Easy to find and really close to the station, with lots of attractions within walking distance.
We had a really warm welcome from the man at the desk, who always remembered my name. We arrived early and were able to leave our bags, and the same was true on the day we left, which was really useful.
There is a lift to the second floor, but as the hotel is split level there are still a few extra steps to get to some rooms. We didn’t really use the lift though, as we actually liked the quirkiness of the narrow spiral staircases and the giant round windows.
We had a room for four, which was fairly large and spacious. Our room faced into the centre of the building, so the views were basically of walls and the roof below, and that roof was over the reception area. Although there were lots of large windows, the room was fairly dark during the day. This really wasn’t an issue for us though, as we spent most of our days out exploring Amsterdam — who sits in a hotel room all day when there is so much to see? There were also big, thick curtains which blocked out any light at night and helped us get a really good night's sleep.
The beds were a little different, with an extra mattress on top of the base. These did slip a little if you sat on the edge, but they never actually slipped off the bed and we all stayed in our beds! We had a good night's sleep during our three nights there.
You can hear the constant tunes from the clock towers around the city, but after a while you get used to them and don’t really notice them anymore. We certainly weren’t bothered by them and still slept well.
The bathroom was clean but did have a slightly musty smell. I think the extractor wasn’t particularly powerful and there wasn’t much airflow through the bedroom. We did try leaving the bathroom door open but it didn’t really make much difference. The shower itself was lovely and hot and plenty powerful enough, so no complaints there. The musty smell wasn’t a major issue for us.
There was a tea and coffee machine in the room and everything was replenished daily. You could put a do not disturb sign on the door, but we were happy for the cleaners to come in each day. They straightened the beds (we had tried!), topped up the tea and coffee and emptied the bins. It could probably have done with being hoovered, as that didn’t seem to get done, but maybe that is done less frequently.
On our last night there were some really heavy downpours and water was flooding down the stairs in the corridor opposite. It looked like they had been painting this area the day before, so I don’t think those rooms were in use. There was also water coming through the roof in the reception area, so there were quite a few buckets around! The staff were really trying hard to keep spirits up and remain friendly with customers despite everything going on around them.
Overall, yes, the hotel does need a bit of modernisation, but then it would most likely be out of our price range. For what we paid and where it is, we were happy with it. It was clean, comfortable, in a great location and the staff were lovely. I would definitely stay again.
