Van der Valk Hotel Rotterdam-Blijdorp

"I stayed in this hotel a few weeks for a conference a few weeks ago. I had no problem with the room. I stayed in a double room which was very comfortable to sleep in. The shower was also excellent. So far so good. I only had breakfast at the hotel which was fine. It had a nice selection of local produce between hot foods, cold meats, cheeses and pastries. The customer service was fine and I had no problems though other colleagues had problems. I don't understand how there are so few staff for breakfast but there is a lot of staff for evening service. Just an observation. The main problem I had with this hotel is that it is in the middle of nowhere. Apart from the zoo, there is nothing around apart from an industrial area across the road. I went for a walk and it is 20-25 minutes walk to the nearest restaurant. Seriously! My advise is unless you are willing to spend the whole day in the nearby zoo or have a conference there stay somewhere else!"

"Sorry guys and team of VD Valk Rotterdam Blijdorp, your team is super friendly and willing to find solutions, no bad word regarding the staff. The hotel is, compared to, other VD Valk hotels, like Ridderkerk, Zuidas, Assen etc just ‘staying alive’. Old, smelly, worn. The rooms need an update. After talking to the front desk manager we got an upgrade to a slightly bigger and slightly less worn room but for sure, this hotel needs a fresh-up. Sigarette burns on sink, stains in carpet, worn furniture, bedmatrasses with a dent etc. Again, staff was absolutely nice, just the material they have to work with is not. The building itself is nice, great architecture. Compared in pricing: not worth the Vd Valk Price they charge now. Management, hope to see improvements soon. Thank you staff, for your service. "

"We stayed here with a group of travelers. Many were kids under the age of 15. Overall it was a good hotel experience. The rooms are a good size, clean, quiet, and comfortable. Bathrooms are as well. The restaurant/bar was excellent (Saeed is the manager of the bar at night and he is the best customer service focused person I have ever seen in the food industry...he ROCKED!). I would have given 4 stars if this hotel had a workout facility that you didn’t have to pay for. There is a gym next door (like 1 minute walk) that costs 12.50 euros for a day pass. I would have given 5 stars if the customer service with the staff at the front desk was better. The management would only give 2 towels per room per day and charged 2 euros for lost key cards. This is an odd policy for any hotel based on my experiences. I had to argue with Martin (the night supervisor) one night to get 1 additional clean towel. This is not a customer focused position. Other than that, it was a good experience. If your looking to be close to the city center, don’t stay here. "