Most bouldering gyms are located in industrial areas, in large warehouses on the outskirts of the city. Beest Boulders The Hague City Centre is quite different in that respect. This large bouldering gym is located right in the centre of The Hague and is spread across several floors.
We visited the gym on a warm Sunday. Maybe everyone was at the beach in Scheveningen, because it was surprisingly quiet. For us, of course, that was ideal for exploring the different floors at our own pace.
The layout of Beest Boulders The Hague City Centre
From the shopping street, you take the stairs to the first floor, where you will find the check-in desk, the bar and a small bouldering wall. On the second floor, there are large, clean changing rooms with plenty of lockers, as well as two freestanding bouldering structures with additional walls around them. There is also a third floor with three freestanding bouldering structures, two smaller walls and a training area. The structures come in different shapes, but the huge overhang you find at Beest Delft or Beest Breda is missing here.
Normally, I am not a big fan of bouldering gyms that are spread across several floors. At Beest Rotterdam, for example, it can sometimes feel like you really have to walk to a completely different part of the gym. In The Hague, I think it works better. The stairs are located right between the bouldering walls, which makes the different floors feel more like one connected space.
Upstairs, you can also step outside onto a small balcony. The windows were open during our visit, but because of the heat, this unfortunately mostly meant that warm air was coming in. There is no air conditioning.
Our bouldering session
I started my session on the first freestanding bouldering structure I came across. I began with a few easy boulders to warm up, but fortunately they were not just simple ladders. Even at the lower grades, there were fun and interesting movements. After that, I moved on to around 6C. One of the first boulders immediately surprised me with a dynamic move. The swing was much bigger than I had expected.
Next, I tried a white 7A. My first attempt went wrong. I had not brushed the holds, and they had become quite slippery from all the chalk. That was something I noticed throughout the session. Some of the holds were fairly dirty. In my opinion, this may be because there were too few brush sticks available. A few extra brushes spread around the bouldering gym would definitely be useful.
After brushing the holds, I fortunately managed to send the white 7A.
Technical slabs and interesting holds
Meanwhile, Lina was working on a slab boulder on the third floor. Since she was still taking an injury into account during this session, she mainly stayed with the easier grades. Fortunately, that was not a problem at Beest The Hague City Centre. She especially liked the slabs. Even the easier boulders often required good technique and finding the right body position. On one boulder, I showed her a small trick for the start. After that, she immediately made much more progress.
I spotted a nice 7B there on an angled wall. It took me a while to figure out exactly what the intended beta was. In the end, I probably did not execute the moves exactly as the routesetter had intended, but a send is a send.
Something I often notice at Beest was also clear in The Hague: the hold collection is enormous. You come across many different shapes and styles, including holds that are regularly used at World Cups. This makes the boulders visually interesting and gives the routesetters plenty of options to create different types of movement.
A tour around the freestanding bouldering structures
Upstairs, I sent several boulders on the different freestanding structures. There were several 7As that were exactly right for this session. I managed to flash a few of them, while others took me two or three attempts.
Still, I noticed something in the harder boulders that I personally enjoy less. To make a boulder more difficult, the footholds are often very poor or there are simply very few of them. Of course, that can be part of a boulder, but personally I prefer the difficulty to come mainly from the movement, technique and holds. With extremely poor footholds, a boulder quickly starts to feel more physical to me.
Beest The Hague training area
If you still have some energy left after all the bouldering, there is plenty to do in the training area. It is quite extensive, with two Kilterboards, one of which is adjustable. There is also a large campus section with several hangboards and other training options. There is enough space for a proper warm-up as well. Lina considered this one of the gym’s strong points.
From different parts of the building, you also get a great view over The Hague. That is something you do not often get in a bouldering gym on an industrial estate.
One last boulder downstairs
At the very end of the session, we went back downstairs. There is a small wall next to the bar that I had not tried yet. You can look straight at it from the bar, so it is easy to watch other climbers while having a drink. The Slab of the Week was also set here. I managed to flash it. It was not extremely difficult, but it was fun and well set.
On the other side, I then spotted another 7B. I was pretty much out of energy, but of course I still wanted to try it. I managed to send it on my second attempt. It was exactly the kind of style that suits me: rounded slopers, good footholds and lots of compression. A great way to finish the session!
Changing rooms and showers
We had slightly different opinions about the facilities. The changing room itself is large and clean, with plenty of lockers. Lina only found the layout not particularly practical. The women’s shower in particular was not a success. According to her, the position of the shower head makes it almost impossible to shower without getting your hair wet. The water was also far too hot for her liking during our visit.
Conclusion: Is Beest Boulders The Hague City Centre worth a visit?
Beest Boulders The Hague City Centre is a large bouldering gym in a particularly convenient location. Right in the centre of The Hague, you will find several floors full of boulders, an extensive training area, a wide variety of holds and a spacious bar.
I had plenty of fun with the harder boulders, while Lina, despite her injury, still found enough interesting easier boulders and technical slabs to keep her occupied. The main downsides for us were the sometimes quite dirty holds, the limited number of brush sticks and the very poor footholds on some of the harder boulders. The gym can also get quite warm on hot days.
Beest Breda remains Lina’s favourite Beest location for now, but The Hague City Centre definitely ranks high on our list. If you are looking for a place to go bouldering in The Hague and want to combine it easily with a day in the city centre, Beest Boulders The Hague City Centre is definitely worth a visit.
