Expectations for airport hotels tend to be lower than for standard hotels – the location usually doesn’t lend itself to anything beyond a view of the airport or an adjacent industrial park.
The Best Western Plus Rotterdam Airport Hotel managed to both surprise and delight with a lovely parkland outlook, featuring a lake and pastures.
Location
We had taken a bus from the metro station at Meijersplein and the stop servicing the Best Western Plus was just after the airport itself, meaning we had a brief leg of the journey jammed in with all the newly arrived passengers before we popped out on the road opposite the hotel.
Judging from the signs out the front, the hotel also features conference facilities and a business lounge. We were glad to see the courtesy van parked in front – not needed by us, but definitely handy if you were flying in or out of the airport.
Check-in
The entrance is a sprawling area with ample lounging facilities including a library nook, a coffee shop and ample and varied seating along with bikes you could hire to explore the area.
We were keen to check out the room though, so after getting the key cards we headed upstairs.
The Room
The room was basic but ticked all the boxes – a comfortable bed plus a place to work and a couch for lazing. A kettle, cups and selection of coffees and teas was a welcome addition for weary travellers.
Where it excelled was with the outlook – a lovely lake vista facing away from the airport (which meant no noticeable noise) – totally unexpected!
The Bathroom
The bathroom also exceeded my expectations – gold tiles and chrome fittings gave the impression of style and class, while the Aroma brand toiletries were accompanied by great water pressure in the shower.
Dinner
We decided to dine in the restaurant, kind of a forced decision with a distinct lack of other eateries in the area. We were a little early and settled into one of the booths looking back over the carpark.
The location of the hotel made this a perfect location for aircrew stopping overnight and we amused ourselves with watching the crew of some airline unwinding after a long day. We knew they were airline crew because one of the pilots made a point of letting the barman know he’d been up since 5am and made the point multiple times.
The tables each had a black disk built into them which turned out to be a charger for cell phones – you just laid your phone on top of it and it would charge the phone while you were using it.
I ended up having the burger while Ange had the fish and chips. All perfectly adequate – Ange’s coming with a nice fresh side salad and my burger coming with a side of fries accompanied with mayonnaise the way the Belgians have them.
For desert we shared the cheesecake which came in bite sized chunks topped with a little nasturtium flower.
Breakfast
The following morning we headed down for breakfast to discover the restaurant was overrun by a double bus load of Indian tourists. They were all middle-aged couples but the reason it was noteworthy was that they were pretty uniform in height and I felt like Gulliver looming over them all.
There was a good spread of both Continental options (cold cuts of meat, cereals etc) plus some hot options kept warm in serving dishes.
Pros and Cons
Pros
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Cons
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Would I Return?
If I was flying into or out of Rotterdam airport on business I would definitely go back. I liked the proximity to the airport and support for the business traveller with the Business Lounge, plus the little library nook definitely gave the hotel a homely touch.
