thank you all for your nice supportive posts - i did sleep a bit better last night.
i did exactly that: turn of the central heating. it normally drops to an inside temp of 15C at 23, all radiators have individual thermostatic valves, so that was why i was a bit worried not to heat only the house but also the environment!
indeed, the night temp dropped spectacularly - as predicted. in some places more eastward than were i live, even to 2C below zero!
the other thing also is: because of the vicinity of schiphol airport there *might* be some plane traffic overhead - and that starts as early as 6 am! it depends on the wind - and yes, they were disturbed this morning... closing the double glazed windows would have prevented that...
i always ask my guests how they slept - and mrs guest shook her head - 'not too good'. her teenage daughter was both days non-communicative, absorbed (of course) by her i-phone...
well, bringing breakfast upstairs at the same time as the day before, they were already up - windows were still wide open (also in the showerroom).
the thermometer in the room was... at 13C!
they turned of the fan (yes, i know it spreads only warm air... it's more the idea that you care that counts, i feel) and the mini-bar in which was a liter of ice cold water - which i always put there in case of high temperatures (this was the very first 'hot' day this year)
i adapted the breakfast to 'less' and gave no cold meat but 3 different kinds of sliced dutch cheese. plus a freshly cut tomato (big one) and a small bowl of strawberries from my garden.
mrs guest or the daugther tore off two very small pieces of the cheese - but DID finish the 1/2 liter bottle of orange juice now!
helen, both rooms are equipped with a mini-bar, and i sometimes do exactly as you wrote. guests having to leave early do appreciate that a lot. i bake a fresh bread (machine) and put it wrapped in a clean tea towel, in a basket at their doorstep before i go to bed myself. it is usually to much for 2 guests' breakfast, so i tell them to slice up the rest, and take it with them as a packed lunch (plastic bags provided) for which i give some extra cold meat and cheese.
very much appreciated by cyclists, builders, families with hungry teenagers get the offer of home made bread whatever time they want to leave - as the room on the top floor is big enough, i put two folding chairs extra by the table - one set of guests was very happy with that arrangement - they spent their whole evening playing cards together!
it seemed they wanted to leave without saying goodbye - they were standing at the front door already, when i opened the door of my living room - and asked: 'can i have my key back, please?'
'it's upstairs.' and off they were!
'have a nice day and a safe journey back,' i said...
she nodded briefly. daughter was already outside.
thanks again for all the sympathy!
it was just bad luck, i feel. perhaps they were disappointed about sth that had nothing to do with me or my property...? bad mood...? had quarrelled...?
repeat guest arriving in some hours - has been staying off and on for workdays since february - teacher at a local school - we get on very well. tomorrow another repeat guest from france, IT-related, on a project half an hour by bus from here - also utterly happy not to have to sleep in one of these unpersonal chain hotels.
they both do not want breakfast
- as long as i provide enough coffee! so it's not only guests that do NOT appreciate what i have to offer!
