DESTINATIONS EFTELING | FAMILY HOLIDAYS Worldof wonder a
travelweekly.co.uk
Will a fairytale-inspired theme park be enough to keep an 11-year-old entertained on a short family escape? Stephanie Krahn finds out
self-playing piano, a 7.5m-tall chandelier made of ‘magical’ golden keys, and two immaculate bellboys who whisk our bags out of the car before
we even ask – what a welcome to the Efteling Grand Hotel. As we walk into the lobby, my 11-year-old son Noah is
enthralled by the sparkling centrepiece, which is constructed from nearly 200 keys – each representing the start of a new journey – and is the first nod to the fables, fantasies and fairytales that are woven throughout Efteling theme park. Design experience manager Sander de Bruijn says:
“For me, a key is very much associated with an arrival and symbolises the beginning of a story. In this case, it’s the beginning of your stay at the Efteling Grand Hotel – this is where your journey to the world of wonders begins.” The hotel opened in August 2025 and is the first property inside the Dutch theme park. After a swift check-in via the app, we’re keen to see if this storybook-inspired attraction will be a suitable short break for parents and a hard-to-please tween.
STORIED SCENES With direct access from the hotel, we head straight into the park to an idyllic scene: the sun is shining as we walk past a huge lake with The Frog Prince fountains at each corner, the birds are singing, children are playing and people are eating ice cream, yet the faint sound of screams can be heard in the distance. Efteling has all the white-knuckle rides you would expect of any good theme park, but it also has something different.
Jack van de Vliert, marketing and international sales
manager, says: “Rather than being built around individual attractions, the park is designed as a complete world where fairytales, legends and folklore come to life within a natural setting. Not only do our green surroundings create a sense of calm, but there’s also something new to discover around every turn. We cherish our nature and work hard to have it in the spotlight all year round.”
Rather than individual attractions, the park is a complete world where fairytales, legends and folklore come to life within a natural setting
There are five ‘magical realms’, each centred around classic
fairytales and Dutch folklore. We check the app and are delighted to see ride queueing times are just 10-40 minutes. Noah chooses Droomvlucht (dream flight) in Marerijk
(Fairy Realm), where we board a suspended carriage for a flight through a dream-like world, then royal palace Symbolica where we explore the rooms in a rotating carriage, followed by nightly show Aquanura. This impressive musical water ballet features 200 fountains, thousands of lights and projections set to music, bringing Efteling’s fairytales to life.
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