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Review: the Hotel des Indes, The Hague, Presidential Suite

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This is my review of my Monday night in the Presidential Suite of the Hotel des Indes in The Hague.

Even by my standards this was a slightly bizarre way to start the week.  At Christmas, Starwood ran a private charity auction on behalf of UNICEF.  I was offered the chance to bid and this looked the most interesting lot.  I bought a night with breakfast and welcome drinks for €300, all of which went to the charity.

This is a bizarre hotel but, to be clear, I really enjoyed my stay.  It is very pleasant, once in a while, to stay somewhere that is definitely still part of another age, despite its faults.  I think I would stay again if I came back to The Hague.

Review Hotel des Indes The Hague Den Haag

The Hotel des Indes is 135 years old and now operates as part of The Luxury Collection by Starwood.  It has also been an InterContinental and Le Meridien hotel during the last 20 years.  Despite the branding, the fact that rooms start at €185 or 16,000 SPG points per night gives the immediate impression that we’re not talking Claridges here.

My first impressions were confirmed when reception only swiped my credit card for €50 (clearly thinking I’d struggle to spend more than that!) and did not even offer to walk me to my room despite having one of the two top suites.

Review Hotel des Indes The Hague Den Haag

The Hotel des Indes Presidential Suite (which is not really presidential at all) is not huge and does not, in any logical sense, justify the usual €1,500 per night price tag.  As with the rest of the hotel, it was redesigned by Jacques Garcia about 15 years ago.  The living area is above and below is my canopied bed!

Review Hotel des Indes The Hague Den Haag

…. and bathroom:

Review Hotel des Indes The Hague Den Haag

I even got my own outdoor terrace:

Review Hotel des Indes The Hague Den Haag

It is all a bit bizarre though:

  • Look at the top picture of the room.  See the TV?  That is one of those TV’s you use when giving conference presentations.  It is 6 feet off the ground!
  • The iPod dock below it only takes the old style connectors
  • The coffee machine is an industrial size one and I needed to get a staff member to show me how to get it working
  • I had 30 Nespresso pods in the room but only two cups and POWDERED milk
  • The bathroom comes with a choice of toiletries – a full set of Molton Brown and a full set of Elemis!
  • The heating didn’t work properly (the room was cold as the patio doors to the terrace let in outside air)
  • There is one plug socket at the desk

None of this was a huge problem but it took the shine off the space.

The interior decor of the hotel is fascinating.  Here is my corridor (those double doors are the entrance to my suite):

Review Hotel des Indes The Hague Den Haag

The lobby area is stunning.  Dark and with a faded feel, but stunning none the less.  It is also very cheap by five star European standards.  I was genuinely stunned when I saw the lobby bar menu which is priced at UK Holiday Inn levels:

Review Hotel des Indes The Hague Den Haag

and, looking down:

Review Hotel des Indes The Hague Den Haag

Breakfast  at the Hotel des Indes – a rather modest affair – is served in the lobby.  It is like eating breakfast in a St James’s private club – there are never more than a handful of other guests there as this isn’t a large hotel and breakfast runs for 4 hours.  It is about as far from a restaurant experience as you can get.  I mean this in a positive sense!

There is spa and a swimming pool in the basement but I didn’t get down there during my short visit.

Conclusion

Regular readers will know that I am very fond of InterContinental Le Grand in Paris, and indeed I am back there for an extended visit soon.  The Hotel des Indes has a similar vibe, with the advantage of being a lot cheaper because it isn’t in such peak condition.

There is a new Holiday Inn Express a few minutes away if you want glass and chrome and the usual stuff.  If you are prepared to put up with its ideosyncrasies, though, I do recommend the Hotel des Indes as a very different break from the norm.  Just don’t pay €1,500 for the Presidential Suite!

The Hotel des Indes website is here if you want to learn more.

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Comments (16)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Anon says:
    13 Jul13 July 06:48

    For a bit of fun how about we list our experience in Presidential Suites that wete not exactly Presidential.

    I’ll kick off with Doubletree Chester, lovely view of the rubbish collection area, a snip at £425/night rack rate (not that I paid that)

    But in fairness, a Nice enough hotel & spa and friendly staff tho.

    • GnarlyOldGoatDude says:
      13 Jul13 July 13:04

      Stayed at the Sheraton Catania Hotel and Conference centre (SPG Category 2) in April.

      Booked a standard room couple of weeks in advance for about 100 Euros. On arrival was told that we’d been upgraded (as a Gold via Platinum Amex).

