BotB

All good points thanks for mentioning them ^ , hope they help others reading the thread about choices to the hotel.

My own request was actually to say thanks but I won't be arriving from the airport as I'll be in the DT city centre the night before and just need a transfer from one hotel to the other and asked if they would still offer the transfer and if so how much... (I'm happy to use the train personally from the airport to Centraal and tend to travel with hand luggage only).

Unfortunately, my request seems to have been misunderstood so I'm still in discussion with them but will post back with any answers I receive.

I've used Uber in London and like them a lot so imagine they are just as good in Amsterdam. ^

Again, thanks for the helpful tips ^

Thanks ^ , only a few days now until our stay and looking forward to it, so these pictures whet the appetite nicely



For general info: The hotel has come back to me about one question I had; it's not possible to have 4 people in any room for 'safety' reasons apparently so any families will need to book 2 rooms (even if you book the Brentano suite with over 100 m2 apparently!)

baccarat_king

If I'm understanding you correctly DoubleTree (Centraal) to Waldorf transfer; you are looking at a 10-15€ fare (Uber); off the top of my head. Uber recently lowered pricing in Amsterdam, I "think" fares (for Black Car) now start at 8€. I really do believe this would be a sub-15€ fare; if you chose a Black Car (not Luxury). I have no idea about the Waldorf having house cars; but I would assume if they did, it would be something that would be memorialized in their materials. Many hotels offer "house bikes," for guest use; not aware of many that have an in-house (free/included) car transfer.

Uber is decent in Amsterdam. Far from perfect; but the cars are nice (and the payment processing seamless).

BotB

Staying here now, excellent hotel and staff. Haven't encountered any issues yet and teething issues I have read about must be sorted now ^

I've taken a whack of pictures and will post them later after the trip when I am back home but a few points in advance:

-taxi from DT city centre to here was around € 16 (2 people but 5 bags, 4 stupid size from the 3 women i'm travelling with and my carry on! )

-beautiful buildings inside, very well done ^

-I'd booked a night in junior suite and a night on points and they upgraded us to one bedroom suite for both nights ^ (might have received an even better upgrade but that suite was near an elevator I think or on ground floor, so worth considering having no pref's if you don't care and you may get lucky...I don't speak Dutch well so I may have misheard the discussion the receptionist and the manager were having). In any case a fantastic suite and extremely large for Amsterdam. The bathroom in both rooms we have is bigger than some rooms I have had here or in the UK!

-the second room I booked with two beds and canal views is actually two beds that are at least queen sized beds each so you could definitely sleep four people IF the safety regulations didn't stop them from allowing this (3 people limit in any room AFAIK). The bathroom in there also has two sinks and plenty of counter space and is as big a bathroom as the suite I have. There are full size baths in both rooms as well as showers, the suite has a freestanding bathtub with roll top and older style armature whereas the two bed room has a built in bath with more modern taps.

-the entrance staircase is really something and well worth using and an upward glance or two to the skylight and detail.

-wifi is free for diamond and golds here, no limit on devices. Will have to see how the speed fares during 'normal hours'

-outstanding staff and obviously very proud of the hotel ^ , gave me a mini tour and you can see where the four houses are joined when walking through (nice detail). 6 houses in total apparently.

-no bar in basement as originally planned as ceiling too low apparently 2.20m high and needed to be 2.40m high for regs!

-breakfast in basement, will update on that once we try it.

-bathrobes and slippers are very plush and I believe the bathrobe is similar to the London Hilton on Park Lane ones.

-Salvatore Ferragamo amenities in both rooms, very big 100ml bottles of all items, imagine they will be popular

--macaroons as diamond amenity brought to room after check in and nice turn down service in both rooms ^

-2 big bottles of still water in both rooms ^

-RFID keycards used for elevators and room entrances and keycards slot in room for power to work.

