SEA of SAND

Advantages: Well laid-out holiday resort, great beach, close to Amsterdam
Disadvantages: Freezing in January!

...Zandvoort? Where in the heck is that? Glad you asked. Zandvoort is a beach resort on the North Sea coast in the province of Noord-Holland. It's about 20km north of Amsterdam and about 5km east of Haarlem. It's not a huge place, in fact the original settlement is not much more than a village. However, over the years it has spread out a little with the arrival of large hotels, holiday apartment blocks and camp-sites so that these days, it's quite a sprawl. Obviously, the main attraction here is the long and wide beach which is backed by a massive dune area, but there's so much more to do here that, if I listed it all, this review would stretch into next week. For example: There's the Racing Circuit. Apparently it used to hold Formula 1 meetings in the past, but it's more than a museum, there are all sorts of races...

proxam 13.04.2005 · Read review
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Review of Zandvoort

Zand Castl...um, Palace

Advantages: Great view, great location
Disadvantages: Horrible building

...It's hard to miss the Best Western Palace in Zandvoort, its 20-odd floors rise above the town like a monolithic concrete slab (which it is) and dominates the coastline for miles around. That and the fact it's well signposted. Zandvoort lies a few miles north of Amsterdam on the windswept North Sea coast of Holland. It's not a large place anyway, but the hotel completely dwarfs almost everything else in the town. It's 150m from the train station (Amsterdam is 20 mins away), 400m from the town centre and the casino, and 900m from the racetrack. Schilpol airport is 25km distant, Haarlem 5km and The Hague is 45km away. Zandvoort is a prime holiday resort and has all the infrastructure associated with that function. There are countless restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and some excellent shopping. When we were there, in January, not all...

proxam 06.04.2005 · Read review
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Review of Best Western Palace Hotel, Zandvoort

Zandvoort Holiday Park

Advantages: Plenty to do for all the family.
Disadvantages: 250 mile journey from Calais.

...Zandvoort has recently been added to centre parcs group along with Port Zeeland. Located on the west coast of the Netherlands. The journey to the site from Calais takes about 3.5 hours and 250 miles. The motorways across France, Belgium and the Netherlands are well marked andhave excellent services. You will have to pay 20-30 cents to use a public loo. Petrol is about 2/3rds the price you pay in the UK. No tolls. Make sure you have spare car bulbs, headlight adjusters etc. and plenty of bottled water and munchies for the journey. Make sure the kids have car games etc to keep them amused. The chalets at Zandvoort are well equipped, comfortable and clean with an open fire if you wish to use it. Free indoor swimming pool with wave generator and water chute - can get crowded. Bike hire, ten pin bowling and tennis is a little...

tinhead 01.05.2004 · Read review
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Review of Center Parcs

Your VERY WORST Holiday nightmare

Advantages: You can talk to them.
Disadvantages: They are totally inept.

...It was early in January 2003 that we decided to book a short family holiday at the Centre Parcs resort in Zandvoort (Netherlands) for late April school half term. We booked the 5 day holiday at Zandvoort through Leisure Directions and received confirmation of the booking, ferry tickets, insurance and details of the resort within a week or two of the booking. Having made all the necessary plans and arrangements for our 300 mile journey which would take us to Dover, across the channel, through France, Belgium and eventually up to the Zanvoort on the north west coast of the Netherlands we were more than ready for our holiday when the day of departure came. Yes we took the usual two or three wrong turnings and got caught up in some traffic near Antwerp but other than that everything went very smoothly on our epic 6 hour car...

tinhead 14.05.2004 · Read review
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Review of Leisure Directions Travel Agents

A Good Circuit !

Advantages: Fast Track. Unique figure of eight configuration
Disadvantages: Big time differential with Europe

...Suzuks,the venue of the Japanese Grand Prix,has often played an eventful role in determining the outcome of the FI championship.The circuit was actually constructed in 1962 in a local amusement park and was designed by Dutchman- Hans Hugenholtz- who had also designed the Zandvoort circuit in Holland that hosted the Dutch grand prix. Suzuka is located about 50 miles south-west of Nagoya and is approximately 93 miles west of Osaka. The Japanese circuit has been part of the Formula I championship since 1987-previous to that the Japanese grand prix was held at the Fuji circuit. Previous winners at Suzuka include Nelson Picquet in a Benneton in 1990, Gerhard Berger in 1991, Ricardo Patrese in a Williams in 1992, the 1993 winner was the late Ayrton Senna in a McLaren, the following year Damon Hill in a Williams won whilst Michael...

ashford 08.10.2000 · Read review
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Review of Formula 1 Circuit, Suzuka, Japan

