Essen hotel rooms a the Van der Valk Hotels

"Where do I even start? When I walked in on night 1 I was greeted by an unfriendly staff member, no amenities, handed unfolded bundled up linens, no lounge no common area to speak off… was given room 905. The moment I walked into the room I was hit by a strong whiff of sweat, musty odour and smelly clothes and shoes. The room has a small ceiling light and 2 bunk beds squished together. I share with men my 4 nights. I was literally puking in the morning with the bad smell. I wanted to cry. The bunk beds had a small curtain which wouldn’t close all the way so you would be viewable from the end and also didn’t go all the way to the ceiling so if the one ceiling light was on, yiu would just have to live with it. I didn’t feel safe as a woman here. Not at all. The area itself felt quite unsafe! The room was so hot. No ac. The one window was ooen abd facing Centraal station so it was loud at night time. People had their undergarments and socks strewn across the floor abd brought back smelly food and alcohol in the room so the already smelling room smelled even worse. To top it off I read about bed bugs at other a&o hostels. If you are travelling solo and a female and want an adventure… forget about this place for your own sanity and well being. I felt so dirty and tired after staying here… I didn’t want to come back to the room after walking 20k steps every day and left around 6 and came back around 9. Never ever again. So please stay away! It’s the worst experience I have ever had!"

"Super experience all round - we have already booked to come back!"

"Nice hotel nice but not pretentious. Good staff. Clean room. Nice sized. Definitely would return."

"My favorite place to stay in Antwerp! "

"Excellent hotel beautifully located lovely staff pleasant room "

"Stayed here for a conference. Rooms a good size with safe and fridge. My room was a little tired. I needed an iron to press clothes for a presentation, all my colleagues said that their rooms had irons, mine didn’t. However, a very helpful housekeeping lady organised one for me. My room was at the end next to the fire exit stairs which had bright lights on all night requiring me to wear a night mask. My colleagues said there rooms had blackout curtains, mine didn’t. On the last day I used the spa facilities which were great. The shuttle from Brussels airport stopped outside and there were nearby bus stops to the city centre, Food and drink seemed to be very expensive. We had catering for the conference which was excellent. Sadly, the same couldn’t be said about the restaurant. It was overpriced and dreadful! The majority of my colleagues agreed. The roast cauliflower was so overcooked, it fell apart on touch and was barely lukewarm! A colleague complained that his meat dish was minuscule and cold and got it replaced as even the manager agreed with him. All of us were determined not to eat there again, so went into the city to eat after the first night. (Unless the conference supplied food). I didn’t have the breakfast (at 25 Euros) Again, I was told by colleagues that it was very poor value). However, you could amuse yourself watching the mice scurrying about in the bar & restaurant, we saw them often! The staff were aware they had a mouse problem!"

"An amazing experience, friendly and helpful and staff"

"Good location, excellent breakfast, comfortable bed, sauna , pool and Jacuzzi are perfect. But steam room is out of order."

"Very clean room, helpful staffs, great location. "