Testimonials

SAMPE Europe (Society of Advanced Materials & Process Engineering)
Technical Conference - SETEC 2011

September 21, 2011

Last week, SAMPE Benelux and SAMPE Europe organized SETEC 11, the annual International Technical Conference and Table Top Exhibition at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Leiden. There were 208 participants present at the two days conference & exhibition and about 92 participants who stayed over for the facility tours during day number three of our event.
The facilities as well as the support and service from the personnel and staff of the Holiday Inn Hotel were excellent. We received a lot of compliments from the participants about the organization and the selected location.

The catering, the rooms and the conference facilities were excellent. Organizing a conference requires fast decision making and flexible adjustments to sudden changes in the program. Thanks to the support of the Holiday Inn Leiden team of professionals, SETEC 11 has become a great success!
Therefore, I would like hereby to thank all participating members of the staff and professional supporting team of the Holiday Inn Hotel for their contribution. You made our conference to a memorable event.

Ariean Koelewijn,
Vice Chairman of the SAMPE BeNeLux Chapter & Organization Committee.

ESSD 2011

14 September 2011

Last week, the European Society for Swallowing Disorders held their annual congress in the Holiday Inn Hotel in Leiden. About 300 participants were present during this three day event. The facilities as well as the personnel of the Holiday Inn Hotel were absolutely fantastic. We could have wished for no better location.

The catering, the hotel rooms and the congress facilities were excellent. Organizing a congress re-quires quick decision making and flexible adjustments to an ever changing program. Thanks to the Holiday Inn Leiden and their fantastic team of professionals, our meeting has become a great success!

Therefore, I would like to thank all members participating in this highly professional team of the Holiday Inn Hotel. You made our congress a memorable event.

Renée Speyer, President of the ESSD 2011

ECAT Foundation

10 January 2011

From 10 – 12 November 2010 the ECAT Foundation has held their biennial scientific symposium, courses and workshop already for the sixth time in the Holiday Inn Hotel in Leiden. With about 175 participants this is a rather busy event with participants from all over the world. The facilities are excellent and very well appreciated by the participants. Even the vendors are very well satisfied with a nice exhibition area at the Patio close to the restaurant area. Even the fact that participant could stay overnight in the same facility is very well appreciated. The services of the hotel are excellent. The lunches provide are wonderful. And last but not least, the personnel is very kind and helpful. With this very good experience the ECAT Foundation has decided to organise their next event in 2012 again in the Holiday Inn Hotel in Leiden.

Piet Meijer, E.C.A.T. Foundation

Fabsalseros Dance Company

Dear Mirjam & Patricia,

I would like to thank you for the great weekend, the impeccable organization and all the care and attentions you have given to the Dias Cuabanos. We had great feedbacks about the hotel, the rooms, the meals, the personnel and the overall atmosphere that one can experience at your hotel. Overall we were all very satisfied!!!

I also would like to thank you for your flexibility in making "last minutes changes"; we have learnt a lot during the past weeks and I am sure that next year will be just better!

Among the guests we had lots of teachers, organizers and people interested in sponsoring the next edition. Everyone was so impressed by the all weekend, in its colors, flavor and shapes, that many supporting offers were given making me even more confident that the 2011 edition will be blast: I am already looking forward to it! I really do hope to have the pleasure of coming back at your hotel in one year time (or maybe earlier for other businesses).

My best regards,

Fabrizio, Fabsalseros Dance Company (June 2010)

Centre for Korean Studies - Leiden University

When I accepted the task of organizing the 2009 biennial Association for Korean Studies in Europe, many colleagues, thinking they knew better, wished me good luck. I had indeed heard the stories about how nerve-racking, time consuming and in the end potentially unrewarding this task was. Because I had heard all these stories, I made sure from the start to delegate to professionals what I could not do better myself. So, with a 2.5 day conference of close to 120 paper presenters in up to four parallel sessions, and total participation close to 200 participants, I decided to talk to the Holiday Inn Leiden (HIL).

What a stroke of luck that was! From day one - and I contacted the HIL more than one year in advance - I was freed of most of the practical worries. During our first meeting, I was painstakingly going through a list of points that I thought needed specific attention, but I needed not have worried. All I got back as response was either "no problem" or "of course". And they delivered! The preparation went so smoothly that days before the conference, I was worried because there was apparently nothing to worry about.

