My easy-breezy family holiday to Europe's wackiest theme park
Or is it? I was the first journalist through the doors of the new hotel at beloved Dutch theme park Efteling, just ahead of the official opening on August 1, and the first clue that things might be a bit different here came a week or so before we arrived. Check-in at Efteling Grand Hotel was completed online, our car registration was taken and valet parking confirmed. Fast forward to our stay and there we were sailing through the automatic barriers, handing our car keys to a man in a waistcoat and watching our luggage being whisked away while the children pinged around the hotel's elegant lobby like cats released from cages (or, rather, preschoolers unclipped after a day spent in their car seats).
It's about a four-hour drive from the Calais end of the Channel tunnel to Efteling in the south of the Netherlands, an hour or so from Rotterdam, and it showed. In the lobby our five-year-old banged on the keys of the grand piano, her younger sister sprinted up the spiral staircase and their two-year-old brother clambered over an artfully arranged pile of vintage suitcases. Fortunately, there were indulgent smiles from the hotel staff as we corralled them all into the lift and up to our suite. Thanks to the Efteling app, I had our room key already to hand: no in-person check-in required.
Rooms at the hotel are vast. Ours had three separate bedrooms (two doubles, the other with bunks), while even the smallest I saw came with a built-in single kids bunk. All 140 of them have views of the park — across to the thatched peaks of the entrance building and the fountains of Vonderplas lake, or into the Fairytale Forest, where recreations of 31 fairytale scenes, including Rapunzel in her tower and Sleeping Beauty in her castle, are dotted throughout a pleasant woodland. The kids pressed their palms against the floor-to-ceiling windows and fizzed with excitement.
There's a nod to the grand 19th-century hotels of Europe throughout the hotel, with squishy carpets in bold monochrome print, wood-panelled walls painted rich magenta and plenty of brushed gold, but what really sets Efteling Grand Hotel apart is its location. This isn't one of those theme park hotels that requires shuttle buses and lengthy walks to reach the park gates; it is literally inside the park. Plus, guests not only have their own dedicated entrance to the Fairytale Forest, but also access to the park half an hour ahead of everybody else.
So we were into the park at 9.30am the next morning, standing alone outside Hansel and Gretel's house and coming face to squealing face with a dragon. There's a glorious almost-wild feeling to this part of the park, with logs to climb on and paths that wind between the trees. This zone dates back to 1952 and was the work of the Dutch artist Anton Pieck and the film-maker Peter Reijnders. It's a charming place, not least because it immediately engages all three children, who spot gnomes and a troll king, and talk to a parrot that talks right back, speaking sagely of not answering the door to the big bad wolf. The highlight? Probably the Pinocchio attraction, where the four-year-old shrieks with glee as she swings a vast fishing rod in the face of a giant monster fish and finds the wooden boy hiding inside its mouth.
Because the hotel is just inside the park gates we were able to break up exploring its attractions with short rests in our room or a quick swim in the indoor pool. This immediately became my favourite spot in the hotel, with a more spa-like feel than any family pool I've seen: the water was properly warm, there were bubble jets the kids could sit among with us and a soothing dusky-blue-and-white colour scheme throughout. Even better, the shallowest pool was only 5cm deep and came with a water jet and an array of (tastefully coloured) plastic cups for little ones to play with. It kept our youngest entertained for ages, while the complimentary armbands meant our two nonswimmers could safely pootle around the deeper pools more or less unaided. I actually relaxed for a few minutes there.
Unfortunately the hotel's restaurants didn't quite nail it. There are two, both overlooking Vonderplas lake: Brasserie 7 on the ground floor, which serves classic dishes such as French onion soup and steak tartare (mains from £21), and Mystique, a family fine dining affair on the first floor. I could perhaps chalk up Brasserie 7's glacially slow service to teething problems, but I can't imagine families wanting to book Mystique's 'adventurous flavour combinations' (£56 for three courses). It's not recommended for children younger than nine, but even so, we're talking ingredients such as wasabi root and kohlrabi and I'm not sure you would want to spend several hours sitting at a restaurant table, given the park stays open until 10pm. Better, I'd say, to come here for a drink, taken while perched on a stool overlooking the crowds during the nightly Aquanura fountain show that lights up Vonderplas lake.
On our final afternoon I took advantage of the hotel's superb location, sending my husband on the easy stroll back to the room with the kids while I grabbed the opportunity to indulge my love of rollercoasters. Thanks to Efteling's separate lines for solo riders, which slot you into otherwise empty seats, I was able to walk straight on to Joris en de Draak and was speeding along its wooden track, whooping, arms raised, before the kids would even have found the TV remote. Within the hour I had also ridden the speedy steel coaster Python, the indoor coaster Vogel Rok, which swoops like an eagle through utter darkness, and my instant favourite, Baron 1898.
