Pillows Luxury Boutique Hotel Aan de IJssel

An amazing renovation My usual hotel appeared to have been fully booked so I decided to give the IJsselhotel, sorry the Pillows Luxury Boutique Hotel Aan De IJssel a try. The location is amazing, right across from the town on the river. To get to the other side there is a small ferry throughout the day. My room was amazing. Incredibly well furnished with high quality gear, comfortable for want of a better word, perfect. The shower(s) are amazingly powerful and the view, in my case over the park, was peaceful. The staff, without fail, were absolutely delightful. I have two criticisms, one was the deafening noise in the restaurant which made it impossible to have a conversation across the table without shouting, both during dinner and at breakfast over the weekend, the other is the drinks situation. I asked for a G&T, preference? Yes Tanqueray please, sorry, we only have 3 types of gin, none of which I had heard of, so opted for the one that was described as "neutral". If I want something flowery I'll go to the florist and eat some roses. The drink that was produced tasted like nothing I had ever tasted before, and not in a good way. The cause seemed to be the tonic water. Disgusting isn't a word I use in reviews but this stuff tasted like diarrhoea smells. I kid you not. I subsequently asked for a gin without tonic which was OK. Fancy is OK but don't forget about the basics. There's nothing wrong with a dry martini made from traditional ingredients in the traditional way.

Location location with great views of beautiful Deventer.