Extraordinary places to stay
Waking up to a view over a peaceful lake, staying in a trendy hotel offering delicious vegetarian cuisine, taking the kids to stay in a tree house – your accommodation can define your whole vacation. A special place to stay will elevate your holiday to make it a trip to remember. One important consideration is sustainability: these days, it’s important to many travelers to keep their impact on the environment as low as possible. Luckily, there is a huge selection of sustainable, beautiful and exciting accommodation options available across the Netherlands, from elegant eco-hotels to yurts and lodges that bring you close to nature.
- Find beautiful and sustainable accommodation.
- Read about special places to stay in the Netherlands.
- Make your vacation extra memorable by choosing the right place to stay.
Where you stay is one of the defining features of your vacation. It’s the place where you conclude each day, thinking and talking about what you’ve seen and done. And it’s where you open your eyes every morning, ready for a new day full of exciting experiences. Choosing beautiful, special or unusual accommodation can add a whole extra layer to your holiday. Of course, you also want your accommodation to be operated sustainably, so you can keep your impact on the environment as low as possible. Good news – the Netherlands has plenty of extraordinary and environmentally responsible hotels, holiday homes and rentals on offer. Plus there’s a wide range of less traditional options – have you thought about staying on a boat, on a working farm, or in a yurt in the deepest forest?
Staying close to nature
The Netherlands’ rich and varied landscape is matched by the many different options you have if you want to immerse yourself in nature during your stay. The dense forests of Drenthe are home to the Winterwoods camping site, where you can stay in a beautiful yurt, take part in adventurous daytime activities and spend the evening with a hot drink by the campfire. The Tiny Park on the little island of Tiengemeten in South Holland offers glamping with a festival vibe surrounded by water. And you can find chalets and eco-lodges in peaceful rural surroundings throughout the country. The long sandy coastline is home to lodges where you can sleep right in the dunes. And would you like to combine your nature holiday with a visit to one of our major cities? Then a relaxing stay in the Groene Hart (the Green Heart) is an ideal solution. Here you will not only find plenty of luxury apartments, you can even go for a real authentic experience and stay with farmers!
Urban, sustainable and elegant
More and more travelers are conscious of their impact on the environment and want to minimize their footprint. And as the demand for environmentally responsible travel keeps rising, the Netherlands delivers; hoteliers and holiday homes are making sustainability a priority. Long gone are the days when eco-conscious hotels were a minor niche with a worthy feel. Hotels like the four-star, energy-neutral Hotel Jakarta in Amsterdam or the Conscious Hotels group make a glamorous and trendy setting to end an exciting day spent exploring the city.
A stay less ordinary
Spending your nights in an unusual accommodation certainly adds to the holiday pleasure. Take your pick from ecologically responsible holiday homes in unusual buildings such as former churches, converted barns, historic farmhouses or architecturally remarkable new builds. Or opt for a tree house or forest lodge – a great adventure for kids, a romantic getaway for couples. Another wonderful and thoroughly Dutch experience is a stay on a luxurious houseboat. If you’re looking for accommodations serving sustainable, animal-friendly food options, check out Veggie Hotels: possibilities in the Netherlands include a former dairy farm in a village in Friesland, located right by the water, and a vegan bed & breakfast with a roof terrace in The Hague. Farm holidays are also gaining in popularity, originating from the Italian agriturismo concept. Help out the farmer, say hi to the sheep, and eat the freshest produce imaginable.
Booking tips for a sustainable vacation
Sustainable travel has become a priority for travelers, and many hospitality businesses are following suit. But demand remains sky-high, so when you’re planning your vacation, it’s a good idea to book your accommodation well in advance. This is especially important when your dream is to stay in one of the more unusual options the Netherlands has to offer, such as a tree house or a yurt: spaces in these are usually very limited. And that’s a good thing, really – these places have a personal, low-key approach. An eco-lodge is no multi-story hotel block. In addition to planning your vacation on time, it’s a good idea to check the dates of the school holiday and public holiday in the Netherlands and surrounding countries – if you can, book outside these dates, as there is likely to be more availability then.
In addition to choosing sustainable accommodation, there are many more steps you can take to minimize your footprint. In the Netherlands, the days of printing your tickets and booking confirmations are well and truly over. Save them in the provider’s app instead, and keep PDF versions on your phone or take screenshots so that you can access your documents offline. (Find more sustainable packing tips here.) And of course, try to make the journey itself as low-carbon as possible. The train network across Europe is very well developed, with comfortable stations and trains. Find lots of information on train travel on this website – from routes to information about prices and stations. From London, you can get to Amsterdam in a direct train journey that only takes a few hours. And within the Netherlands, trains are the best way to get around, too. Unless you can get there by bike, of course!