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Hotel Review + Mini TR: Hotel Schiphol A4 / Van der Valk

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  • Hotel Review + Mini TR: Hotel Schiphol A4 / Van der Valk

    So it was the spring season holiday and the university was going to close for the week Mar. 14-18. My parents are expatriates in Egypt so they booked a roundtrip ticket for me GFK-MSP-AMS-CAI. The booking was done with KLM but the GFK-MSP and MSP-AMS legs are code-shared with Delta.

    Then the Egyptian civil unrest took place early in the year. As a result, the Egyptian authorities imposed an overnight curfew to prevent further uprisings/protests. KLM notified me by phone about a week before my trip that because of this curfew, KLM had to temporary reschedule KL553 to the next morning. KLM normally flies KL553 so that it arrives early in the morning in CAI, but is not possible with the curfew in place. KLM was generous in giving me accommodation for the night due to the reschedule.

    Nothing was out of the ordinary for the GFK-MSP leg. It was operated by a subsidiary, Pinnacle Airlines, under the Delta Air Lines name. The flight was in a CRJ-200, probably, one of my least favorite aircraft to fly in. Fortunately, it was only a 55 minute ride to MSP. My camera bag cannot even fit in the overhead bin and I had to place it under the seat in front of me. That already took away some legroom. Also, the windows on the CRJ are way too low. I had to actually lower my head to get a view. For the light snack, mini pretzels or salted peanuts were the choices along with a beverage of your choice.

    After I landed in MSP, I had a couple of hours to spare until my next flight to AMS, DL264. After I grabbed a bite to eat, I headed for the gate and prepared to board a DL A330 for the first time. I have to say, I’m quite impressed with the DL A330. Y seating is 2-4-2 abreast and seats are in full leather. PTVs are fitted in Y with AVOD available free of charge on international flights. The screen size is adequate and the brightness qualities are good. Screen size is about the same as the old SQ PTVs. The resolution is very good. It was a good 7 hour journey to AMS. Delta Air Lines, in my opinion, is the worst in its food. They need to work on the catering and presentation and organization of Y meals. Bun is not properly heated and the coffee cup still has visible plastic shavings from the manufacturing.

    So I land in AMS and I’m supposed to board later that night, but because of the flight reschedule to the next morning, I was entitled a hotel. Now here’s the problem. KLM was nice to give me a free hotel, but not a visa! I hoped the hotel would be in the terminal, so I didn’t have to get out of Schiphol. After asking the transfer desk agent, they told me I had to go through immigration and go to the baggage claim to get to my hotel. I told them I didn’t have a visa but they simply said I should just explain the unexpected flight reschedule to them.

    So I head over to the immigration desk and they said I should get an emergency visa from the office. So I head to the immigration office and gave them my request. I handed over my passport and the necessary documents and they said it would take about 45 minutes to have it processed. I thought to myself that it isn’t that long, so I headed upstairs to McDonald’s for something to eat while they work on my visa.

    It was until nearly 2 hours later, I was finally granted my 24-hour visa. I headed out to the baggage claim area to obtain the free hotel voucher from the KLM Arrival Services desk. In addition to the hotel voucher, they gave me the following:





    Complimentary 5 minute phone card


    Amenity Coupon


    Travel Discount

    They even gave me an amenity kit along with the hotel voucher:





    So I headed out of Schiphol and hopped aboard the shuttle bus for the Hotel Schiphol A4 / Van der Valk, which is the one KLM provided for me. It’s a ten minute ride from the airport to the hotel.

    I handed my voucher and the receptionist handed me some hotel info along with my meal vouchers:



    I was assigned hotel room 325 for the night:




    Inside of hotel card holder with hotel information


    Rear of hotel card holder with the shuttle schedule, very handy!
    Such a gentle way about you / All around the world / Wouldn't go away without you / Singapore Girl, you're a great way to fly

  • #2

    Room 325


















    View from the balcony of Room 325
    Such a gentle way about you / All around the world / Wouldn't go away without you / Singapore Girl, you're a great way to fly

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    • #3

      Dinner time. For the special “KLM” guests, I was given choices for soup, entrée, and dessert rather than a la carte with a menu


      Chicken soup


      Pasta


      The next morning, I had breakfast at the same hotel restaurant, but this time, it was all you can eat buffet.


