Unwind in the Welvaere minispa at Erve Scherpzicht

Sharp vision

Not so long ago, Caroline and her family moved from Amsterdam to their new home in the Achterhoek: Erve Scherpzicht, a farm from 1840. Caroline explains that the farm has this name because you used to be able to see very far. "Back then there was less vegetation like we have now. Yet now you can still see very far from us. We are free at the edge of the forest, so we have a view over the meadows and the edge of the forest. So the name is still appropriate."

"What we ourselves find very beautiful about Erve Scherpzicht is that we are completely free, on a dirt road. No traffic passes by, except for the mail carrier and the occasional farmer mowing the grass. It used to be an agricultural farm. We bought it from a lady in her 80s who then had to leave the farm. When we came here, the straw was still in the barn. It's still completely in its original condition."

Tiny house all for guests alone

Caroline and Alexander wanted other people to also enjoy the beautiful place where they now live. That's why they chose to rent out a tiny house. "The Tiny House is behind the animal stables. So we don't see them from us, the guests really have their own place here. You sit completely free and can enjoy undisturbed here with a private mini spa overlooking the goats and chickens and the forest edge and meadows all around. Especially people from Amsterdam and the suburbs are not used to having so much space and greenery around them and love coming here. They love just being outside by themselves or looking outside all day."

So the mini spa includes a hot tub, sauna and outdoor shower for Erve Scherpzicht guests to use. "We built a decking path from the tiny house to the spa. The spa is nicely sheltered among the trees, so you don't see it from the outside. You're really kind of hidden away.

Enjoy in summer and winter

"We thought, in the summer there's obviously all kinds of things to do, but what can we offer in the winter? Then you mostly just sit inside. My father-in-law has a beautiful farmhouse in Giethoorn and has a Tønsauna in the garden. That inspired us and we chose the mini spa ourselves. Now we can offer just that little extra to our guests in the winter. Although we notice that even in warm weather they are very happy with the hot tub."

The hot tub is always ready

"We have had the spa in place since December and it has actually always been used since then, especially the hot tub. We make sure every guest has clean water so we always drain the tub when guests leave and then use this water on the land. We clean the hot tub before each new visit and fire up the stove beforehand. That way they can enjoy it right away and our guests only have to do some re-firing the following day. We find that people really love this."

"We have mostly couples as guests. Some couples go to the sauna often and love it. Others then prefer to go alone in the hot tub, but most couples use all the facilities." They leave the firing up of the wood-fired sauna to the guests themselves. It goes a lot faster than the hot tub; after about 45 minutes you step into a warm sauna.

The wellness products a real enrichment

Caroline says she often hears from guests that they even come especially for the hot tub. "They love that it's outdoors, where you can watch the stars at night and the deer that sometimes pass by. We actually always hear from our guests that they have really unwinded after spending a few days here."