Grand Hotel Amrath Amsterdam

First up, the hotel has an excellent location - a short walk form Amsterdam Centraal Station which is the hub for trains (including the airport), metro, buses and trams. The hotel has characterful rooms in a very distinctive and historic building. Everything is as you would expect from a top-end luxury hotel - large, airy rooms with functioning temperature control, helpful staff, comfortable beds. I didn't try the spa, but it too sounded better than you'd expect. Of special note, was the breakfast presentation which was exceptional. I also really liked the bathrooms - spacious, strong water pressure and accessories scaled to fit Dutch people (and anyone else who is tall). The rooms were also amazingly well insulated - I didn't hear anyone else during my stay - housekeeping, other guests, anyone. The only downside is that you pay for what you get and this is a luxury stay, not a value investment.

Whilst the overall impression wasn't great, we experienced both good and bad during our 3 night stay. It is certainly well-located for the central station. The facade is a matter of personal taste and the small reception area and rather gloomy interior are probably not what you'd expect of a 5* hotel but could be seen as characterful in what is an old, re-purposed building. We stayed 2 nights in one Superior twin room; one night in another. Both were canal-side where, despite limited sound-proofing, very little traffic, human or vehicular, passes at night. The high ceilings and tall windows let in plenty of light to offset the fairly drab furnishing and the black-out curtains mean you are not woken by the early morning light. The air con in both rooms was quiet, albeit not very effective. No shower gel/body wash was provided (an oversight), so we had to shower using shampoo the first night. The water also suddenly turned to scalding for 10-15 seconds on 2 separate occasions, which shouldn't be possible if the shower thermostat has a working limiter. It gave us an early indication that this hotel is not run to the standards you would expect of a 5* hotel. The main indication was that the mattress on one of the beds, a divan, had lost its structural integrity on one edge and a further thin (c. 4 cm) mattress placed on top (this was worn and bobbly, uncomfortable through the very thin bed sheet). The effect was a sloping bed with a sliding mattress; so little sleep that night. The next day, we reported it and a member of staff was sent to inspect; he agreed the mattress was broken and went off to report to Reception, so we expected either a replacement mattress or a new room. In the event, they just ignored us, leading to another sleepless night. On day 3, we renewed the complaint and eventually, the customer service officer 'investigated', eventually repeating everything we had already told her back to us and finally offered a new room, in which the beds were fine (no thin top mattress and everything zipped into a cover). However, when we then pointed out that, for 2 nights, they were in breach of contract (i.e. we pay them, they provide a bed fit-for-purpose) and should therefore refund part of the room rate, she said they would get back to us. Nobody did and in our subsequent email complaint, they merely backtracked and said a further inspection showed the bed was fine. The fact that we knew the truth and that their own staff had already verified the complaint didn't bother them. They know there is nothing the customer can realistically do about it once they've left. I tried out the Wellness Centre, which includes a pool (I counted 8 strokes long), a hot tub, gym and sauna. In fact, a sauna visit is unnecessary, it is so hot down there anyway (gym work would certainly be very sweaty). A word of caution: there are effective non-slip tiles around the pool but seemingly not the hot tub; I slipped as I approached the latter. The same is true of the nearby showers, where I also discovered that having a soap dispenser does not mean there will be soap (I went 2 days and they clearly don't bother checking). The lockers too were not maintained. I and the member of staff trying to assist me, followed the instructions but the locks would not work. A second staff member was summoned and he explained that all the locks were already in the locked position even though some doors were open. He managed to override one for me but the next day, the problem was the same. I was the only customer in the Centre, yet all of the 30 or so lockers were locked or un-lockable. The other place you might visit is the breakfast area. Although the cooked breakfast was not particularly appetising (leathery bacon, for example), the breads and pastries were fresh and tasty. You could also make yourself a coffee, using their espresso machine. We should add that the restaurant staff, like the cleaning staff, were friendly and efficient. In conclusion, although superficially the hotel has the expected features, we cannot recommend it as a 5* hotel; it does not have that feel or luxury and is not managed to that standard. If you do have a problem, it is not dealt with quickly and our experience is that they will evade financial redress. You may be lucky and get a good room but perhaps judging it against 3* competition would be a better indicator of value.

We were booked into this hotel by Regent Cruises to spend a night before we actually embarked on our trip. The location is great, within walking distance of the heart of the city. We arrived just after lunch and were pleasantly surprised that our rooms were ready. The route to the rooms was up and down a number of corridors involving a few steps here and and few there. The room was an adequate size decorated in discordant eclectic colors. The bathroom was a little old fashioned but the shower was good and powerful. One of our windows did not shut properly but the noise at the back of the hotel is minimal so it did not interfere with sleep and the bed was quite comfortable. The public rooms were very tired and had the feeling of a very old and cheaper style of hotel. The breakfast was good. The bar was a very plain room that served what you needed but really was not very inviting. Overall for one night it was fine but if I had booked into this hotel for my vacation I would have been disappointed.