As the conference got underway, the conference participants had arrived, the first sessions had been held, all the anticipatory tension dissipated and I began to relax. It was clear that the conference was running smoothly and I truly needed not to worry.

Being an academic, I tried to unravel the magic. Basically, it all comes down to professionalism, but professionalism with a flare. What happens at HIL is so much more than "doing the job and doing it right". HIL is all about customer satisfaction. Their secret lies in the discrete presence of the staff and the clockwork organization that has everything in place before you can even ask. It is a professionalism that knows the meaning of "service": taking pride in serving the customers. The staff enjoys a job well done and it shows.As organizer of the AKSE conference, working with the HIL team was for me personally the icing on the cake. Most participants, though, were more taken by the venue itself, the hotel accommodation, the catering and the well-equipped conference rooms got high grades.

What I did not realize in advance, but noticed as soon as the conference got underway, was that the layout of the conference venue stimulated informal interaction among participants creating a conviviality which led participants to feel so much at home in at the HIL.

In conclusion, I would like to thank and congratulate the staff for the Holiday Inn Leiden for a job well done. I enjoyed it thoroughly and I know you did too!

Koen De Ceuster, Centre for Korean StudiesLeiden University

Akzo Nobel Car Refinishes b.v.

We chose the Holiday Inn Leiden for our Annual Sales Conference in June 2008. Right from the start we felt assured that their highly professional team would be able to handle a complex full 3-day meeting. We wanted to be sure that our guests (more than 100 people coming from all over Europe, Middle East and Africa) would enjoy their stay and get the best possible meeting.

All of our expectations were more than fulfilled. The professional planning assistance was invaluable, and the execution of each element of our meeting was handled with courtesy and punctuality. While recognizing the entire Holiday Inn team, we would especially like to acknowledge and thank Mirjam Blokhuizen, the banquet sales co-coordinator for her recommendations and attention to detail. We would also like to thank Nikos and his colleagues, for being so flexible and pro-active during the actual meeting itself. And thanks to everyone (reception, kitchen, reservations department, facility) for all the small and large things done behind the scene to make our event such a success.

It truly was teamwork and we could only hope that we would have a similar experience in other locations that we may visit in the future.

Winny Gibson, Management Assistant Akzo Nobel Car Refinishes b.v.

Fleuroselect / Noordwijk

Fleuroselect is an international organisation of companies active in the ornamental plants industry.

In March 2008 Fleuroselect organised two coinciding meetings at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Leiden: the spring meeting of a group of members and a kick-off meeting for companies active in the branch, but not yet affiliated to the organisation.

Holland is centre of the world when it comes to flowers and ornamental plants which is why we chose The Netherlands for the kick-off. Leiden is easy to reach from Schiphol Airport and is located close to the motorway so our second choice was easy. In Leiden the Holiday Inn is renowned for its excellent meeting facilities and dining possibilities so the final choice for us was clear. We are pleased to say that our expectations were realised.

The staff at the hotel understood our requirements, catered to our changing needs as the number of delegate grew way above what we had anticipated and finally, when it came to the actual event, the service of the staff on duty was simply excellent. Everything was possible!

Our group comprised many companies from across Europe. An additional incentive to come to meetings is to actually do business around them. Our delegates found this to be the best advantage of the Holiday Inn with the lobby and restaurant area offering many individual sofas, tables and niches for private business. We will certainly consider the Holiday Inn again when it comes to arranging another European meeting of this nature.

Sally van der Horst, Secretary Fleuroselect

Jacobs Nederland B.V. / Leiden

Holiday Inn Leiden: a perfect location for your conferences - a superb service for your demands

Jacobs Nederland B.V. had to organize an International Intercompany Conference for approximately 25 attendees. For 12 days we needed rooms and other facilities such as boardroom and break-out rooms all fully equiped with internet access, beamers, etc. Only two weeks before the conference we contacted the Holiday Inn. Due to their quick response and flexibility we could make reservations immediately and start finalizing the details.

However, during de preparation period things changed a lot as usual... More or less participants - larger boardrooms, less break-out rooms - more or less in-house lunches, dinners, etc. Finally, we started with more than 30 participants during the first couple of days and about 20-25 during the last period. For the Holiday Inn, everything was possible. EVERYTHING!!!

Even during the conference period last minute changes and special requests were no problem. All could be done. Both Reservation Department and Banqueting did a great job.

That was a wonderful experience!!!

Gwen Coomans, Secretary HR Department Jacobs Nederland B.V.