Would you like to spend the night near the Efteling? That is perfectly possible in the GuestHouse Hotel in Kaatsheuvel. Last week we were invited to spend a night there to discover how child-friendly the GuestHouse Hotel actually is. And whether it is as close to the Efteling as they would have you believe.
Are you still not convinced after reading our review? Read more reviews about the GuestHouse Hotel Kaatsheuvel at Tripadvisor or at Booking.com.
Table of Contents
From the outside, the GuestHouse Hotel does not really stand out. It doesn't tower over the other buildings, but is just a low-rise hotel that fits perfectly into the environment. The Albert Heijn is located behind the GuestHouse Hotel in Kaatsheuvel, and I think it's a fantastic detail that you can look into the supermarket from the restaurant of this child-friendly hotel through a glass wall. Very nice idea.
In one word:beautiful! The GuestHouse Hotel is new and built and styled with a modern eye. How beautiful this hotel is inside. Immediately upon entering, I am amazed at this special interior and I immediately feel at home. Not just me by the way, the kids too 😉 .
Upon entering, you walk up the stairs to the hotel itself, because downstairs is the restaurant, where you can eat delicious and where breakfast takes place. You can read more about this below.
Halfway up the stairs is a large 'chalkboard' with all kinds of texts on it. A nice detail is also the carpeting in the halls towards the hotel rooms.
The carpet gives you the feeling that you are walking down the street, with a zebra crossing in the middle of the road for example. Or boulders.
The reception is therefore located on the first floor. When you arrive there, you sign up and receive vouchers for a nice cup of coffee and a glass of lemonade for the children. Child-friendly reception. The reception area at the reception immediately gives you the opportunity to relax and relax. With the necessary play corners for the children.
After the explanation, we receive the pass for the room and we go 'moving in' for a while. A lovely family room that is just as modern and freshly decorated as the rest of the hotel. And wonderfully cool, which is no superfluous luxury in this summer.
You will also find the 'Hotel to the Rescue shop' at the reception. Nicely thought out and handy if you have forgotten your charger or toothbrush from home! Is there suddenly rain? Then you can get ponchos, umbrellas, but also rain boots for the children (check the bright green one under the counter).
The rooms in the GuestHouse Hotel are spacious. Nice! It's a bit of a struggle who can be upstairs in the bunk bed (as always), but luckily the kids are out quickly this time. We are in a comfortable large double bed ourselves, there is no fighting about that 😉 .
A funny detail is that every bed is equipped with a metal 'storage rack' with an adjacent socket. Completely of this time, because with us every family member now has a telephone. We don't have to look for our own socket to charge the phones all so and the free Wifi is excellent. You can also easily store your book in it if you want. All rooms are also equipped with a TV with netflix.
They have different types of rooms in the GuestHouse Hotel:
The Bunkhouse rooms are suitable for 4 persons or 6 persons. The rooms that are suitable for 6 people have a 6-person bunk bed. Super fun to watch! These rooms also have a small fridge where you can keep your drinks cold.
We had this room. Suitable for 1-5 people, with desk, bench and safe in the room.
The Farmhouse Rooms are the largest of them all and some of them simply have a complete sitting area in the room. The rooms with a sitting area are suitable for 3-6 people, but there are also a number of Farmhouse Rooms where you can sleep with 8 people. Handy for, for example, composite families or a group of friends.
On the map above you can see where the GuestHouse Hotel is located in relation to the Efteling. It is a matter of walking down the street, following the bend, and you are in front of the Efteling parking lot. That part is about a 500 meter walk. Then of course you still have to go to the entrance of the Efteling, but in principle this is very doable.
Don't forget that at the end of the day you still have to go back to your car, which you probably left at the GuestHouse Hotel to save € 10.00 in parking costs 😉 .
I have already mentioned a number of times that this hotel is very child-friendly, and I will explain to you what we mean by that. The child-friendly aspect is to begin with in the many facilities for children.
