Apartment Havenweg 8-18St. Annaland - Netherlands (NL-17999)

The apartment block is very new and is set in a fantastic location. The large front balconies face the marina and the rear terraces/balconies face the 'kreek' so you experience the full wonderful benefit of being by the water. The small sandy beach at the rear of the apartments is perfect for families with small children. The village centre is just a short walk away and there is a new Jumbo supermarket, a bakery and cafés and a fantastic restaurant with a cool, shady terrace (Heerlijckheid Havenzicht - 100% recommended for a lunch / dinner)! Our apartment (nr 2) was very spacious (2 double bedrooms) and light and airy with large sliding doors all round and is nicely furnished (pretty much brand new). Very well equipped kitchen (but the freezer does makes a lot of noise!). These apartments have so much going for them, they really sell themselves .. however .. unfortunately there are some negative points which spoil the experience a little. It is a real shame because there is so much potential here to make the whole experience absolutely fabulous. 1. There are no keys. Entry to the block and apartment is done via an app and Bluetooth using your own smartphone (it is linked to your personal mobile number so only one person in the group has 'the key' which is already not a great idea). I had downloaded the app before we arrived and set it up with my reservation details. However when we arrived, there was another family who had also just arrived and were trying, unsuccessfully, to get into the block with the app. So we are all standing there for a few minutes with our smartphones, trying to work out how to open the front door ..We eventually managed it but it is unnecessarily difficult!! There are 4 'codes' for each apartment (one for the communal entrance door, one for your own front door, one for the downstairs communal entrance door (for access to the lift) and one for your own outside 'berging'). Each code is just a number so there is no indication which code relates to which door!! It would be more helpful to use words rather than codes! 2. The app worked fine for us until the end of Day 2 .. we went out for dinner and returned to the apartment at 22.00h and the app did not work! The communal entrance door was already open (which felt wrong) and we could not open the door into our apartment. We tried the app several times (and also rebooted it) but it did not work. We phoned the emergency number and thankfully it was answered quickly and the lady was very helpful - we were eventually able to get into the apartment using a "smart card" which is located near the lift entrance and is inside a "sleutelkluis" (we were given the pincode over the phone). Not the kind of worrying experience you want at the end of a nice evening out!! This had also happened to another family in the block - their app also stopped working and we had to let them in through our living room doors!! 3. Sorry to say but the cleaning is not done to a good enough standard. Your first impression is that the apartment is very clean because you can smell a pleasant cleaning product! There were noticeable finger marks on doors and a lot of dust and 'stof' on the floor around furniture (especially in the bedrooms by the bedside cupboards). The glass on top of the bedside cupboards was very dirty - not really very nice when you lie in bed and the lamp light shows it all! The extractor fans in the toilet and the bathroom did not work. Neither of these rooms has a window so the air is very still and gives a musty smell. The toilet (which is in black!) had an old smell of urine so I don't think it has been cleaned thoroughly or frequently (there is no 'toilet cleaner block' in the toilet bowl). 4. My last point is the construction work that is indeed mentioned in the details and for which a discount is given. What isn't mentioned is that the construction work is literally adjoining the apartment block - there are 3 more apartment blocks being added to the side of this block. Luckily for us, we stayed during the 'bouwvak' (construction holidays) so it was beautifully quiet and very peaceful! Quite honestly, I do not think it would be possible to enjoy sitting on your balcony or terrace whilst building work was going on! Of course, the work will not go on forever and once it is finished, as I mentioned, it is a fabulous location and it is wonderfully peaceful just sitting on the front balcony watching the boats on the marina. All in all, we had a wonderful week - if you are looking for a quieter part of Zeeland, away from the busy summer crowds on the main coastal beaches, Sint-Annaland is a great choice, especially with a dog as there is lots of nice walking in the area.