Helpful and Efficient

Advantages: Very efficient booking service
Disadvantages: None

...Amsterdam Travel Service is one of the many services offered by the Bridge Travel group. They also offer holiday breaks under the name of Belgium Travel Service and other names. The Amsterdam TS specialise in short breaks in cities or some of the ‘Center Parcs’ type holiday facilities in the Netherlands. For our holiday we chose to visit the ‘Gran Dorado’ resort in Zandvoort which is near Amsterdam. As I will be reviewing the holiday complex in a separate review I will concentrate on the service provided by the Amsterdam Travel service itself. We saw the advertisement for the service in the Sunday papers. Although it claimed holiday from £59 per person we ended up paying much more than that. It seems that to achieve that particular price level would have meant a very awkward sailing time and one of the less...

polydeuces 19.04.2001 · Read review
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Review of Bridge Travel

The stuff of legends

Advantages: Fantastically enjoyable, really well simulated. Huge web community support
Disadvantages: Steep learning curve and stupid fake cars. Requires steering wheel

...drive them all. Once you've got one, there's another 6 to go! Then there are the tracks: Kyalami, Monaco, Zandvoort, Spa-Francorchamps, Rouen (the real race was held at Le Mans, but wasn't popular), Silverstone, the Nurburgring, Mosport, Monza, Watkins Glen and Mexico City. Each one is well constructed and no detail is spared. There is one thing which they all have in common. No chicanes to drop speeds! Monza and Spa were often lapped at over 140mph average with no chicanes. And like the cars, each one is a pain to learn, but is eventually rewarding. Just don't do the 'Ring first. At 14 miles long and with more jumps, bumps and trees than you can handle, it'll makes you cringe in fear! Once you've finally sorted everything, right down to the setup of the springs, you can challenge the superb AI to a race. This is a no holds barred AI...

smokin_66 20.07.2001 · Read review
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Review of Grand Prix Legends (PC)

The Name Was Hunt, James Hunt

Advantages: A fascinating and intelligent account of the life of a sporting great
Disadvantages: The subject nature will perhaps put off those unfamiliar with Formula 1

..., and it's testament to his determination that he forged a reputation on the track by scrounging drives here and there and making the most of his opportunities until he began to attract attention. Several years living an itinerant life as a jobbing Formula 3 driver around Europe paid off when he got involved with the eccentric (read 'bonkers') Hesketh racing team in the early 1970s, a team that would be his passport into the rarefied and glamorous world of Formula 1. And it's in his evocative portrayal of the sexy, loud and murderous world of 70s Grand Prix racing that the author excels himself. From Hunt's first Grand Prix victory at Zandvoort in Holland in 1975, through the now-legendary 1976 season when he drove his McLaren to third place in the pouring rain in Japan to win the World Championship by just one point from his arch rival Niki...

Templar19 28.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of James Hunt - Gerald Donaldson

No Morse with this Lewis. 2nd POLE,2nd WIN

Advantages: A true racer has come to F1.
Disadvantages: His season could still come undone.

...remaining; winner of F3 Masters at Zandvoort including pole position and lap record; winner of the Monaco F3 Grand Prix including two pole positions and two race wins and one fastest lap; winner of Pau F3 Grand Prix in France; two pole positions, two race wins and two fastest laps 2004 F3 Euroseries: fifth; one win and third place at the Norisring and the Nürburgring; winner of Bahrain F3 Superprix 2003 British Formula Renault: Champion; 10 wins; nine fastest laps and 11 pole positions; Champion before final two rounds 2002 British Formula Renault: third; three wins; three fastest laps; three pole positions; Formula Renault EuroCup Championship fifth; one win three podiums; competed in four out of nine rounds 2001 British Formula Renault Winter Series; fifth overall. 2000 Formula A: European Champion; winner of all four...

getscenic 24.04.2007 (18.06.2007) · Read review
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Review of Lewis Hamilton

Jim Clark, The Greatest FI Driver

Advantages: Great skill. Cool. Gentleman.
Disadvantages: Didnt always have the best car

...season the arrival of the Ford Cosworth DFW made Lotus a team to watch again. Jimmy won the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort and overall finished 3 rd in the World Championship. 1968 kicked off with a win for Jimmy in South Africa and this victory meant the "Flying Scot" actually surpassed the great Juan Manuel Fangio in total Grand Prix victories. What a feat ! Sadly he was to be killed at Hockenheim in Germany in a minor Formula 2 race and all who loved motor racing realised that a truly great driver had been taken from us in his prime. He set up in his short career an incredible number of pole positions.He faced a wide array of other great drivers in the 1960's such as Brabham, Surtees, Graham Hill, Dan Gurney, Bruce McLaren and Jackie Stewart and looked the smoothest of them all. Jimmy Clark raced at the Indy and won it in the rear...

ashford 20.06.2001 · Read review
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Review of Jim Clark