Hotel Flora Batava

Arriving by boat is an option here, docking at the quay before walking up through the garden to the villa. Hotel Flora Batava occupies the Vijverhof country estate, bought by Agnes Block in 1670 and developed with orchards, ponds and an orangery. The main villa is a listed monument; the hotel around it holds 45 rooms and suites, from compact Cosy rooms of 15 m² to a top-floor Suite with a bath and a view over the Vecht. Two junior suites sit inside the historic villa itself, under original beam ceilings. Restaurant Bloei runs from a glass conservatory with high ceilings, plated by a kitchen working regional, seasonal produce; it holds 13 points from Gault & Millau. A tea house on the water, shaped like a boat's hull and glazed on all sides, doubles as a meeting room or a lunch spot in the colder months. Three further meeting rooms take daylight through skylights or garden doors, one opening onto a planted inner courtyard. It is a quiet base. Amsterdam and Utrecht are both roughly 15 to 20 minutes away by the A2, and parking on site is free.