Netherlands
For most visitors the Netherlands means Amsterdam, and not much past it. We spent our time in the smaller cities, the ones people pass through on the way to somewhere else.
One stay in the oldest hotel in the country. The other is a city most people underrate. We visited both in person.
Bergen op Zoom
Grand Hotel De Draak and Restaurant 1397
The oldest hotel in the Netherlands, in use since 1397, with a restaurant that borrows the founding year for its name. We stayed to find out whether the history amounts to more than a date over the door, and whether Bergen op Zoom holds up as a short break. The verdict is in the review.
Utrecht
Utrecht and Hotel Karel V
A compact city you can cross on foot, built along canals that run a level below the street, with wharf cellars down at the waterline. We stayed at Hotel Karel V in the old centre. The piece is a city guide first, ten reasons Utrecht earns more time than most visitors give it.