For years I wanted to visit hotel, restaurant and garden Villa Augustus in Dordrecht. A few weeks ago I finally did and I loved everything about it!
Visiting Villa Augustus was part of a day trip to Dordrecht with my friend Ans. Here we are, taking a welfie in one of the many gorgeous vintage mirrors in Villa Augustus.
Why I love Villa Augustus in Dordrecht
Villa Augustus is a unique hotel and restaurant, housed in a former water tower, surrounded by huge and beautiful gardens.
The original towers had once been removed. so Dorine de Vos came up with the idea for the gauze towers, ‘as phantoms for the towers that were once there…”. Brilliant!
It is owned and designed by Dutch artist and multi-talent Dorine de Vos, a woman that I admire enormously. I love, love, love her style, her work, her creations.
How cute is this stone and metal miniature version of the water tower?!
Dorine de Vos, multi-talent
Way way back in time (1984), I visited Grand Cafe Schlemmer in The Hague for the first time, and I was instantly blown away! Oh. My. God. Everything in and about that place was creative, quirky, different and pretty.
(Apparently it’s still there, but I have no idea if it looks anything like the olden days or not…)
I wanted to LIVE there,
… as I always do when I’m in a place (hotel, shop, restaurant, house, whatever) that shouts to me: “This is ME, this is my style, I love everything in here, I want everything in here; can I move in please?!…”.
I remember visiting Schlemmer once around Christmas time and the waitresses walked around wearing wings. Fun and magical!
Dorine de Vos did a lot of other projects, from interior design in restaurants to writing books and sketching and much more.
But the project that was a huge hit amongst the public, including me, was Hotel New York in Rotterdam.
Picture taken from Wikipedia article.
A unique, industrial heritage building on a fabulous location, that she converted into a hotel and cafe-restaurant. I did not live anywhere near Rotterdam, but went to Hotel New York as often as I could.
And then, one day, there was Villa Augustus.
The restaurant amidst the gardens.
Villa Augustus; a must-visit when you are in the neighbourhood
History of the building
This monumental water plant dates back to 1882 and on the website of Villa Augustus you can read more about the fascinating origin and history of this building.
Find out how and when the water tower stopped weeping, how the current developers and owners stumbled upon this heritage building, about their vision, why the name Villa Augustus, why the hare logo and more interesting and fun facts.
The former water tower, with in the foreground one of many sculptures that you find in the gardens around the buildings.
The hotel
The hotel has 37 rooms. Most of them are inside the former water tower, the rest is on different locations in the gardens. All rooms are different.
I booked a room in Villa Augustus twice, but unfortunately I had to cancel both times, due to unforeseen circumstances. It is still on my bucket list though!
Public area in the hotel with stairs leading up to some of the rooms.
I have my eye on one of the tower rooms (The Lantern Room) AND on the secret room (Il Giardino Segreto). That room is SO secret, that guests are not allowed to show pictures of the room or to reveal what it looks like!
Reception area of hotel Villa Augustus.
The restaurant
The restaurant looks a-ma-zing! Just have a look at the pictures I took.
The restaurant is huge and can seat 200 people.
Another part of the restaurant. Look at that chandelier!
Aren’t those painted plates just awesome?!
They use a lot of fresh produce from their own gardens, but I opted for shrimp croquettes instead.
The menu changes all the time.
There we have the hare logo again.
Yummy shrimp croquettes.
Market
Market is the part of Villa Augustus which is a store, selling products from the gardens, from an on-site bakery, and other food items.
Beautiful flower arrangements in the Market.
Where’s that truck that I need to bring all of this home with me? Hahaha!
“This little Mexican tin boat is coming home with me.”
It is also a giftshop with the coolest stuff.
“Come to mama, li’l suitcases!”
Swoon….sigh….
Often made or illustrated by Dorine de Vos herself or by some of her preferred artists, like Nathalie Lete. Who happens to be one of my favourites too!
Made by Nathalie Lete.
The garden
The garden is the heart of this whole project. On 1,5 hectares you find a vegetable garden, an orchard, an Italian garden and a small wood.
Also in the garden is The Limonaia, a hothouse that is home to lemon trees in winter and used for events in summer.
A statue hiding between an abundance of flowers.
The variety and quantity of the flowers and plants in the garden is enormous. Lush!
Sitting and walking in the geometrical Italian garden.
My friend Ans, posing in the Italian garden.
Some of the vegetables in the gardens of Villa Augustus.
They even grow three types of grapes (photographed through metal gauze, hence the strange effect) in their own greenhouses on the premises. Impressive!
The Limonaia.
Charming Dordrecht
After our lunch at Villa Augustus and a relaxed walk on the premises, we made our way to the historic city center of Dordrecht.
More about that in my next blogpost.
Have you been to Villa Augustus? Did you stay in the hotel? How was your experience there?
I want to stay there too !!!! Perhaps nice to go with friend Lia. Dordrecht AND this villa. We can do one night. Sounds great.
Greetje
Just be sure to go when the garden is flourishing and the weather is nice.
Hmm beginning of June next year then.
Well, it took me years to finally get to Villa Augustus, so to wait one year is not that bad.