De Biesbosch

Vacation Only for Those Who Can Endure It
During the 7-hour drive there, we had to add one more person at the last minute over the phone and received a payment request for 70 EUR via email. Since we arrived after the front desk had closed, we were threatened during the drive that if we didn’t pay the 70 euros immediately, we wouldn’t receive … our keys—even though we had already paid over 2,000 euros. I had to stop the car to make the bank transfer and continued driving with the uneasy feeling that we would have to spend the night at a hotel. We found the reception by the security staff to be unfriendly and suspicious. Despite having already entered our personal information online, we were required to write it out by hand again on a piece of paper left out in the open, and my ID was scrutinized with suspicion. Once again, we were threatened that if we didn’t write the information on the piece of paper, we wouldn’t be granted access to the park.
The vacation home itself was in poor condition: Bed linens were missing despite a promise to the contrary; underfloor heating running at maximum power with a room temperature of around 36 °C—and no German-language instruction manual to be found—turned the house into a sauna; a loose footrest in the bed caused it to tip over; the towel radiator looked dirty. During the day in summer, the house regularly heats up to 36–39 °C (even without the underfloor heating). There is no air conditioning or fan. In the evenings and at night, ventilation is virtually impossible due to the lack of fly screens, so we found ourselves on a veritable mosquito hunt every evening.
Another nuisance is the location right next to the highway, with a constant traffic noise level of 50 to 70 dB. You have to be careful when going for a walk—there’s dog waste everywhere. Hiking is only possible after a 10–20-minute drive. The same goes for grocery shopping. The condition of the outdoor areas leaves much to be desired: some bodies of water are gray, plant-free pools and thus breeding grounds for mosquitoes, and some properties appear unkempt.
Particularly disappointing was the “park manager’s” handling of our concerns: complaints were dismissed with an annoyed roll of the eyes, issues were questioned, and she didn’t even seem to be aware of basic details about her own properties. I couldn’t sense any empathy or genuine interest in the guests’ concerns.
On a positive note, the technical staff—unlike the park manager—speaks German and appears competent.
After four previous stays, this was a clear disappointment—so this will likely have been our last visit. Read more Show less

A beautiful resort by a small harbor with various cottages and plenty of amenities.

The park itself and the houses are okay to good, but small items like dishes or cutlery are constantly missing. What I find even worse, though, is the unpleasant odor coming from the drains and the dishwasher. You should definitely bring your own drain cleaner and dishwasher cleaner here. The park’s location is very good—if only the service … weren’t an issue. Unfortunately, the ladies at the front desk are only nice and helpful to Dutch guests. They’re dismissive and curt toward German guests. When we realized two hours after checking out that we’d forgotten to empty a cabinet in the house, we were flat-out turned away over the phone. We were told they had checked and there was nothing there. That’s really a shame and has absolutely nothing to do with good service. Even after another phone call and a written inquiry via email, we were only briefly informed that the cleaning staff hadn’t found anything. Later, we were suddenly told that they could no longer check because new guests were already staying there. This suggests that no one was sent to check in the first place. Read more Show less

General:
Downright poor in terms of cleaning and maintenance. This does NOT apply to all cottages, however.
But it certainly applies to the one I rented, and—as I understood from my next-door neighbor—several other cottages are just as dirty. In particular, the older cottages and those “for sale” that the park itself rents out on behalf of … the owner.

It’s been almost three weeks now, and I’m still waiting for a response.
Half of my vacation was ruined because people kept coming by for maintenance or repairs.

The “park manager” had sent an email on the third day stating that if there were any questions or complaints, you could reply to that email.
Anyway....I’m still waiting.

I’ll update my review here later if I ever hear back, but for now I’m giving the rooms and service 1 star.

Location:
The location is great, so 5 stars—no complaints there.
Beautiful surroundings. Lovely views of the Hollands Diep and Dordtse Kil, with a stunning sunset you can watch from the shore.

Swimming pool:
Both the indoor and outdoor pools were nice and clean. A robotic vacuum is turned on after closing time to clean the bottom.
For an outdoor pool, this was very clean.
Restrooms are available near both the indoor and outdoor pools.
Changing rooms as well.

Sun loungers:
Perhaps there could be more sun loungers available, because when the pool opened for the day, many people claimed the loungers by placing shoes and towels on them—even though they were sometimes nowhere to be seen for several hours (yet they would get angry if you used “their” sun lounger).

Sunbathing area:
A nice patch of artificial grass next to the outdoor pool serves as a sunbathing area, equipped with a few umbrellas.

Children:
Please note: NO ENTERTAINMENT! No evening music, bingo, or similar activities either.
There are a few small play areas in the park.
Right next to the pool is a covered climbing/climbing frame area, but it was closed during our stay (summer).
Next to the outdoor pool, there’s a larger play area.
Between the outdoor and indoor pools, there’s a ping-pong table (concrete), a small soccer field, and some kind of exercise machine or hanging basket—I can’t recall the name—but it’s like what NBA players use, plus a running track a few meters long.

Boat and bike rentals:
You can rent boats at the park.
At the front desk, you can rent bicycles, including e-bikes and choppers.
I heard from another mom that she had rented a cargo bike, but I didn’t see one myself at the rental place.

Snack bar/restaurant:
There is a snack bar, but you’re directed to order INSIDE the restaurant.
Some meals can be taken back to the cottage, as can pizzas.

Ice cream:
Individual ice cream cones are available there or at the front desk.

Goodies:
For the kids, there are a few items for sale at the front desk featuring the park’s “mascot.”
These include plastic plates and cups, magnets, bubble wands, etc.
There are also some “Greetings from…” postcards at the reception desk, available in both German and English.
Stamps are available at the reception desk.
The mailbox is located at the start of the driveway leading to the barrier/entrance.

Surroundings:
There’s a gas station very close by on the A16, but from the park you can reach it in 2–3 minutes via a gate located on the main road.
There’s a Starbucks inside, and our oldest has “visited” it quite regularly.

Supermarket:
By car, you can reach a Lidl, AH, or Dirk van der Broek in 10 minutes.
Dordrecht city center and the parking garage are about 12–15 minutes away, depending on the traffic lights along the way.
We definitely recommend taking a stroll through the historic city center.

Public transportation:
It’s worth noting that the only way to get to this park by public transportation is to take a taxi.
A taxi from Dordrecht Station costs 27.50.
Or you can walk for over an hour from the village of Moerdijk and then continue walking parallel to the A16 across the Moerdijk Bridge. At the end of the bridge, you can step right over the guardrail and take a staircase down.

You’ll then be at the bottom of the Moerdijk Bridge and right there (on the right) in the park.
(And then it’s about a 10-minute walk to the reception desk)
For that 27.50, I’d take a taxi instead of walking

(I’ll spare you the gross photos) Read more Show less

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The gate didn’t respond to our car. At 8:00 p.m., responsibility for this shifts from the front desk to an outside company. After 8:00 p.m., you can’t enter the premises, and that’s in accordance with their rules. That may be fair enough, but as paying guests, we were allowed to enter the grounds until 11:00 PM. Okay, you can make a big deal out … of anything, but that lady from the outside company was so unfriendly that, all in all, it left a negative impression. It’s not our fault that you have to work on Sunday evenings. Other than that, the park itself is really nice, and the location and the people at the front desk are great too. ***** Read more Show less