Hotel de Vrouwe van Stavoren

Hotel where you can sleep inside a converted wine barrel

A small hotel on the harbour better known for its sleeping accommodation than its restaurant. Built into the back garden are a row of enormous wooden wine barrels, refitted as compact double rooms — a curtained porthole for a window, two berths, a small bathroom in the adjoining structure. They sleep two at a squeeze and book up months ahead in summer.

Standard hotel rooms in the main building are also available for the less adventurous. The terrace is one of the few places in Stavoren open into the evening and serves the usual Dutch repertoire of croquettes, salads, and small pancakes.

things to do landmark
A story
In the 1990s the owners of the harbourside hotel acquired four oversized wooden vats from a Swiss winery — each one big enough to stand up in — and converted them into novelty hotel rooms. Half a dozen more were added later. The rooms remain among the most-booked in Friesland during summer, partly for the curiosity, partly because the location on the old harbour is hard to beat.