We stayed in De Doelen's "suite." The canalside mansion the hotel occupies does have high ceilings and 17th century touches, but the quality of the furnishings and facilities leaves much to be desired. With a 1st-floor room (and doors) so huge, one would think they could have put a double or queen size bed in the room. Instead, two twin beds were provided. Freaky artwork underscored the odd atmosphere of the property, and the owners' loud children stomping and yelling throughout the place echoed in the early morning. We will return to Leiden but will seek different accommodations.

The Hotel de Doelen in Leiden is nicely located and must have been a grand old canal house at one time. Now it is an awkward shell of a hotel. It was necessary to haul our suitcases up several flights of narrow stairs to arrive at our room. Here we found a large room that dwarfed its small furnishings. There was not a single picture on the wall. Decorating was non-existant. Just a few touches of color in fabric or paint could have made this a lovely room. The bathroom was very basic with an accordian door to separate it off from the room.
Although I have traveled frequently in Europe and know not to expect an American style hotel while there, this hotel felt and looked less attractive than many, especially for the price.

I stayed in the de Doelen with my husband and eight year old child. I was therefore charged for a triple room, which was 150 Euros per night. As this was within our budget, I did not mind paynig, but I thought value for money, this hotel was at the bottom of the scale of hotels we experienced on this trip.

For example, this did not include breakfast. Also, in the room there were no 'extras' such as an extra pillow, hair dryer, kleenex, fridge or face wash cloth. The bed was not very comfortable, as there was no duvet, just sheets and blanket. The sheets were very rough, like canvas. I think a bit of fabric softener, or higher quality sheets would have helped.

Most annoying of all, was that the hotel advertises WIFI, but when we got there we found out we would be charged 5 euros per hour to use the internet. This was the only hotel we stayed at where we were charged for wireless internet access. On our last day we discovered a cafe in central Leiden that gave free WIFI if you buy a coffee.

On the plus side, the staff were very friendly, and the room was HUGE and very clean.

We rented one of the more expensive Suite rooms on our stay in Leiden. The room was big and a very good value for the money. There was an old fireplace in the room made entirely with handpainted 'Delft'-like pottery tiles. The hotel itself is quite an old building and the layout of the hotel is a bit confusing at first. The staff was helpful and friendly. It's in a good location in town, within walking distance (1/2 mile) from the train station, and a few blocks from the marketplace and the action. We opted not to pay the extra Euro's for the morning breakfast so I can't comment on that, but the staff did direct up to a nice little restaraunt where we could get some food. If I were in Leiden again I would definately choose this hotel again for my stay.