Fort Resort Beemster

A resort that caters mainly to Dutch speaking people as most staff felt quite uncomfortable to speak English if they had some proficiency. Website not set up for booking 2 nights.One has to make 2 separate reservations. They called us even to check if we did not make a mistake. Reception staff mostly could communicate in English. Friendly check-in. Luggage was stored ( and reappeared in our room) as we were early to already enjoy the wellness areas. Happy with al the sauna's etc. The aufguss sessions at the Kelo sauna were nice. Some equipment was not working. I mention one of the infra red sauna booths and several showers in the scrub area. Poterne restaurant not quite ready yet for a bib gourmand. Service slow esp. on the second night. Food fine although deserts somewhat disappointing. The gentleman who served us 2 nights did a fine job. Breakfast has several a la carte options. Like eggs and pancakes.Buffet fine for clientele but should be expanded for International guests. Features prosecco and smoked salmon though and a few local products like jam and cheese. We had requested twin beds and they came with appalling faux mattresses. Thin and not proper mattresses. Room nr 6 spacious and all in order with non descriptive design but not dated (yet). What is it with no staff members wearing name tags. It is beyond me. It is now impossible to compliment some one, although Dutch culture is not into compliments. We had tipped our waiter but we found out at check-out that tips given are divided to ALL the staff. That certainly beats the objective. Probably better to give cash which we inquired about. One receptionist said they do cash pay outs to guests but next morning other, not so nice, receptionist said we don't do pay outs. She also starting lecturing us about the fact that the dongle watch had to be reloaded. As we were staying 2 nights.

The listing for Fort Resort Beemster on *********** is very inviting. The impression is that you’re booking hotel accommodation together with beautiful spa facilities … only to find out when you make direct contact with the hotel that there is one requirement, of which no mention is made in the listing – no bathing suits are allowed at the spa! (except for 1 day of the month). Very annoying that it wasn’t mentioned as this is not suitable for all guests. Having said that, the spa is very nicely laid out with a number of options and our hotel stay was very enjoyable. The Fort is only about half an hour from Amsterdam by train or bus to Purmerend. From there the easiest is to take a taxi. The rooms are spacious and very clean but the décor is uninteresting and dated. Mattresses are quite soft. The selection at breakfast was fairly limited but always fresh, served in the attractive Poterne Restaurant area and service was always polite. We found the 4-course dinner at the restaurant to be quite pricey but it is also possible to order a la carte or eat in the spa area. Somewhat old, rickety bikes are available for free use by guests. We enjoyed having them on site. Worth visiting in the area - Edam and Monnickendam as well as De Rijp, which was particularly charming, elegant and un-touristy. Vollendam is more touristy. Alkmaar was also worth visiting which we did by local bus. All in all would recommend a stay at the resort.

We had a fantastic time. We stayed at the hotel and really enjoyed our room , in fact we wished we had stayed longer. The real highlight though was the spa. There was a great range of pools, hot tubs, saunas etc which meant we spent almost two days there and would have been happy to been there a few more days. Also great to have both indoor and outdoor options - we were very lucky the weather was relatively warm for March and being able to lie outside after the sauna infusions was really good. Definitely recommend this for anyone just to enjoy the spa or to have great weekend for two. We came straight from an overnight flight from Vancouver so this was a perfect way for us to recuperate afterwards.

Het was weer een feestje. Ik heb een voedsel allergie, geen tomaat. Het was weer fenomenaal. Het eten, de kwaliteit, smaak, samenstelling, mogelijkheden. Geen woorden voor. Het is zeldzaam dat ik mij echt veilig voel met mijn allergie, tomaat zit in zoveel, maar hier letten ze er heel goed op. Een ontspannen ervaring. Uiteraard was kamer en alles weer super. Zoals we gewend zijn. Niet te druk. Veel ruimte in alle sauna en zelfs de opgietingen. Wij komen zeker weer!!

Waarom de eerste review die mensen schrijven op dit platform meestal een slechte is, vind ik altijd een beetje bijzonder. Communiceer direct met de medewerkers en niet anoniem via TripAdvisor. Maar goed, mijn ervaring. Ik kom met enige regelmaat in deze sauna. Ja, ook naar mijn mening laten ze wat teveel mensen toe, maar het leidt het eigenlijk nooit tot situaties waarin ik het echt niet meer prettig vind. Minder mensen zou het gewoon nog wat meer relaxed maken. Eten is prima. Drinken wel flink aan de prijs, maar ze doen aan de andere kant ook totaal niet moeilijk over meegebrachte waterflesjes in het sauna gedeelte. Warme douches echt warm en de zwembaden, ook buiten, zijn heel aangenaam qua temperatuur. Opgietingen ook meestal goed. Een beetje entertainment, maar niet zo erg als in de sauna’s van de Thermen Groep. Het enige waar ik mij altijd over verwonder in deze sauna is het feit dat ik in het kruiden bad nooit de beloofde ‘weldadige geur van kruiden” ruik. En ja, ik heb dit aangegeven bij de medewerkers :)

We hebben nu de laatste 3x dat we naar deze mooie sauna gingen een slechte ervaring gehad. Ze laten veel te veel sauna gasten naar binnen waardoor je krap op elkaar zit en je kunt je handdoek nergens ophangen, zo onwijs druk was het, zo druk dat het qua hygiëne niet fris was. Geen plek om gezellig te zitten in het restaurant en ver weg langs het water/ een dorpstraatje moeten parkeren. Het business model van deze mooie wellness gaat steeds meer richting kwantiteit ipv kwaliteit. Erg jammer!