All my pretrip fretting over practicalities hadn't allowed any time for reading about Efteling's rides, which left me totally unprepared for Baron 1898's whopping 37.5m freefall. And so, surprised and delighted, I let out an involuntary giggle/gasp as we hung motionless above the drop — and sparked a booming belly laugh from the man seated next to me. Perhaps I can still be quite fun after all. Helen Ochyra was a guest of Efteling Grand Hotel, which has B&B family rooms for four from £508, including valet parking and park entry (efteling.com). Drive from the UK, or take the train or fly to Eindhoven
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BBC News
2 hours ago
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Telegraph
2 hours ago
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Daily Mail
2 hours ago
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Molly-Mae Hague jets off to lavish £2k-per-night hotel in Turkey with Tommy Fury and daughter Bambi - after 'out of touch' influencer was blasted for claiming she 'hasn't done one fun thing' all summer
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The couple also enjoyed a freshly cooked lunch while sitting in a restaurant overlooking the picturesque beach However, the holiday is the latest in a series of overseas trips for Molly-Mae, but neither the art and architecture of Paris, the sun-kissed glamour of Dubai nor the sweeping Mediterranean coastlines of Saint Tropez have impressed. 'I will get to the end of summer without having done one fun thing,' she moaned while talking to her sister in July. 'Zoe, I haven't socialised once. I am going to get to the end of this summer, I haven't done one social fun thing.' The globe-trotting influencer added: 'I haven't a life. I haven't a life. It's not good. 'It's all kids related, if it's not work and kids I am not doing anything. It's not good. People going for a drink with their friends or to a beer garden. 'Oh my gosh, I don't remember the last time I did my hair and makeup and put an outfit on for something that wasn't work related. 'I don't do anything. Lets normalise it. For the girls that are going to get to the end of summer and not done one fun thing.' However Molly-Mae did accept that her recent trip to Wimbledon, during which she did indeed wear make-up and a £3,000 Dior dress, was a 'fun' occasion. She said: 'No that's a lie because people are going to say "You went to London in your last vlog and had a ball," and I did.' Unsurprisingly, Molly-Mae's latest comments didn't go down well with her two million-plus YouTube subscribers, with many claiming she was 'out of touch', 'tone-deaf' and 'always moaning'. The influencer started strong this summer by signing a seven-figure deal with consumer goods firm Unilever and starring in a new campaign for its detergent brand, Persil and Comfort, in May. She fronted a new 'delicate' fragrance range with her toddler Bambi, who made her campaign debut in a fluffy pink jumper and ballerina tutu. Putting her name behind their 'Heaven Scent' non-bio capsules, fabric conditioner and a scent booster elixir, Molly-Mae said: 'I can be really protective of what I use at home, especially since having Bambi. 'My skin's always been sensitive, so I need products I know are kind to my skin but still leave everything smelling amazing and this range honestly does both.' But it wasn't all work though as Molly-Mae jetted off on her sixth holiday of the year – once again to Dubai. She and Tommy travelled business class to one of the most luxurious hotels in the UAE, the five-star Jumeirah Al Naseem, where rooms cost a whopping £13,897 per night. The hotel has its own private 2km beach, a turtle rehabilitation sanctuary and an infinity pool – which the couple were pictured canoodling in. If that wasn't enough time away from home, that month Molly-Mae also visited private members' club Soho Farmhouse in the Cotswolds. She's not the first celebrity to be drawn to the £500-a-night retreat, with the Beckhams, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and Taylor Swift also fans. Molly-Mae treated herself to a couple of nights in one of the cabins, where members can enjoy spa facilities, country bike rides and tennis. For her final trip in May, she flew on a private jet to Disneyland Paris to celebrate her 26th birthday alongside Tommy, their daughter and some of her best friends. She shared pictures from inside the jet alongside photos complete with birthday cake, balloons and plenty of Minnie Mouse ears. Come June, Molly-Mae told her YouTube followers she was jetting off yet again. First to Germany for two nights for a 'secret project' and then on to the South of France to shoot the summer campaign for her clothing brand Maebe. Basking in the sunshine at a luxury villa in St Tropez, the influencer shared various snaps of herself lounging on sunbeds and dining at luxury restaurants. Later that month, Molly-Mae was whisked back to the Cotswolds for a 'surprise staycation'. This time, she and Tommy stayed at the lavish £700-a-night hotel Estelle Manor which has a swimming pool, four restaurants, spa and farm on site. Basking in the sunshine at a luxury villa in St Tropez, the influencer shared various snaps of herself lounging on sunbeds and dining at luxury restaurants On her Instagram stories she showed off the plush accommodation as well as swimming in the pool with daughter Bambi. July didn't see Molly-Mae slow down either, as a trip to London beckoned. After a day shopping with friends and staying at the luxury Corinthia hotel in London, she attended Wimbledon as a guest of Evian water. On Sunday, she gave a tearful defence of her comments in a separate video. She told followers: 'I don't care who tells me I am out of touch with reality or all this stuff that's going on on TikTok at the minute... I don't care. I'm not going to not talk about it.'
