Look! This hotel used to stand in the Dorpsstraat

We are familiar with the handful of hotels in Zoetermeer: ​​Golden Tulip, NH and Bastion. But most people don’t know that there used to be a nice hotel at Dorpsstraat 18. Hotel de Gouden Leeuw played an important role on the main road for both traders and tourists.

Dorpsstraat used to be the highway for traders, travelers and residents. Hotel restaurant De Gouden Leeuw was opened in Dorpsstraat around 1900. In addition to the hotel rooms and the restaurant, there were also horse stables and a café.

Read more under the photos >

Federal Hotel

The Gouden Leeuw was a so-called bond hotel. The ANWB checked hotels and if the hotel met certain requirements, they received an enamel sign with ‘bond hotel’ on it. For example, there had to be a toilet and a bathroom in the hotel and facilities for washing and shaving water in every room. It was good advertising for the hotel if such a sign hung on the facade.

Parish House

Hotel De Gouden Leeuws has been run for years by owner HJ de Mol. The building at number 18, next to the Nicholas Church, is still there but has been demolished and rebuilt. The balconies of the hotel have been removed and the current building now houses the Parochial Center De Chapelaan of the Nicholas Church.