The one positive aspect I definitely need to congratulate the venue on is its cleanliness. It was scrupulously clean in every way, both in general and regards our individual room. Also, the reception staff were very polite and helpful when consulted. Checkin was quick using their self-service machines, and not having charged anything to the room throughout our stay, checkout was too.
The room was spacious enough, but its storage space was ridiculously small. The hanging space consisted of one 12” rail. For all other clothes there were 3 narrow shelves. That’s it. No drawers, no other cupboards, nothing else.
We were staying for 6 days, 2 of which I was spending at a scientific conference in Rotterdam. Not wishing to turn up there looking less than pristine, my dresses and jackets took priority for the small rail. My other clothes, and all of my partner’s, remained in our cases for the duration of our stay.
This being the case, I’d have to say this venue is highly unsuitable for anyone holidaying for anything more than a long weekend. Unless of course you only wear clothes well suited to remaining in a case!
The bathroom was lovely and spacious, and very luxurious looking. However for anyone with long/thick hair, be prepared to take a long time in the shower as the water pressure is positively non-existent. And the provided bath towels are the smallest I think I’ve ever seen, so be sure to pack your robe!
On the subject of the bathroom…….
I would very definitely not recommend this hotel to anyone falling into any of the following categories:
Anyone travelling with young children
Anyone suffering from any kind of health or age related condition that results in a need to use the loo during the night
Anyone who’d describe themselves as “not a morning person”
Anyone travelling with a partner etc that’s a light sleeper
Why? Because all the rooms in this hotel possess the most ridiculous lighting setup I have ever experienced of any hotel I’ve ever stayed in!!! Within the bedroom element they have taken it upon themselves to predetermine the only combinations in which you can light the room.
You wish to sit quietly in your room late at night under the gentle glow of the table lamp? Well you can’t! Because they’ve already decided you can only use the lamps in combination with 2 halogen spotlights located by the door! Ambiance?! No chance!!!
And this unbelievably ridiculous setup is at its most imposing when it comes to the bathroom……
The ceiling in the bathroom is fitted with 3 walk-in-sunbed-strength spotlights. Which are impossible to turn off!!! After checking with reception to make sure we weren’t missing something obvious, they confirmed the bathroom lights are automatically triggered on a sensor as soon as the bathroom door is opened. And they stay on for approximately 5 minutes after you leave the room and close the door. You have absolutely no control over this.
The best bit? They aren’t even overridden by taking the room key out of the control slot by the door! We did this one night, assuming that as it had to be located in order for the lights in the room to work, then surely taking it out would prevent them working! Well unfortunately…..surely not. That theory worked for every light in the room BUT the bathroom ones as they appeared to be on their own independent circuit that operated no matter what!
The result? If you or your children get up to use the toilet during the night, half asleep, I guarantee the second you open the bathroom door, you will be 100% wide awake and stand absolutely zero chance of getting back to sleep! And if you also have a light sleeping partner in the room as well, due to the position of the bathroom door, they’ll have no choice but to join the party with you….
Now for some people this may be no issue whatsoever, so for you this hotel may be perfect. I actually have a migraine disorder, and I physically cannot tolerate sudden extreme changes from dark to light as it’s a migraine trigger. When I wake up in the morning, I have to acclimatise my eyes gradually. So this hotel genuinely was an agonising stay for me. But even if you’re completely devoid of health issues, it’s highly unpleasant to say the least.
Another aspect I’d like to point out is the hotel’s location. It is as stated only a short walk to either a Metro or a tram station. However, be aware that by either transport option you’re looking at a journey of around 30 minutes to get to Leidseplein/Museumplein, and slightly longer for Dam/Centraal Station. So ‘popping back’ to the hotel to change etc before transitioning from day to evening requires a significant amount of time to be factored in.
The final area I’ll mention is the hotel restaurant. During our stay we had the breakfast option once, and the all you can eat dinner option once. My impression overall is that the restaurant is permanently understaffed, especially for dinner. Even when it was full to capacity with people waiting. Clearly the management are seeking to keep associated overheads in this area as low as possible. Consequently service is extremely slow, and in general the staff that were present were polite and friendly, but ultimately unhelpful.
The all you can eat dinner option was €25 each, which is theoretically good VFM. You can order up to 4 dishes, every 15 minutes, and your dinner reservation slot is for 2 hours. However…the dishes are all tapas style, so one dish may be just a single piece of salmon no bigger than the average thumb…
We repeatedly had issues with only some of our dishes from each “round” actually appearing. The first time it happened the member of staff (when we eventually managed to succeed in getting someone’s attention) was apologetic. However, after the umpteenth time, we