De Aanbouw offers everything you need for 2 adults and 1 child (maximum 12 years old):
- A complete bathroom with a rain shower, toiletries, underfloor heating, and a designer towel radiator.
- A cozy living/bedroom with a fully equipped kitchen (including a combination oven, refrigerator with freezer compartment, cooking and baking utensils, olive oil, and herbs). A washing machine and detergent with a drying rack are also available.
- Cold? Underfloor heating is provided in both the bathroom and living/bedroom for a pleasant feeling under your feet. Hot? The air conditioning cools the room to the desired temperature in minutes.
- In De Aanbouw, you'll find luxurious box-spring beds with MattSleeps mattresses, which have been rated the best mattresses in the Netherlands by the Consumers' Association for years.
- Various craft materials, games for different ages, and reading materials are available.
In the garden at De Aanbouw, you'll find a comfortable seating area and a shared trampoline where others sometimes come to jump. There's also a small playing field with a basketball hoop and soccer goals available for guests to use.
Pets are unfortunately not allowed, and smoking is prohibited.
= Escape the madness of your day, slow down and reflect, enjoy and connect, strengthen your relationship with yourself and others =
Irene is a Orthopedagoog-Generalist (BIG/NVO) and Social Pedagogical Counselor working in the field of mental health. She set up Foonloos together with her husband to stimulate meaningful interactions and creativity in an accessible way and to reduce unnecessary screen use, thereby creating (renewed) enjoyment and a sense of connection.
Foonloos offers various methods and activities -phone-free- at De Aanbouw, based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), systemic therapy, mindfulness, schema therapy, play therapy, and solution-focused therapy, among others, which people can use independently whenever they want. Not in a retreat-like way, but simply in everyday life.
De Aanbouw also has maps of walks and bike routes in the area, various games, craft materials, and there are playgrounds such as the play farm and beautiful parks nearby. In or around the front garden, you can jump on the trampoline, play soccer, basketball, or table tennis. Read a good book you brought with you (sit down in the library, which is just a few minutes' walk away!), rent a bike at the train station, which is a 5-minute walk away, dive into city life in Utrecht, or go to the recreational beach De Rietplas or Laagraven, where you can also go water skiing and wakeboarding at Down Under. Or you can enjoy cooking and baking with the cookbooks provided.
Recommended visits include the small archaeological museum in Houten, a short walk away, and the Waterline Museum (15 minutes by bike or car).
In the evenings between 9:00 PM and 10:00 PM, a free visit to the sauna (in swimwear) with outdoor shower is often possible; please inquire on-site about availability (not guaranteed).
De Aanbouw is located in Houten, close to the train station, making the heart of Utrecht accessible by car (15 minutes), bike (25 minutes), or train (10 minutes). The trainstation and Het Rond shopping center, with various restaurants, drugstores, a HEMA and supermarkets, are around a 5-minute walk away. A 5-minute walk in the other direction is the small-scale Oude Dorp (Old Village), with charming terraces and eateries on the square between the churches. How do you find your way without a phone if you're going Foonloos/Phoneless? By asking for directions, of course! Several maps will also be available upon arrival for your convenience.
Free parking is available in the surrounding streets at De Aanbouw. Please do not park in the driveway.
Houten is a very green municipality with many parks within a few minutes' walk. A short distance away you will find nature reserves such as Oud Wulven, Het Verdronken Bos and Amelisweerd and various play facilities.
Languages spoken: English,Dutch