For my 35th birthday, I treated myself to a night in the world-famous Kurhaus, a beautiful and powerful looking hotel at the coast in the Netherlands. Was it worth the money? Did I feel like royalty while staying at the Kurhaus?
The Grand Hotel Amrath Kurhaus in Scheveningen sounds majestic, looks majestic from the outside, but was our stay also majestic? Let's find out!
Scheveningen is a district of The Hague
The Kurhaus is located in the main seaside resort area of Scheveningen, which is by the way a district of The Hague. This stately hotel, with its beautiful Dutch red-white-and-blue flag on top, lies very close to the promenade/boulevard and the beach. It has about 250 rooms and was built in 1885. Royalty and nobility have stayed at the Kurhaus, but also many celebrities and well-known names in politics. Let's name a few; The Rolling Stones, Queen Beatrix, Ike & Tina Turner, and Bon Jovi!
And of course, we, the free birds! 😉
Majestic reputation
The Kurhaus has a reputation among the Dutch as being one of the premier hotels in the country. It's supposed to be one of the very best hotels in the world or at least one of the most prestigious and classy hotels. Looking in from the outside, from the promenade and the pier of Scheveningen, you would absolutely agree.
But we've stayed at the Kurhaus for 24 hours. Are our presumptions correct? Does the Kurhaus live up to its reputation? Not really…
Vergane glorie
In Holland, they use the term ‘vergane glorie‘ for things that once were amazing but now has lost its magic. It translates to something like ‘lost glory'. It's gotten stale, old, a bit muff. The Kurhaus has a terrible case of ‘vergane glorie'. It might be beautiful and imposing from the outside, the location is great, and the hall may be impressive, but that doesn't mean the rest of the hotel is up to par. The room was just very mediocre. Very.
The room was as plain and standard as can be, like a renovated three-star hotel. The classic exterior doesn't match with the boring modern interior. It was hard even getting a great set of photos because there was not much too look at. The outdated spa, the Waves restaurant, the hideous lobby… we didn't even take pictures (of the food, yes, but not the interior…). We love to take great shots of impressive locations and moments, but we didn't find any shots to take here. It was just all so very 80's/90's in style, as in; they haven't updated anything since then and hardly even tried to keep it classy and stylish.
The breakfast buffet in the main hall was quite nice. The man on the piano was playing beautifully and the overall ambiance was memorable. The food options were, unfortunately, also quite mediocre. The same can be said about the restaurant in the hotel, Waves, were we had diner the night before. It was not good, but also not bad. Just fine. And you don't expect that at a prestigious hotel like the Kurhaus.
This is just all about grandiose expectations that are not met.
Harsh, but honest
I'm harsh, I know, but when you have to pay top dollar for something that seems promising, and then to discover that the experience is very mediocre… it's justified to pour your heart out. If you would pay about 80-100 euro's per night, that would be just fine. The hall, the location, and the exterior make the Kurhaus a special place to have stayed once, but don't expect a royal experience, treatment, or anything like that.
If you still want to stay at the Kurhaus, try to find a great deal and don't expect too much of it.
Book your room at the Kurhaus here > >
More Travel Inspiration: Our stay in the soulful Boutique Hotel Saul in lovely Tel Aviv, Israël