A Ducktub Bjorn at B&B Vacay Dune Lodges

The Mediterranean feeling, just in your own country

Since one year Myrthe and her partner started a beautiful B&B near Ouddorp. So it is still quite new. Myrthe: "We took over the accommodation from the previous owner and gave it completely our own twist with a renovation. It really is a very beautiful place, we fell in love immediately when we had the viewing here. We are very close to the beach of Ouddorp."

"Unique to our accommodation is the pool and the Mediterranean tiles that make you feel like you are in Italy. We are also lucky that Ouddorp is really a very nice tourist town on the coast. Because of corona, people naturally went on vacation abroad a little less last year, so we had many guests who still had the vacation feeling in the summer, but with us."

At Vacay Dune Lodges you will find several rooms with their own entrance. "We have a quadruple room and next to it a double room, where when you open the doors you come out into the big garden. And on the other side of our house we have another lodge with a mini kitchen in it. That's kind of nice, now that the restaurants are all closed."

Looking for ways to enjoy the whole year

Myrthe noticed in the summer that the pool was really a draw. "We were really completely full. Then autumn started and it got colder outside and in October you don't really go swimming in a pool anymore. Everyone knows us for the Mediterranean feel and the beautiful pool anyway, but in the fall we're still just open too. So then we started thinking what we could put in its place. Something nice for our guests in the fall."

"A hot tub was already in the back of our minds somewhere, but when we actually closed the pool, we ordered a hot tub right away the day after. So now we can offer an alternative which is nice the rest of the year."

A filled hot tub and plenty of wood, but otherwise self-service

We have a piece of forest on the plot with a nice sheltered corner for the hot tub and next to it a place to make a campfire. All guests are free to use the hot tub, where it is self-service. So they heat the water themselves. We make sure that it is filled with water and that there is enough wood, but we do not light it. We also clearly state that everywhere, otherwise it's no fun for us."

When you make a reservation, you don't have to indicate right away if you want to use the hot tub. "When guests arrive, we give them a tour of the property, during which we then also show the hot tub. Fortunately, we haven't had guests wanting to get in at the same time. The first day it was up, there was a group of friends for a girlfriends weekend with us. They had a whole package with yoga and had done a duck tour during the day. In the evening they went and enjoyed the hot tub and that went great. It's really nice to be able to offer something like that."

Myrthe notices that the guests are happy to have the hot tub, but they don't always go in it. We've had it since November 1 and it has really only rained*, so it hasn't always been nice to go in. The bookings are also a little less now, so it hasn't been used optimally yet. We want to promote the hot tub more in the near future and are curious to see how it will be this winter. I think it's really going to be an added value in the winter with the campfire there."

* This interview was on December 2, 2021, so the hot tub had only been at the B&B for a month. Of course, we are curious to know how Vacay Dune Lodges guests experience the hot tub in different seasons, so that's why we agreed to reconnect in the summer and hear Myrthe's experience!

‍Atop tip for other accommodations

The Ducktub Bjorn at the B&B has a handy shelf for the wines ánd they opted for a heat shield and spark arrestor. "That's actually a tip that all accommodations that purchase a hot tub should know. A friend of mine is a firefighter and he indicated you really need to have a spark arrestor here in the woods and for your guests a heat shield so they don't burn their hands on it. You want your guests to be able to use the hot tub safely, so I would really recommend this to all accommodations.