For my birthday, I decided to treat myself properly. Not a spa day, not a nice dinner out, but a full overnight stay at one of the most iconic hotels in the Netherlands: the Grand Hotel Amrath Kurhaus in Scheveningen. I'd had it on my radar for years. It looked like the kind of place that makes you feel something just by walking through the door, and honestly, after 35 years on this earth, I figured I'd earned a night of feeling a little bit like royalty.
So, was it worth it? Did the Kurhaus deliver the birthday magic I was hoping for? I'm going to give you the full, honest answer, because if you're considering staying here, I think you deserve to know exactly what you're signing up for before you hand over your card details.
Where Exactly Is the Kurhaus?
Before we get into the stay itself, a quick geography note that I didn't actually know until I started planning this trip: Scheveningen is not its own city. It's a coastal district of The Hague, which makes it really easy to combine with a city break if you fancy exploring one of the Netherlands' most elegant and underrated cities.
The Kurhaus sits right on the seafront, close to the promenade and the beach, with a position that genuinely feels special. You can see the pier, you can hear the North Sea, and the whole area has that slightly dramatic, windswept energy that Dutch coastal towns do so well. For context, the hotel has around 250 rooms and was built back in 1885, which means it has well over a century of history behind it. And what history: Queen Beatrix has stayed here. The Rolling Stones have stayed here. Bon Jovi. Ike and Tina Turner. The kind of guest list that makes you want to wander the corridors and imagine who might have walked them before you.
That exterior, with the Dutch red, white and blue flag flying from the top, looks genuinely stunning from the promenade. Grand, stately, powerful. The kind of hotel that makes you stand on the pavement and take a photo before you've even checked in.
First Impressions: The Arrival
Pulling up to the Kurhaus feels like a moment. And I want to be fair here, because that moment is real. The building is genuinely impressive, and stepping into the main hall for the first time is a proper wow experience. High ceilings, ornate detail, a sense of occasion. I felt that little flutter of excitement that you get when a hotel is really delivering on its promise.
I want you to hold onto that feeling, because it's the high point of the stay, and it comes before you've even reached your room.
The Room: Where the Magic Started to Fade
I'd been so looking forward to the room. In my head, I'd built it up as something classically beautiful, maybe with sea views, period features, the kind of room you don't want to leave.
What I actually got was something much more ordinary. The room was clean, perfectly fine, and completely unremarkable. Think renovated three-star hotel: neutral tones, standard furniture, nothing that felt like it belonged in a 140-year-old building with the kind of reputation the Kurhaus carries. There was no character, no charm, no nod to the hotel's extraordinary history. It felt like the interior designer's brief had been “inoffensive” rather than “memorable,” and they had absolutely nailed it.
Getting photos felt almost impossible, not because the light was bad, but because there genuinely wasn't anything worth pointing a camera at. If you know me, you know I will always find the shot. Here, I really struggled. That tells you everything.
The Dutch have a wonderful phrase for this: vergane glorie, which roughly translates to “lost glory.” It describes something that was once magnificent but has since lost its shine, and I felt it so strongly in that room. The exterior promises something the interior simply doesn't deliver.
The Spa and Common Areas
The spa was, unfortunately, more of the same. Dated, a little tired, and not somewhere you'd linger for longer than necessary. The lobby area felt similarly stuck in a different era, not in a charmingly vintage way, more in a “nothing has been updated since the early 90s and nobody seems to have noticed” way.
I know that sounds harsh, and I genuinely don't enjoy writing that about a place I'd been so excited to visit. But if you're paying a premium price and planning a special occasion, you deserve to know.
The Breakfast: The Unexpected Highlight
Here's where things do genuinely get better, and I want to give the Kurhaus proper credit for this.
Breakfast is served in the main hall, and it is, without question, the loveliest part of staying here. There's a pianist playing, the ceiling soars above you, and the whole experience has a gentle, old-world elegance that feels completely in keeping with what you'd hope a stay here would feel like. If you close your eyes between bites and just listen, you can almost feel the history of the place.
The food itself was decent without being exceptional: a solid buffet spread, good coffee, pleasant enough. But the setting makes it feel more special than it might otherwise, and I left breakfast feeling genuinely glad I'd stayed, which is something.
Dinner at Waves Restaurant
We had dinner at Waves, the hotel's in-house restaurant, and my honest verdict is: fine. Not bad, not memorable, just fine. Competent cooking in an underwhelming space. For a hotel of this supposed standing, fine really isn't good enough. You want to feel like dinner is part of the experience, not just a convenient option because you can't be bothered to go out.
If you do stay, I'd actually suggest exploring the promenade for dinner and saving Waves for a drink rather than a full meal.
So, Is the Kurhaus Worth It?
This is the question I keep coming back to, and I think the honest answer is: it depends entirely on what you're paying and what you're expecting.
If you find a good deal, and the Kurhaus does occasionally come up at more accessible rates, then yes, stay there. The location is genuinely wonderful, breakfast in that hall is a lovely experience, and being able to say you've slept in a building that has hosted royalty and rock legends does carry a certain something. Tick it off the list. You'll be glad you did it once.
But if you're paying top rates and expecting a luxury experience from arrival to checkout, you will likely be disappointed. The gap between what this hotel looks like it should be and what it actually delivers is significant, and no amount of beautiful facade makes up for a mediocre room and a dated spa when you've paid for something special.
For my 35th, I wanted to feel like the main character. The Kurhaus gave me that feeling in the entrance hall and again over breakfast, but not really anywhere in between. And for a birthday treat, I'd hoped for a little more magic than that.
That said: I don't regret it. Scheveningen is a brilliant base, The Hague is a beautiful city to explore, and the Kurhaus is the kind of place that stays with you, even when it frustrates you. There's something undeniably compelling about a building with that much history. It just needs someone to come in and do justice to it.
Practical Details
Location: Gevers Deynootplein 30, 2586 CK Den Haag, Netherlands
Rooms: Approximately 250
Best for: A one-night experience stay, city break add-on, a special occasion if you find a good deal
Skip if: You're expecting five-star luxury throughout
Book via: Booking.com for the best available rates, and always check whether breakfast is included before you book.
Want to see where else I've been? Head over to the travel section for more.
