Giethoorn is a lovely village. Its small canals are the result of the peat harvesting, and most of the village is accessible only on foot or by boat.
We stayed at the Hotel De Jonge for two nights in early May. Our room was on the main floor and was both clean and spacious. The bath was quite nice.
This hotel is at the north end of the village and is several kilometers from the main commercial center where you will find a number of restaurants, bars, cafes and a small grocery store. It's quite a long walk from the hotel, so you should plan on driving or biking if you want to go there. The advantage of the hotel's locatiion is that it is far less crowded than the village center. The canals and canal houses near the hotel are just as pretty, and in the early morning or evening, you could be the only person walking about.
The hotel has a good restaurant with a decent breakfast. We also had our dinner there on both nights, it was pretty good for a hotel restaurant... more