
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
At the beginning of January this year, I had another operation on my foot. This was done by one of Europe’s top foot surgeons in the city of Nijmegen on the other side of the Netherlands.
Looking for a hotel that would accommodate our family of four for the first night, and Himself and the kids for the nights I would be in hospital, plus our two friends and their toddler son was not at first easy.
On the list of essential requirements was an indoor swimming pool because I knew that if that wish was accomplished then all three kids would be happy and endlessly entertained, and as it turned out the pool turned out to be the highlight of their trip.
My daughter is training to be a lifeguard and my son, whilst not quite up to his sister’s standard still is a very confident swimmer, having passed the rigorous Dutch swimming diploma system. Both kids adore our friends son, so their toddler gained two personal assistants / playmates / entertainer in the pool and they played for literally hours on end in the water. This was even more perfect because our friend was expecting her second baby and said toddler still wasn’t always sleeping through the night so tired parents could keep a weather eye on proceedings without having to actually provide all of the entertainment.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)
Only one hotel in the area had both an indoor swimming pool and two family rooms available for the dates we needed them, which is how we ended up at the “De Zeven Heuvelen Hotel” (The Seven Hills Hotel) in Groesbeek, about fifteen kilometers out of Nijmegen.
Being New Zealand raised, I have to admit that I struggled to find one, let alone seven hills in the area, but I’ll assume that they are (or were) here somewhere and that I’m clearly more in need of new lenses than I thought I was.
The family room that we had was decently large, with a kitchenette so that Himself could cook pasta for the kids after the first night, and a second room of the main one that contained two single beds. The room that I booked for our friends was smaller (as requested) but I was horrified when I saw it in person (there were no photos on line) that it had a spiral staircase to access the mezzanine sleeping area upstairs.
The hotel had put a stair-gate at the bottom of the stairs but omitted to add one to the top, so our friends had be very careful when their toddler was upstairs, Luckily he was terrified of the stairs and kept well away.
I was also worried about my pregnant friend, spiral staircases not being easy to negotiate if she needed the lavatory downstairs during the night, but on the up-side they spent almost all of the “inside” time in our far larger room, and shared meals there too so it ended up not being an issue.
I certainly wouldn’t recommend this room for a family with very young children though, space is tight and those stairs are frightening. It’s a shame that there were no photographs showing this on the hotel website. Luckily the swimming pool was such a hit that little time was spent in the room, and our (bigger) room was perfect for both families needs.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)
Our friends family room…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Little Mr)

(photograph © Little Mr)

(photograph © Little Mr)

(photograph © Little Mr)
Hotel & Bungalowpark de Zeven Heuvelen
Cranenburgsestraat 23b
6561 AM Groesbeek
Telefoon: 024 – 397 58 41
info@dezevenheuvelen.nl
De Zeven Heuvelen Hotel