adam clare
Google
I had a great time on the VIP tour
-I was here on the VIP tour at 10:00am on august 22 2025.
-The tour was great! I was the only person on the tour at 10am, so it was a private tour for me and Guide. The factory is not open until 10:30 for general public (excluding VIP), so it was empty for the first bit of the tour. We went though the room with copper brew kettles, talking about how beer is made. There is some history rooms, with lots of old logos and memorabilia. The guide explained the companies owners history, and some of the artifacts. He took me to the roof top to have a look, there is patio and a room where the old pool was. He took me to the special VIP bar, which is a small bar just for a VIP tour group. He poured 4 different beers for me, as well as some cheese and i think dried meat? I got to hang out here for a bit, and look around the room with the old beer bottles. Then that was the end of the VIP part of the tour, and my guide left me with the start of the normal tour group, which guides you through a big display all around you of the beer making process, makes you feel like you are in the process. and then some beer samples. There is a self exploring part after, where there is many rooms about different things related to Heineken, like the Nasar room, or the bicycle to deliver heineken room, to learn about different heineken history. And last there is a bar, where you can use your 2 tokens to get beers. I was already drunk at 11am so i didnt not get more beers, but it was nice option.
-Right outside the end of the tour is the Heineken gift shop, with many high quality items from magnets to hoodies. The gift shop also has a high tech checkout, where you put everything you are buying into the checkout bin, and it knows whats in the bin and calculates it, no need to scan each item.
-After the gift shop, you can pick up your custom gift (for VIP), its a beer bottle with custom wording that I picked out.
-The Guide was great, I forget his name, its either Alfredo, or Alfred, or something similar. He was great, I was tired and hungover a little at first, and not even a huge beer drinker (when i do its heineken), but he was happy and excited and didnt miss a beat even though it was a 1 on 1 tour.  He was always ready to jump in the picture with a smile and thumbs up, and explained what we were seeing, as well as answered all of my many questions. He is in some of the pics below
-The whole place seems very customer happiness focused, from the lady on the phone when i called at 950am because i wasnt sure i had the time right (it opens at 1030 not 10) and they were very happy and said "they open for VIP's like me", and my guide was very helpful and made suggestions for photos, and the normal guide people were very friendly and again get in pictures willingly.
-The only thing to improve, would be better entry instructions for the people on the 10am tour, as when i arrived i worried i had the wrong time, or maybe was at the wrong door, because the building doesnt open until 1030 and it didnt say anything on the ticket about entry except "dont wait in line, go to info desk". So i called them, but i wish the ticket said to wait at door to be let in or something.
Overall i am very happy i did this tour, chose the VIP tour, and was luck to have a 1 on 1 tour before the building even opened!