Texel is a small Dutch island, at the northern tip of Netherlands. We recently decided to spend a 'lazy' autumn weekend here. Well, I expected it to be lazy but it was far from lazy and I will sharing more about it soon. For now, here's about the hotel where we stayed in Texel. If you're adventurous, you could stay in a beach shack or a camper van. But with our little Atyudarini we didn't want to do that and we stayed at this very comfortable, aparthotel - Bos en Duin.
Pic Courtesy: http://texelinformatie.nl/
The best way to explain this hotel is that its located in the midst of lush greenery, with hardly any buildings around, and a very short walk from the national park (just beside), view tower (3 min walk) & beach (2.4km to Strand Pavilion)! This has been in existence since more than 50 years now and grown steadily. Today it has 42 rooms and a Michelin recognized restaurant.
There are 2 wings with one primarily overlooking the fields (Building B) and another, the national park (Building A). Every room is almost unique and cater to specific needs like being wheelchair friendly or pet friendly or with kitchen or with 2 bedrooms etc. The best part is that you could book specific rooms themselves from their website. The rooms are huge! Its larger than residential studio apartments in most cities. Certain rooms of building A, esp., the ones in the ground floor facing the forest have a very homely feeling. They have a private sit-out area, complete with chairs and a table. Spending a sunny noon here, having the lunch outside with the sounds of the forest with your family/friends/dog (yeah, these rooms are pet friendly as well!) would be such a pleasing experience. Building B, esp., the ones in the first floor, feels more spacious, with a lot of sunlight and breeze coming in! There is small balcony suitable for 2 people to have a coffee. It isn't big enough for a meal. Since they also come with 2 bedrooms, its perfect for families with children. We were lucky enough to have clear skies on one night and did quite a bit of star gazing and it was splendid. The rooms are equipped with all basic stuff like TV, Coffee machine, Wifi etc. Since the reception is not 24 hrs, there is no phone in the room! However there are numbers provided for emergencies. One amazing thing here is a cupboard filled with 'anything' that you may need for the stay. It has quite a few board games suitable for various age groups, several books, movie dvds, a binocular, a fly squatter, few batteries and what not! I casually opened the cupboard expecting it to be empty and had my mind blown! While prior to Atyudarini, we never considered aparthotel, now its a norm for us. While we don't mind eating anything anywhere, we do want the option of being able to cook if Atyudarini doesn't eat local dishes and this was perfect. While the kitchen is fully equipped, it does not come with condiments. However there is the supermarket Spar located very close by. There is small playground complete with trampoline! There is a relatively large car park. Rental of bikes with gears as well as e-bikes are available for the guests to explore the island at a small extra cost. It is advisable to reserve them, esp., in summers. Breakfast is okay and as usual like in most European hotels, not much options for vegetarians. It is not complimentary as well. Atleast one meal at the Bosq restaurant is a must when you're in this island, even if you're not a guest of the hotel. Its mentioned in the Michelin guide 2019. Our chef Robin put together some amazing new dishes for us, since there weren't much vegetarian options on the menu. While it would have been serene to sit outside in the terrace and have the meal, with the windy, rainy weather, we had to sit inside. But that's absolutely ok as well, coz the interiors are warm and cozy!
We were treated with a 3 course meal that began with a fruity gelato starter in a unique combination with artichokes. The look definitely baffled me but the taste was unbelievably good! I did not expect that at all! Our next dish was 3 types of cabbages, prepared in 3 different ways and this was a mix of hit & miss. We liked 2 of those 3 types... With a perfect combination of local wines to go with the dishes, it was one perfect dinner.Just look at the picture above and tell me what you think of it! No, its not meat. Its Aubergine! Aubergine with apples. Again a very amusing combination but tasted so so so good! Atyudarini was served with a corn bread topped with beans and asparagus. She adored it so much that we had to ask for a second serving of the same! There is wine cellar in the hotel and Chef Robin uses the wine here at times to come up with some new dishes as well as to find perfect drink for his creations. The best part - there is a 1994 Bourgogne Pinot Noir. Its safely kept locked! I wonder what would be the perfect occasion for them to open this.... To Get There:
From Den Hoorn Ferry Point: 7.5 km
Call and reserve Texel Hopper Shuttle. This area is not served by the main line 28.
Room rates begin at €95 (for double room)
Breakfast: €14.75
Bike rental: €10 per day (works out cheaper for longer hire)
E-Bike rental: €22.50 per day (works out cheaper for longer hire)
Hotel Ph no: +31 (0)222 315541
My complete Texel Travelogue: coming up soon...
P.S: I was invited by Texel Tourism to experience the city for review purposes, however the opinions are my own and this post does not to advertise the product/service.
