De Scherpenhof

The campground itself is absolutely top-notch.
Great restroom facilities, beautiful campsites—only the "promenade" is a bit run-down.

⭐ 1/5 – Beautiful location, but unfortunately that was the best part

We had the “Strandzicht 4” campsite. You have to give the place credit for one thing: the natural surroundings and the location are truly beautiful, and the pond would actually be very nice, too. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much where it ends for us.

The pond had … blue-green algae during our stay. This made swimming impossible; we couldn’t let the dog into the water either, and fishing was practically out of the question for us. This means that one of the very reasons people book a place like this in the first place is taken away.

We also found the restroom facilities disappointing. The restroom area consists of a single container. At least it was well-maintained and generally in good condition—though, based on our experience, there’s only this one facility for three large camping areas.

The showers, however, are a bad joke in our opinion. One token costs €0.70 and lasts for five minutes. That would be acceptable if the system actually worked properly. But if, for example, you turn off the water for two minutes while lathering up with shampoo, the timer apparently keeps running anyway or resets to zero afterward. Then, in the worst-case scenario, you’re standing in the shower covered in shampoo and have to go find another coin or head back to the camper. This is completely impractical for a paid shower system.

The electrical supply also caused us problems time and again. Some of the connections for campers are located at a height of about 2.50 m, and our power went out several times, forcing us to switch to the nearest outlet. As for the water connection, the lever on the faucet had also broken off.

We’d like to specifically mention the staff in the small dining areas as a positive point. The employees we interacted with were friendly and aren’t to blame for the campground’s underlying issues. However, even these areas sometimes seem completely cluttered with items that have little to do with running a food service business.

In our opinion, the so-called dog park hardly deserves that name. It isn’t properly fenced in; we didn’t find any facilities for disposing of dog waste there; there’s a sort of trash bin in one corner, and on the other side, the area is bordered by barbed wire leading to the neighboring farmland. As dog owners, we had imagined something completely different when we heard “dog park.”

Fishing on the IJssel is technically possible, but there are such massive piles of rocks and so much bouldery terrain that it feels like you’re practically giving your bait and rigs away to the water.

The indoor pool was also a major disappointment. During our stay, it was being used simultaneously as a swimming school for small children. The water temperature, as we perceived it, was around 26–28 °C, which we found to be quite cool for an indoor pool. There was sand and dirt floating around in the pool; the floor area was also dirty, and some tiles were damaged or chipped—including floor tiles that people walk on. We were there twice within two weeks and noticed no improvement on our second visit.

On top of that was the communication at the front desk. When we asked several questions, we got the impression that no one really knew what was going on. Sometimes we received conflicting answers about the same issue.

Our conclusion: The location and natural surroundings really have potential, and some of the staff were friendly. But that’s not enough for us to make up for the multitude of problems. Blue-green algae in the pond, limited recreational options, a closed restaurant, problematic showers, power outages, a disappointing dog park, the condition of the indoor pool, and the conflicting information at the front desk are, in our view, completely out of line with the impression the resort conveys on its website.

Based on this experience, we would not book De Scherpenhof again. Read more Show less

Don’t go here to fish!!!! The photos on the website are incredibly beautiful, but in reality it’s disappointing!

Last Tuesday, we called to ask about fishing. We were advised to fish on the fishing island and told that, despite the low water level, it would be just fine! Upon arrival, we had booked spot 12 for 2 days.

The water … level was indeed low, but they didn’t mention that you had to climb down a 20-meter steep slope—putting yourself at risk just to cast your line!

After sleeping for one night, this morning we found another spot further down the field where we could fish a little better.

After moving all our gear, the manager arrived on his bike and asked us to leave this spot; when we explained the situation, he responded smugly with, “Well, what did you expect?” “You watch TV too, don’t you?”

The man wasn’t willing to work with us to find a solution so we could still fish safely for one more night.

So, after 24 hours, we went home; unfortunately, there’s no sign of any service or compensation. Read more Show less

Unfortunately, it was dry—there was hardly any water in the river or lake. Other than that, it was a great campground.
P.S. Bring your own toilet paper—they don't have any!

⭐ 1 ster is eigenlijk nog te veel.

Wij zouden oorspronkelijk op 29 augustus vertrekken, maar vanwege het slechte weer én onze zeer negatieve ervaring met de camping zijn wij al op 25 augustus vertrokken.

De website wekt hoge verwachtingen met mooie beschrijvingen en foto’s, maar naar onze ervaring komt dit totaal niet overeen met de … werkelijkheid. In werkelijkheid vonden wij de camping zeer teleurstellend.

De toiletten waren niet schoon. Wat ik tijdens ons verblijf zelf heb gezien, vond ik bovendien ronduit onhygiënisch: eerst werd het toilet schoongemaakt en vervolgens werd met hetzelfde doekje de rest van het gebouw afgenomen.

Ook het binnenzwembad viel enorm tegen. De vloer en de directe omgeving waren naar onze mening zo vies dat het zelfs onaangenaam was om er op blote voeten te lopen.

Daarnaast is het restaurant, voor zover wij hebben begrepen, al ongeveer twee jaar gesloten. Dit wordt op de website naar onze mening niet duidelijk vermeld. Er staat niet duidelijk aangegeven dat het restaurant vanwege een verbouwing gesloten is. Wij vinden dit misleidend, zeker omdat het restaurant wel onderdeel lijkt te zijn van de presentatie van de camping.

En dan als kers op de taart: de manier waarop met klachten wordt omgegaan. Nadat ik na ons verblijf een e-mail had gestuurd, kreeg ik als reactie dat ik niet bij de receptie zou zijn geweest om te klagen. Dat klopt absoluut niet. Ik heb daar wel degelijk mijn klacht kenbaar gemaakt. Het is bijzonder frustrerend om achteraf te horen dat een klacht blijkbaar niet is geregistreerd en vervolgens zelfs wordt ontkend.

Al met al zijn wij zeer teleurgesteld. De verwachtingen die door de website worden gewekt, staan naar onze ervaring absoluut niet in verhouding tot de werkelijkheid.

Wij zouden deze camping daarom niet aanbevelen. Read more Show less

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