Almost all of the rooms have a breathtaking view. The rooms on the northwest side of the water tower look out over the Wantij river and you can also see sections of the major rivers. The rooms on the other side of the tower offer a view across the vegetable garden. From the garden rooms, you can just step outside. They have their own patio looking out over the Italian garden or with a view of the vegetable beds.
No two rooms in the hotel are the same. They all have their own atmosphere and colour, and their own unique furniture and fittings. They have been designed by Dorine de Vos, and have a natural mix of styles, so that you have the feeling that you are staying in someone's house. Original, historical materials have been used in the building. The panelling in the corridors and the headboards, for example, are made from the original doors of the water tower. And the typical iron floor of the water reservoir can still be seen in the rooms on the fifth floor.
Although each room is different, the focal point is always a good bed with top quality bed linen selected with the greatest of care. All rooms have their own bathroom and toilet.
The Villa Augustus restaurant is located in the middle of the vegetable garden in the former pump house. It is open the whole day, seven days a week and can accommodate 200 guests. The restaurant is an inspiration for both gardener and chef, as here in the garden, the Dutch seasons can be seen – and harvested – from the early spring to deep in the winter. All the fruit, vegetables and herbs go directly from the garden to the chefs. In the open kitchen – the heart of the restaurant – they prepare everything as deliciously and attractively as possible.
The vegetable garden
The vegetable garden is the culmination of many years of experience and experimentation. From very early in the year until deep in the winter, everything is grown here that is possible in the Dutch climate. Cultivated from seeds, selected for quality and taste, vegetables, fruit, herbs and spices find their way to the Villa Augustus kitchen and market. Edible flowers are also sown and planted. And there is a small sunbathing lawn with prunus trees, and hothouses for grapevines and for vegetables
Early vegetables like lettuce, rucola, mustard, chervil and the first cauliflowers are grown in two restored hothouses dating from 1910 and in cold frames. After that, the first broad beans, rapini, field peas and spinach appear in the empty beds in the garden.
The garden becomes increasingly resplendent in the summer and autumn. There are deliciously smelling herbs like thyme, rosemary and mint. Tomatoes with various forms and tastes. Aubergines and courgettes. Summer leaks, conical cabbages, Savoy cabbage and the spectacular black Tuscan kale (cavolo nero). Red and white onions, garlic, iceberg lettuce and red Batavia lettuce. And scorzenera, parsnips and cardoon, to name but a few. And all that combined with flower beds full of Indian cress, scabiosa, California poppies, asters, dahlias, cornflowers, zinnias and much more. Roses, lavender and catnip line the paths. Also alongside the paths, and especially along the south wall, there are fruit trees – apple, pear, peach, fig and mulberry – trained to grow in artistic forms, including peacock's tails, candelabra, palmettes and Belgian fences. Here, the gardeners are at work under the supervision of master pruner Jan Freriks.
Then we come to the berry cage, where we see red, white and pink currants, gooseberries, blackcurrants and blueberries, summer and autumn raspberries and, of course, delicious Japanese wineberries.