      From cheeses and bread to meats and eggs.


      Breakfast cereal and fresh fruit in the far back.

      After a nice breakfast, I made my way to Schiphol for my rescheduled flight to CAI. It was a pretty quiet week in CAI and I had the cold during the first few days. A week then went by quickly, and it was time to embark on my journey back to GFK…

      …and there was another reschedule. My flight out of AMS would take place the next morning. So KLM gave me another free hotel voucher for another night. Flew to AMS and rushed to get another 24 hour visa on my passport. Fortunately, it didn’t take quite as long as before. A friendly Dutch immigration officer joked as he looked at my previous Dutch emergency visa in my passport and asked if I was collecting them!

      I went to the same arrival desk, got the same voucher, got the same amenity kit again and took the shuttle to the Van der Valk.


      The receptionist also gave the same paper with the attached meal vouchers.


      This time I was assigned to Room 832.


      Room 832





      Such a gentle way about you / All around the world / Wouldn't go away without you / Singapore Girl, you're a great way to fly

      Comment


      • #4

















        That night, for dinner, I chose the French onion soup…


        …and a chicken platter. I skipped dessert this time and last time. I was too full!

        The next morning I enjoyed a nice breakfast and headed out to Schiphol for my flight to MSP and then my last one to GFK in the little CRJ. This sums up my mini TR.

        Now for the brief hotel review…

        I enjoyed my stay at the Van der Valk and appreciated the fact that KLM provided free accommodation. What I would like to see that is different is for KLM to provide some sort of document that I can present to immigration officers to expedite the process. I hated to wait long hours just to get a 24 hour visa.

        Room 325 was extremely generous in my opinion. I had two twin beds for myself and a pretty large room. I loved everything about Room 325.

        Room 832 would have probably been the one for me all along. Its size is perfect and just like before, I had no complaints. Nothing was wrong with either room.

        Dinner was just the right portion and the choices were good. Taste-wise, it was reasonable and I had no complaints.

        Breakfast was even better. Lots of choices and a variety of options were available from meats and cheese to bread and eggs. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

        Shuttle service between Schiphol and the hotel were on time and with no delays.

        Now only if they are willing to provide free wireless internet, which would have been perfect…

        I hope you enjoyed this rather short hotel review + mini TR.
        Such a gentle way about you / All around the world / Wouldn't go away without you / Singapore Girl, you're a great way to fly

        Comment


        • #5
          Wow! What amazes me is your upbeat "voice" throughout this. If I was stuck in your situation, this blogpost would have taken a much different tenor...

          Comment


          • #6
            Aulia Harun: An admirable attitude in what must have been a very unsettling 'holiday' period of your life. You kept your chin up, and did what was needed without complaining and that's commendable.

            I thoroughly enjoyed your TR, as mini as it is - but on the bright side, you got a fully paid-for 'holiday' in AMS. Interesting variation of rooms too, and the hotel restaurant looks rather charming, and very appealing.

            Good job!

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by coffeeblack View Post
              Wow! What amazes me is your upbeat "voice" throughout this. If I was stuck in your situation, this blogpost would have taken a much different tenor...
              Originally posted by Kyo View Post
              Aulia Harun: An admirable attitude in what must have been a very unsettling 'holiday' period of your life. You kept your chin up, and did what was needed without complaining and that's commendable.

              I thoroughly enjoyed your TR, as mini as it is - but on the bright side, you got a fully paid-for 'holiday' in AMS. Interesting variation of rooms too, and the hotel restaurant looks rather charming, and very appealing.

              Good job!
              Thanks Kyo and coffeeblack

              I think my upbeat voice may stem from the fact that I seldom travel... keep in mind, I am still a student in university. In a typical year, I only get to have 3 roundtrips: one in the spring season (March), one in the summer (May - August) and one at the end of the year (December - January). If I'm lucky, I get another roundtrip or two during the summer, such as Bali, Singapore, Malaysia. In my case this year, we will be relaxing in Lombok (TR spoiler alert!) and moving from CAI to LHR in July, so there will be a tad more flying.

              In the end, I don't travel as frequent as the business travelers or frequent flyers here on SQTalk, so when I do get to travel, I am always in a very good mood and it takes a lot to upset me
              Such a gentle way about you / All around the world / Wouldn't go away without you / Singapore Girl, you're a great way to fly

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