Hotel Mesra keluarga di Haarlem

The hotel is located on the outskirts of Haarlem, a good 35-minute walk to the central square. There is very little around it in terms of shops or cafes or restaurants. So calling it ”Haarlem City” is a bit of a stretch! It is a 12-minute walk (through a nice residential area) to Bloemendaal train station, which makes it quite easy to get to Amsterdam. Haarlem's main train station is about a 25-minute walk from the hotel. The rooms are comfortable and good size. But (and this is a big but!) the hotel was built right next to a big sports centre and if your room faces north it will block your window as it is literally in front of it. This is a really poor design choice, it makes affected rooms feel claustrophobic. This is something the hotel should make clear at the time of booking. Parking in front of the hotel costs 7.5 Euros per night. Given its non-central location, you would expect parking to be free. So mixed feelings overall. Nice and spacious rooms, but the issues I mentioned above detract from the overall experience and value for money.

My husband and I had a lovely 3 night stay here in a deluxe room on the 2nd floor. It is a small hotel and feels very personal. Haarlem is a pretty little town and is an easy base to spend time in Amsterdam but have a quieter place to come back to (that is still big enough to have plenty of dinner options). We were so glad we stayed in Haarlem to see things in Amsterdam. Took about 15 mins on the train to get to Amsterdam and the train station is just a couple of minutes walk from the hotel. Our room was large with a super comfortable bed and we never heard a sound from any other room or from outside! Incredibly peaceful. Reception staff were really friendly and helpful with suggestions on where to eat etc. The kitchen staff were excellent - lovely food and so keen to cook food fresh for us each day to add to what was already put out on the buffet. There is a lounge area for guests with complimentary biscuits, lollies, tea, coffee etc - and an honesty system to pay for alcohol and more substantial snacks - and a table tennis table, magazines, books, comfy chairs - and also a common outdoor space. We left on a Saturday afternoon to catch a train a Belguim and spent the morning at the markets. Great way to spend our last morning in Haarlem. Only negative is that there is no lift and the stairs are steep. If you have limited mobility you should mention this to the hotel before booking. There were rooms on the ground floor and i'm sure the staff could arrange for these rooms to be allocated to you or to help get your luggage upstairs (if you manage the stairs if you didn't need to get your luggage up). We loved our room up on the 2nd floor as it was so quiet but the stairs were steep so be aware of that if your mobility is limited.