Set in the southern area of Limburg Province in the Netherlands is the tiny hamlet of Epen, with 560 inhabitants. Famous for its ancient timber-framed homes set along a canal that winds through the quiet countryside, the hamlet lies on the popular sightseeing route of Mergellandroute and has just under 200 houses spread over 11 square kilometres. It is just 15kms to the southwest of Kerkrade. Although there are no Epen hotels, comfortable accommodation can be found in nearby towns and larger villages. The Mergellandroute tourist trail is on average 120kms from start to finish and is suitable for cars, motorcycles, bicycles and enthusiastic hikers and walkers. Beginning in Maastricht, the route is marked for drivers by brown road signs, with green signs for cyclists, and takes in more than 20 historic towns and villages as well as attractive countryside. Unusually for the Netherlands, Limburg Province is hilly and contains the country's highest point above sea level at 332m as well as many old castles and estates.

other spellings: epenhotels, otelin epin, epan hote, epen hotell, hotelin eipen, epen hotle