The GuestHouse Hotel Garden houses the necessary entertainment for children. You will not only find a house to play in and a sandbox and slide, but the older children have also been thought of. What do you think of table football, billiards, table tennis and air hockey? And all of this on the immense terrace where you can also find a lot of lounge and chill places.
In addition to the garden, when the weather is not so nice, you can also relax inside in the communal living room at the reception. A cozy bar ensures that you can order the necessary drinks. You get the first cup of coffee and lemonade for the kids from 'the house' and you can get it at the coffee corner where delicious sweet cappuccino comes out of the machine.
Here, too, there are various play areas for the kids in the form of a fenced-off area with, for example, a play kitchen and many board games.
Since we stayed one night in the GuestHouse Hotel Kaatsheuvel, and we spent a full day in the Efteling, there was no more room for games here. It was nice to take a shower. wash your hair and talk on the phone in a lovely cool room.
Other examples of this child-friendly hotel near the Efteling are the carts that are located here. Super handy, of course, if you're visiting Efteling for a day with small children.
Breakfast in a hotel is a matter of course for many people. The breakfast in the GuestHouse Hotel is not very extensive, but it is extensive enough for a tasty, decent breakfast for yourself and the children.
Enough different types of sandwiches, meats and cheese for the bread. Sweet toppings in the form of syrup, various sprinkles and jam are also available. You will find eggs in the form of hard-boiled eggs and scrambled eggs. I ate the last one for breakfast and it was absolutely delicious. You will also find various cereals and yogurt in 2 flavors. Milk, orange juice, coffee and tea are also available.
If you ask me like that… what is actually missing about breakfast at the GuestHouse Hotel? Then I couldn't really tell you. It may be the somewhat 'extravagant things' that are not included here at the buffet, but I had a delicious meal. Even without any fuss. By the way, the cappuccino is a lot better upstairs at the reception than downstairs at breakfast 😉 .
If you choose an arrangement with an Efteling stay, breakfast is included, otherwise you can order it separately for € 10.00 per person.
The restaurant is on the ground floor. We arrived early in the evening, so a great excuse to try out the restaurant. Making a reservation in advance is useful as it can be quite busy in the restaurant.
We ate quite extensively. And very tasty, that may be said 😉 . You can also eat well here with children because of the special children's menu they have.
That card is fine for Lotte, Luc is already eating from the adult card (of course) at the age of 13. To give you a bit of a feeling… we ate and drank for € 155.00. Frank, Luc and I have a starter, main course and dessert and Lotte has a main course and a dessert from the children's menu. Not really cheap, but we did have a very good meal.
The advantage that clearly emerges for us in this restaurant is that it is a child-friendly restaurant, but that as an adult you do not have to focus on dinner and accompanying wine, both of which are of very good quality.
The GuestHouse Hotel works together with Albert Heijn to combat food waste. From the restaurant and the kitchen you can also look into the Albert Heijn, nice detail 😉 . Food that is approaching the end of its shelf life, but whose best-before date has not yet passed, is used by the Guesthouse Hotel to put a delicious meal on the table.
A great initiative that I can only applaud.
More initiatives that they have set up in the GuestHouse Hotel for the environment are, for example, the greenhouses that you will find in the Garden where their own vegetables and herbs are grown, but especially the moss roof that is present. This moss roof provides excellent cooling for the supermarket (energy savings) and a gradual absorption and drainage of rainwater.
If you read our review you will see that we really enjoyed our stay here. If you ask me what the costs of the rooms in the hotel are, I can't give you a direct answer because we stayed here by invitation. It is around € 110.00 but you can not easily find the prices on the website. You will, however, find the various packages they offer in combination with Efteling tickets. If you choose a date, you will undoubtedly see the price.
I personally would find it more useful if I knew what it costs and when it might be cheaper, for example (no high season or something), so that you can choose which date suits you best.
More information about the GuestHouse Hotel can be found on the website.