-Nespresso machines in both rooms

-secondary windows inside each room to shield some of the noise and this works quite well, even on a night when Holland beats Spain 5 to 1 in the opening World Cup bid so a true acid test

-lots of power points in rooms and I home alarm radio with new thunderbolt connector

-42 ich tellies in rooms with excellent channel and country offerings, including HD channels

-soft close drawers and loo lids ^

-nice design lamps in suite

Will post more tomorrow but any questions do let me know. @:-)

BotB

Some updates:

-breakfast is good, not a massive selection though and given this was € 30 each it was a bit disappointing really. There is a big island in the middle off the restaurant that holds most of the continental items and then a small side board area with some hot items such as scrambled eggs, bacon and sausages as well as The rolls and breads. You can order eggs at no extra charge (fried or poached for example) but eggs Benedict would have been an extra € 19

-only two table that are round and can hold three or four guests, the rest were all for couples so assume this is the main target audience.

-as in the higher priced London hotels, heard quite a bit of Russian here last two days...

-the items we did eat we're all excellent and the juices and yoghurts were fresh. They had some salmon available which was good and the coffee was proper continental strength coffee and sizes ^

-the pool is free to use for hotel guests and you just go down to the spa area and use your key card to access the changing areas and then the rather small pool. (Apparently 41 m2, 1.3m deep only)

-spa looked nice but quite dear in terms of pricing.

-staff remain excellent throughout the hotel ^

-rather nice garden area down on -1 level just before restaurant, lovely green lawns and a patio area with chairs but they don't serve breakfast out there apparently. Also a nice small pond with water lilies.

-the book in each room states there is a fitness room but haven't seen it (supposedly in spa area), also states internet is free for all guests but not sure if that is correct either as it also mentions the vault bar which they don't have as mentioned in the post above.

Hope this is useful, pictures to follow in a few days

EDIT: water replenished today as well and a nice box of toffee like wafers delivered this afternoon.

kirkwoodj

Thanks for all that, now looking forward to my visit even more! Will surely appreciate the pics, thanks very much!

BotB

Last update before pics:

-limo service is not free (as expected it has to be said) but for info is € 105 one way from airport/back to airport, takes around 35 minutes IIRC. Car is a long wheelbase S class merc 2014 model if that is important. You could book direct though as the hotel uses http://amsterdamlimo.com (not sure if that would be cheaper though). They can book it last minute as well so don't need 24 hours notice.

-was able to have a late check out until 3 PM, which was very much appreciated. ^

-talked to a chap that I believe was the duty manager last night and very nice chap, he told me that the van loon and Brentano suites were booked that night but the Backer suite was not booked so he kindly showed me the suite and I have a picture of the ceiling fresco that has been restored and is the original from the date of the building (1600's) ^ , the rest of the suite is the same as.other one bed suites (with the exception it had two sink basins). The Backer suite is room 101 and is at the top of the the van loom staircase right after reception.

-the lobby area has a good variety of food available including seafood and curry, etc...but the prices were quite high.

-there is a fitness room, plus a bar in the basement and a vault still, pictures of the vault door and fitness room will follow, the bar was busy with those watching football so didn't take any there I am afraid. It looked lovely and has a second more private room area as well.

-turndown service is usually around 18:00 each evening.

As mentioned, have plenty of pics to post in a day or two once back home.

An impressive hotel and excellent staff, great if you can book on points or afford the rates.

hugolover

I'm happy to hear the hard product is good but it shows to me the complete mess of the Hilton brand structure. Free breakfast at Hilton for Diamonds and it sounds to me like the breakfast at say Rotterdam (so a direct comparison with a Dutch hotel) is better and did I say free with numerous a la carte options included! Its fine to aim for the kinds of guests that don't care about costs but you can't fill a hotel in this day and age like that!

BotB

The General Hotel Public Areas: post 1 of 4 due to image limitations

Hotel from Road:

Building Front by BA_pics, on Flickr

Public Areas:

Van Loon Staircase after Reception:

Looking Up:

Van Loon Staircase windows by BA_pics, on Flickr

A bit lower down looking up:

Van Loon Staircase view up by BA_pics, on Flickr

The figures on the walls:

Van Loon staircase figures by BA_pics, on Flickr

The staircase itself:

van loon staircase detail by BA_pics, on Flickr

The lobby seating area and Peacock Alley: (menus and drinks card on table)

Peacock Alley lobby area by BA_pics, on Flickr

Rear Hallway view to Garden from 2nd Floor:

view from 2nd floor rear gardens by BA_pics, on Flickr

Typical Hallway (here 2nd floor by elevators):

Hallway 2nd floor elevator area by BA_pics, on Flickr

Elevator and floor plan:

