhelmingly positive, recurring criticisms include:
- Slow Elevator: Several guests have mentioned the elevator being exceptionally slow, leading them to prefer the stairs.
- Key Card Issues: There have been instances of key cards not working correctly, causing inconvenience, particularly for access to rooms and the main entrance at night.
- Dated Aspects in Rooms: While generally well-designed, some guests have found certain room elements or bathrooms to be a bit dated.
- Noise: One guest reported a noisy room located above the kitchen.
- Restaurant Portion Sizes & Pricing: As mentioned, some diners found the portions at Restaurant Lokaal to be small for the price, impacting the perceived value.
- Minor Maintenance Issues: Loose baseboards were noted by one guest.
- Inconsistent Service: While generally excellent, some rare feedback indicated less enthusiastic or proactive service from certain staff members.
Sources
Points to Consider
- •While overwhelmingly positive, recurring criticisms include:
- •Key Card Issues: There have been instances of key cards not working correctly, causing inconvenience, particularly for access to rooms and the main entrance at night.
- •Minor Maintenance Issues: Loose baseboards were noted by one guest.
Google Reviews
1,418 reviews
Recent Guest Reviews
Jack Farah
Beautiful place, great location, and very professional and friendly team. The rooms and the facilities in the rooms need to be renewed, and the team need to mind the noise a bit.
Stephen Davies
Lovely looking hotel in a convenient location as you can walk into town. Free parking opposite side of busy road. Rooms are not great. Maybe modern for 30 years ago, but are now dated and need attention. Communal areas are nice and seemingly more recently renovated. Nice walk on the park on the grounds. Breakfast was okay. Typically Dutch continental. Brits beware, you’ll struggle if bread, cheese...
N Wykeman
We enjoyed staying in my old school but a lot is outdated and the hotel really needs to be refurbished. We stayed in a stuffy and dirty room (315) and the light switch was broken so we slept with the lights on. Also only three coathamgers and no drawers to put any of your clothing. To be fair they didn't charge us for that night and we were moved to a larger and better room (315). The only thing t...
Richard Haberstroh
Handsome, quirky, interesting hotel. All was comfortable- bed included. Replacing upper (3rd floor) floor carpet and bathroom floors tad overdue but remain functional. The food is wonderful and beautifully prepared and presented. Priced appropriately given the condition of furniture. Still very comfortable. Super convenient to have beautiful meals just down the staircase or (very slow 1-2 person l...
Response from the owner
Thank you very much for your review. We are happy to take your suggestions into account for improvement. We hope to see you again soon!
Michael Kampschoer
Historic place, wooden floors so your can hear peoples moving around in the hotel. The restaurant I highly recommend with the " local" menu. All ingredients from local, 4/6 and 9 courses, very delicious.
Response from the owner
Thank you for the four stars; see you again soon!
Jerome Ibañez
We had a great stay at the hotel. It definitely has the potential to be a top botique hotel if the rooms are renovated. They are spacious but clearly outdated (including the beds). The rest was great, including their restaurant and breakfast buffet.
Response from the owner
Thank you for your review; the room renovation is underway. We're glad you enjoyed the restaurant and breakfast. We hope to see you again soon!
