The chances are that Gouda is not even on your radar yet, and almost definitely not as a luxury destination. At the risk of sounding cheesy (get it?), Gouda is more than just its greatest export. The town is a perfect taster of an authentic Dutch experience, just a stone’s throw from the country’s biggest cities and – as we discovered – has a hospitality scene worth making the detour for.
When you see the words “Relais & Châteaux”, you know you’re destined for a good experience. For those less familiar, R&C is an association of handpicked hotels, and serves as a marque of excellence due to the strict admission standards. They don’t willingly accept just any hotel, it has to have something special.
On our first evening in Gouda we’re having a drink in a local tavern off the market square. The people of the town are very friendly and some fellow patrons have joined us at our table to ask why we’ve chosen to visit. We mention that we’re in town to stay at a luxury hotel. “Ah, you’re staying at the Weeshuis?” one local says, before we’ve even mentioned the name of the hotel. And so it is confirmed: Weeshuis is the luxury option in Gouda.
Still, we’re not sure what to expect from a luxury hotel in a small and relatively rural town, and what we see when we get to Weeshuis really surpasses our expectations. The entrance to Relais & Châteaux Weeshuis Gouda is an imposing stone archway beneath a huge regal crest. An enormous flag juts out into the street, as if to signal the entrance to a castle. Although not a castle, Weeshuis Gouda is no ordinary building; it’s a former orphanage from the 16th century, immaculately preserved over the years and just steps from Gouda’s famous Jerusalem Chapel.
Contrary to its rather austere and regal exterior, the interior at Weeshuis Gouda is eye-catching, camp, and theatrical – the work of Dutch interior designer Judith Van Mourik. The entrance foyer is like a scene from a fairytale with pink and purple trees covered in Christmas tree lights (we recommend arriving after dark for the full effect). The reception plunges you into a circus-like scene with fuchsia velvet curtains from floor to ceiling, low lighting from giant coloured lanterns and a candy-striped velvet service bar. We’re given a warm welcome by the receptionist in the form of the most delicious stroopwafel from under a glass cloche. And so begins a stay filled with treats and surprises…
Weeshuis opened as a hotel in 2021 under the ownership of the Van Gastel family: Sharon, a Marketing and Sales professional with years of experience in the hospitality industry, and Lennart, whose background in financial services lends itself to running the operational side of the business. Together with their two daughters and a very animated dog, Keck, Weeshuis Gouda is a family business.
We are lucky to be staying in one of the hotel’s most exclusive rooms: the Junior Suite. It is located on an end wing of the building with gorgeous original windows on both walls, one side looking over over the hotel’s magnificent courtyard area and the other to the cobbled street outside. The centrepiece of the room is the bed – king-sized from Coco-Mat and framed by a theatrical red velvet headboard. Above it is an impressive dome that expands the room upwards by about 3 metres, giving the feeling of sleeping in a small church as opposed to a hotel room.
The same maximalist design found downstairs carries over into the bedrooms. The Junior Suite is papered in a deep burgundy print, offset by the striking crimson bed frame and low lighting from statement lamps, already lit and waiting for our arrival. Music plays softly in the background – they’ve been expecting us.
The Junior Suite incorporates a sitting space with large television, a desk area, and a unique vanity area that knits together the bathroom and sleeping spaces into one seamless room. There’s no bath, but the bright yellow wet room has not one but two side-by-side rain showers.
We mosey around the room investigating all the little treats like children on an Easter egg hunt: a gift of stroopwafel pieces on the bed, handmade chocolates in the shape of traditional Dutch buildings from a local chocolatier, a special ‘sleep experience’ playlist with soothing bedtime music, and a bathroom filled with goodies from Dutch cosmetics brand Zenology (which Weeshuis also stocks in the reception shop), from pillow sleep spray to lip balm.
In the morning, after the deepest of sleeps on that cloud-like bed, we waken to sunlight streaming in from both sides of the room. The Weeshuis looks even more enchanting in the sun, its interior courtyard like a Parisian square with red and white striped umbrellas and red wooden shutters on the windows.
In addition to being a great place to rest your head, Weeshuis also has a Michelin star-level culinary offering with LIZZ, the restaurant led by Head Chef Remco Kuijpers. It’s an elegant glass-fronted restaurant with views over the inner courtyard and a menu that incorporates all the classic flavours of Dutch cuisine, but with a modern twist. If you’re in the market for something lighter than a full meal, the hotel also houses Coco, a stylish coffee and cocktail bar.
We venture to Coco in the morning for breakfast, and the vibrant colours of the interiors wake us up before the first coffee does. It’s a stately room with traditional wooden beamed ceilings, but brought into the modern day with bright splashes of pinks, greens and purples, fuchsia curtains, and a single pink rose on each table.
Breakfast is served in two parts: a self-service buffet with pastries and cereals, and a bottomless menu with cooked dishes far more intentional than the standard bacon and eggs hotel breakfast offering. We opt to try a little bit of everything (in the name of research, of course): mini croque monsieur made with Gouda – what else? – and truffle, American pancakes with raspberry marmalade and sour cream, smoked salmon brioche, and a ‘coupe oeuf’ with poached egg, Dutch prawns, hollandaise sauce, and a croissant delicately balanced on the side of the dish. It’s an indulgent experience, giving guests the opportunity to order as many of the dishes as they like – each featuring a taste of the local cuisine.
When it comes time to leave, we feel as though we’ve spent the last 24h in a colourful, Willy Wonka-esque wonderland, where complimentary pick ‘n mix jars and bottomless breakfasts are the norm. We’re not sure we want to return to the Real World, but reluctantly retread our steps through the stone archway, followed by Kech the dog.
The experience as Weeshuis Gouda is so slick and well-considered that we’d almost forgotten that this a family business – which just happens to be situated in one of the most impressive buildings in Gouda.
We understand why this hotel holds such renown among the town’s locals, and why visitors would (and should) make a detour to enjoy a piece of luxury in the cheese capital of the Netherlands. In our bag we have remnants of complimentary stroopwafel and miniature chocolate Dutch houses. If we have to return to a less colourful world, at least we have snacks.
We stayed
in a Junior Suite, priced from €250 per night, including an excellent breakfast in the Coco restaurant.
For best rates, book directly through the Relais & Châteaux website.
This was a press stay – all opinions are our own.
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