Drenthe wellness: three places where you actually switch off

Drenthe is, in our view, the most underrated wellness region in the Netherlands. From London expect a short flight to Amsterdam or Eindhoven and roughly two hours onward by car, or pair it with a Eurostar and rental car if you want to drive in via Belgium. More space than the better-known Veluwe, less crowded than the coast. Three places we visited this year without picking up the phone once, and three reasons we now offer each as a wellness package rather than letting guests piece it together. We at Favotrip believe a wellness weekend only really starts working once you no longer have to coordinate anything.

1. A small chapel with sauna in Veenhuizen

It sounds absurd, but it exists: a former penal-colony chapel converted into a private wellness space with a wooden bath in the nave and an infrared sauna on the altar. No staff, you get a code, you have the building to yourself for four hours. We think it works precisely because it does not try to look like a resort. It simply is the chapel, with towels laid out and a bottle of wine waiting. The acoustics surprised us most: a single step on a wooden plank and it echoes ten metres up into the vault. For combining it with a stay in the same area: our Drenthe wellness package with private spa arrangement puts you in a partner hotel nearby, with chapel access as an optional add-on. Pick up food at the village shop in Veenhuizen beforehand, you cannot cook in the chapel but a board of cold cuts works.

2. The Hertenhuis near Norg

Family-run, on a remote farmstead, four wellness suites each with their own sauna and outdoor tub. Owner Trudy makes the breakfast herself and wakes you around half past eight, no earlier, she says, you are still asleep before that. The suites look out on a meadow where her ten deer come close in winter. We only added the Hertenhuis to our offer last year, after our editorial team had visited three times. We wanted to be sure it would also hold up on a quiet low-season weekend. Our Norg package includes hotel, breakfast and suite access, all in one booking, no separate reservations. There is deliberately no wifi password, and that is what ultimately defines the place. The first two hours frustrated us too, then we simply opened a book. Trudy keeps a small library of regional novels and nature guides. Sounds cliched, but it works: no screen time.

3. Hotel Bosch en Vaart, plain but well done

In south Assen, between woodland and the main Drenthe canal. A classic spa-hotel format (sauna, steam, four treatment rooms) without the usual wellness kitsch. No decorative fish tanks, no performed luxury. The stillness on the loungers by the indoor pool is, in our view, the best in Drenthe. This hotel has been in our Drenthe deals from our earliest seasons. We add the half-board variant by default, which gives you the chef's four-course dinner, surprisingly good and using vegetables from a local grower. Massages are by Linda, ask for her specifically, she has been there twelve years and knows exactly what a desk-job back complaint feels like. Small extra: reception keeps a map of forest walks through Asser Bos that do not appear on the standard signposts, two hours through mixed beech and pine with a viewing tower most hotel guests miss.

What we got wrong in our early packages

Three things we underestimated in our first wellness packages and now structure differently. One: too short. One night is not a wellness weekend, it is at best a spa day with a bed. Our three-night Drenthe packages are often only marginally pricier than the two-night version, and that gap is worth the sleep-and-let-go effect. Two: too much programme. We now suggest one activity per day in our descriptions, the rest is hammock or book. Three: too inward-facing. The best of Drenthe is that it is also quiet outside, not just inside the wellness space. An hour walking through the Norgerheide heath is now standard in every Drenthe package we sell.

When not to do it

Not in the Dutch summer holidays, and not in the week between Christmas and New Year. Drenthe fills up with campers and day visitors then, and the silence that is the whole point disappears. November to March is in our experience best, especially the second half of January. Dark outside, candles inside, few other guests, and the wellness rooms feel like a retreat. Second word of warning: do not book it if your calendar is full and you are thinking "I will just top up". It does not work if you still have your work email open two days before departure. Our rule for ourselves: keep the Monday morning after a wellness weekend free, otherwise it was wasted. We pass this rule on to guests who call for advice.

What to bring if you take it seriously

A short practical list of what we always pack: own bathrobe (most places provide one, but your own feels different), a book you actually want to read, and walking shoes that do not need to stay clean. What we deliberately leave behind: laptop, work email on the phone, and the smartwatch (the notification buzz works against the woodland walk). A wellness package that bundles the whole weekend into one booking helps with this, no separate hotel reservation, no separate restaurant, no separate entry ticket that needs your phone open. That is our belief: you go to Drenthe to disconnect, not to have four apps running.

Which wellness package fits your weekend?

For a couple on a first Drenthe wellness weekend: the Hotel Bosch en Vaart package in Assen with half-board. For genuinely remote: our Norg package with the Hertenhuis, two or three nights. For private spa with no other guests: the Veenhuizen chapel package. For those who want full disconnection and book ahead: choose the three-night variant, not much pricier than two but the gap between "weekend away" and "actually let go" sits precisely in that extra night. Below you will find the packages this article refers to, take a look at which one fits your weekend.