      We walked up to the room to find that we had the key to the Presidential Suite.
      After our initial glee, we soon realised that a normal room would have been better: The presidential suite consisted of a small kitchen, a small bathroom, a main bathroom with a Jacuzzi bath and then a large conference room with a fold-down bed.
      There was no separation between the conference table, 12 chairs and the sleeping area.
      A large videoconferencing TV was down the far end of the room…too far away to be useful…beyond the range of the remote.
      It was just odd to try and sleep in one small corner of such a large open room.

      The one saving grace was the enormous roof terrace.

      • GnarlyOldGoatDude says:
        13 Jul13 July 13:06

        I did enclose that message in fake html/xml tags for FirstWorldProblems, but the site has sensibly removed them.
        I will stick with hashtags next time.

  • James says:
    13 Jul13 July 07:22

    You do like the older style and especially with quirks and individuality though, I recall you were very pleased with the InterCon Amstel also 🙂

    • Rob says:
      13 Jul13 July 08:26

      I don’t like unrefurbished hotels but I have a soft spot for places that have been redone in an attempt to recreate what you may loosely call ‘the golden age of travel’.

      I liked the look of IC Bordeaux for the same reasons but the photos in Anika’s review got a lot of negative pushback from readers. What I would say is that, because places like this have an aura about them that does not come out in pictures, the experience of being there is different to looking at the photos.

      For clarity, our house is full of funky modern furniture – which may also explain why I like a change of style once in a while.

      • avstar says:
        13 Jul13 July 09:36

        I have to agree on the IC Amstel. Such a different experience from most modern hotels, the staff were first rate and the rooms and furnishings make an impression that stays with you. On the spot complimentary Jeneva tastings at the canal side bar dont hurt either…

      • Nick says:
        13 Jul13 July 11:34

        I agree. It is why I would choose, for example, the IC Mark Hopkins over the new IC just a few blocks away.

        Although just across the road from the IC Mark Hopkins was the Fairmont. Now, they really do have a presidential suite worth the name, as the Casey Neistat video proves!

  • Burd says:
    13 Jul13 July 09:39

    Careful Rob the last thing we want is for this site to turn into One Mile at a Time.

    • Rob says:
      13 Jul13 July 10:05

      I do occasionally wonder what I would have done if I’d started this site at 20 and not 40. I might have gone ‘the Ben route’ – it would be tax free for a UK citizen for a start! Would I have done it full time instead of going into the City? Would I even have been able to make it work without much commercial experience? Being in my 40s is beneficial – senior people in the industry are happy to chat to me because we are similar ages and, due to my City background, I understand how their businesses work.

  • TravelBloggerBuzz says:
    13 Jul13 July 13:14

    Most.Underwhelming.Presidential.Suite.Ever!

    The coffee set up and only one plug socket are unforgivable.

    Best feature of it by far, imho, the terrace, wow!

  • Nick says:
    13 Jul13 July 13:45

    I get it rob. Where would we all be if there was no history. Each to their own, and as they say on dragons den, ‘I’m Out’!

    I think i prefer the IC bordeaux, even through i criticised that aswell…..i certainly wouldn’t call the terrace wow….its nice, okay, not sure what the view is like from it, but as a space its alright.

    Sorry my TA review would be 3/5 at best very mehhh….

    On a positive rob, i love how you don’y just review paris, new york, london, etc. You show places that are quirky, different, not on the usual tourist list. I loved reading about tallinn last week. Been 5 times, stay at the telegraff then you will see old and modern at its finest. Beautiful city, loads to do and not over run (yet) by crowds of stag do’s…….

    • Rob says:
      13 Jul13 July 17:08

      Ahem … three New York hotel reviews in the pipeline, sorry! And possibly one on Paris depending on where I do my last night later this month 🙂

  • Nick says:
    13 Jul13 July 19:05

    I was very pleased to be upgraded to the Presidential Suite at the Doubletree Hilton in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania a couple of years ago.

    At that time I had a HHonors Gold card and was quite surprised to receive this benefit.

    It was wonderful! A large king size bedroom, with large TV and work desk and large bathroom with bath & shower + all amenities. The door lead into an African inspired & decorated lounge area with a leather suite seating area with another large TV and a wonderful glass dining table, with seats for 8 people. There was a separate toilet in this area. From the outside there were three doors to enter the suite.

    The panoramic views over the ocean were glorious!

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