At the Herberg Het Rechthuis
'Dokkum is a thing, know Theun and Mike of Herberg Het Rechthuis in Rinsumageast. Their guests find in the peace of the village the space to visit the city, just as they like to go to the Wadden or overseas. If you stay here, you will receive a warm - and somewhat theatrical - welcome.'
The word 'inn' is not without reason for Het Rechthuis. The term B&B has a bit of a dusty 'in grandma's attic' image, the men think.
Mike: "It's been a long time since you stayed in someone's living room and were put in an extra bedroom for the night." They prefer to call it an inn. Theun: "We're actually a small hotel. But one where people can feel very much at home. We give our guests that space too. We're not in the foreground all the time. And when we're there, we're - as cliché as it may be - ourselves. No shirts with
company logos with us."
The red apron
“I only put on my red apron for breakfast,” Theun continues. “That’s when my theatre background comes into play.” It always makes for smiling faces. “For children, I also like to make the stay a bit theatrical; a festive breakfast, craft supplies on the table. Is someone’s birthday? Then we hang up the streamers. It doesn’t cost us anything extra and it is very much appreciated.” They see that appreciation reflected in an average rating of 9.6. Mike: “People are looking for something they can’t find anywhere else. We try to look at everyone very individually in order to be able to offer them that.”
Complete dedication
This will be the couple's fifth season at the inn. In order to be able to fully focus on hosting, Mike quit his job at the municipality of Amsterdam. Theun combines the work at the inn with presentation jobs and his work as an actor. They are usually closed in January, for some major maintenance and to be able to go on holiday himself. Is that still possible without any inhibitions? "No", they say in unison. "You start paying attention to everything when you are somewhere else", says Theun. Mike: "We can taste which supermarket the orange juice comes from." Theun goes a step further: "We can see from the menu which wholesaler is purchased." "But it is also very inspiring", Mike thinks. "You always take something back with you
ideas."
Adding History
Mike is regularly busy changing the interior. This is characterized as "a
combination of thrift shop and antique auction, from Leen Bakker and Ikea," says Theun. Paintings by Vermeer formed the basis for the colour and style in the rooms, because "the building was built in the time that he lived," Mike explains. Little by little they learned about the history of the building. "It's nice to see how the village helps with that," says Mike. "A little while ago an older lady showed us how the rooms used to be divided, when she came here a lot as a little girl. It made me realise that 'being an owner'
even something on paper. We are only here temporarily to write a piece of history. We mainly want to give our guests a nice time here. And give the village a boost for the next 100 years."
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