FIRST LOOK: PREVIEW OF THE HOLLAND HEINEKEN HOUSE PAVILION
First, some housekeeping. We are going to do the draw for the 2010 Olympics Men’s Curling ticket contest from the House of Switzerland this Sunday, Valentine’s Day. Stay tuned to see if you won! Second, I have some REALLY exciting news to announce shortly… so keep your eyes on the blog on Monday or Tuesday for my announcement as well as an updated list of the Olympic coverage I am going to be doing in terms of events and new parties I’ll be attending. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter for live Olympic and Vancouver-related updates.
Allan and I had a chance to check out the Holland Heineken House last night to get a first look at the pavilion, the activities and of course the main club venue. Let me tell you this… the city has reached a fever pitch and people were partying before the Olympics even start today. Awesome. Not so awesome: The food and forced pre-pay cards at the Heineken House. And paying for water. Bad bad BAD.
It’s free to get in, but be prepared to fork out cash once you get inside for tiny expensive beers and snacks. Note that only VISA and cash is accepted, and you will have to load money onto pre-pay cards to buy any drinks or snacks once you are inside the club part of the venue. Lineups for these are VERY long, so make sure you load up lots of cash on the cards as soon as you get in to avoid delays.
It was neat seeing the venue before the crazy crowds got there. Everything is very orange.
Nothing like doing virtual snowboarding in Michael Kors boots. Yeah, that’s me.
The stores there are pretty cool… plus there are some very good looking Dutch men working the SuitSupply store.
The SuitSupply store has Olympic-Dutch branded clothing, and I REALLY loved these dress shirts. Really stylish. Wish Allan had bought one but they were pretty expensive ($160-ish).
We also tried out the virtual Volkswagen racing. It was a lot of fun, but note that they are kind of standoffish if you aren’t Dutch, and many of the activities and contests inside you can only win if you are a Dutch citizen.
Check out some of the pics from around the venue. In particular I liked the Gold Medal beer opener (we bought one of those as well as a scarf) and the Converse Heineken shoes. The food was absolutely terrible though, other than the Dutch Hotchpodge featured here. It’s difficult to get into the restaurant without reservations (mostly sold out now), but the food is BAD. And they charge you for water. Yes, water. Seriously, you can’t get free tap water at the restaurant and they don’t tell you that the water you are buying is $2.85 for 4 ounces. Not impressed.
The main club area is huge though, and it’s going to be really neat to see the place explode when they get in famous DJs like Armin van Buuren (rumoured).
The Olympics are going to be crazy. I can’t wait for everything to get started.
Stay tuned for more Olympic updates and exclusive coverage! What do you think of the Holland House? Are you going to go?
Tags: 2010, Converse, first look, Holland Heineken House, house, Michael Kors, Olympics, pavilion, preview, SuitSupply, swag, Vancouver, venue
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February 12th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
Looks like a TON of fun! Wish I could go, but I will be watching from where I am!
February 12th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
I want a beer opener!!!
February 12th, 2010 at 4:28 pm
lol “very good looking Dutch men working the SuitSupply store”.
good to know what to expect going to this venue. looks like a fun time despite some of the issues. I guess nothing is really “free” so be prepared to fork over the cash.
btw, i managed to get tix to mens hockey canada vs norway. i was shrieking for like 20 mins when i found out – i can’t wait!!
February 12th, 2010 at 4:29 pm
Really Liv? We are going to that game too! Where are you sitting? We should definitely meet up for a drink together
We are in the Lower Bowl.
February 13th, 2010 at 6:16 am
Love the Converse! Looks like a lot of fun, what a great experience to be up there right now, I can definitely say im jealous! So keep snapping those awesome pics!
February 13th, 2010 at 12:42 pm
Can’t wait to check out those Dutch men at the Heineken House
It’s going to be insane. Tried to get into Irish House after Opening Ceremonies and had an insane lineup. It’s going to be waits and lineups for the next 2 weeks.
February 14th, 2010 at 10:46 pm
I tried to swing by yesterday, but the 3.5h lineup to get in scared me off. Fortunately, living in Richmond affords me an opportunity to try and try again. Yay.
February 15th, 2010 at 4:20 am
BY the way great blog, I found it through craigslist, ticket contest. I will pass it around, to my friends and family.
And I’ll be back!!!
February 16th, 2010 at 12:45 am
Thanks for the tips from the blog! I knew to go to the Cashpoint right away when I got in so that I had my card ready for food/beer action. I was there at Heineken House tonight and it rocked! Just some things to note that may have changed since your last visit:
Volkswagen simulator – the guy at the simulator was very nice to everyone who was there. No problems that a lot of people weren’t Dutch. He was really nice and gave some sweet comments to both really good drivers and people who ended up on the fence a lot! Good times!
Other methods of payment are now accepted. I was able to load money on using my Mastercard – no problem! AMEX was another option that was accepted.
They ran out of the Gold Medal bottle openers tonight. Imagine my surprise when they said they were out! I hope they get more but I was really sad
And if it makes you feel any better – they charged $3 for a small cup of water (albeit from bottle) at the Heineken bar. Should’ve just paid for another beer!
And to match, the food was interesting but was not good. Quick way to fill up – even though it was $4 for fries + mayonnaise in a cone. It’s a novelty I guess.
Regardless, the Dutch know how to party. It was a fun venue!
February 22nd, 2010 at 10:12 pm
[...] First Look: Preview of the Holland Heineken House Pavilion [...]
February 23rd, 2010 at 1:14 pm
hello sombody knows where i can bay the olympic clothing from the netherlands? a website/shop or something? please let me know i wanna have the jacket. my email wygrootjans@zeelandnet.nl
February 24th, 2010 at 4:03 pm
hello I m fall in love with holland or netherland olympic jacket and hat !! where can i buy them ? my email julielampitt@shaw.ca
because i love orange that i wear at most time .. also I am part of native as well .. I feel honor holland symbol to show native model.. wow ..
I kept to looking at internet nothing there as being hours..
thanks
hear from you soon
February 28th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Hi, does anyone know when I can buy Olympic metal beer openers, in Vancouver. But not at Olympic sites? Thanks Susie
March 4th, 2010 at 11:15 pm
Hi everyone,
Unfortunately as far as I know the Holland House sold out of most of their merchandise quite quickly, ESPECIALLY the beer openers.
My guess would be that you can maybe find some re-sold on eBay, but alas most people bought these as souvenirs to keep
Sorry about that, but thank you for dropping by!
P.S. If you want the ACTUAL Olympic clothes from SuitSupply, you may find them at their retail stores or online. The clothing is easier to find than the actual Holland House merchandise.