Floor directory by BA_pics, on Flickr

Garden:

Garden Pond:

Pond Garden area by BA_pics, on Flickr

Garden View looking right:

Garden area looking right by BA_pics, on Flickr

Garden View looking left:

Garden area looking left by BA_pics, on Flickr

Fitness Room:

Fitness Room (lower floor -1):

Fitness room level minus 1 by BA_pics, on Flickr

Fitness Room (view back):

Fitness room 2 by BA_pics, on Flickr

Vault Door on -1 level (Garden level):

Vault door by BA_pics, on Flickr

BotB

Twin Queen Bed Room Pictures (room 225): Post 2 of 4

Entrance:

Wall Switches: (Do Not Disturb/Clean Room/Master Switch and area light switches)

wall switches twin bed by BA_pics, on Flickr

Closet:

closet twin bed by BA_pics, on Flickr

Floor plan:

floor plan 2nd floor by BA_pics, on Flickr

View to Bedroom:

View to room from entrance twin bed by BA_pics, on Flickr

Bedroom:

Twin Queen Beds:

twin queen beds by BA_pics, on Flickr

View back the other way:

twin queen beds view to door by BA_pics, on Flickr

Work Desk:

twin bed work desk by BA_pics, on Flickr

Windows and seat:

twin bed windows by BA_pics, on Flickr

TV and Mantlepiece:

fireplace TV twin bed by BA_pics, on Flickr

Bathroom:

Bathroom twin room by BA_pics, on Flickr

Sinks/Counter area:

dual sinks twin room by BA_pics, on Flickr

Bathtub:

bath built in twin bed by BA_pics, on Flickr

Shower:

shower twin room by BA_pics, on Flickr

BotB

One Bedroom Suite (King Bed) Room 135: Post 3 of 4

Room from Hallway:

entrance 135 one bed suite by BA_pics, on Flickr

Entrance:

one bed suite entrance door by BA_pics, on Flickr

Floor plan:

one bed suite floor plan by BA_pics, on Flickr

Closet in Entrance of Office area:

office closet one bed suite by BA_pics, on Flickr

Office area:

View to Window:

View to office from entrance OBS by BA_pics, on Flickr

Work Desk:

work desk OBS by BA_pics, on Flickr

View out Window:

view out window bedroom one bed suite by BA_pics, on Flickr

Blue design lamp:

OBS office lamp by BA_pics, on Flickr

Mini Bar snacks:

mini bar snack contents by BA_pics, on Flickr

Mini bar and coffee area:

fridge and coffee by BA_pics, on Flickr

Bedroom:

The Bed:

one bed suite king bed by BA_pics, on Flickr

TV:

one bed suite bedroom TV 50 inch by BA_pics, on Flickr

View to office from room:

one bed suite view to office area by BA_pics, on Flickr

View from office to bedroom:

one bed suite view to bedroom by BA_pics, on Flickr

Seating area:

one bed suite seating area bedroom by BA_pics, on Flickr

View out Bedroom Window:

view from window OBS by BA_pics, on Flickr

Closet area near bathroom:

one bed suite area front of bathroom by BA_pics, on Flickr

Closet (by bathroom area)

one bed suite closet bathrobes by BA_pics, on Flickr

Very nice Bathrobes:

bath robe detail by BA_pics, on Flickr

HVAC controls:

HVAC controls by BA_pics, on Flickr

BotB

Bathroom: (one bed suite, cont...) post 4 of 4 including Backer suite Fresco lower down:

Bath tub:

one bed suite bath and TV by BA_pics, on Flickr

Sink area:

one bed suite sink area by BA_pics, on Flickr

Amenities:

bathroom amenities by BA_pics, on Flickr

Salvatore Ferragamo Amenities:

bathroom amenities 2 by BA_pics, on Flickr

Loo: (behind smoked glass door and separate area)

one bed suite loo by BA_pics, on Flickr

Shower controls:

one bed suite shower controls by BA_pics, on Flickr

Shower detail:

Shower Drain detail by BA_pics, on Flickr

Other:

Diamond Amenities / Welcome gifts:

Macaroons (first day):

Macaroons special gift by BA_pics, on Flickr

Toffee like wafers (second day):

Diamond welcome gift by BA_pics, on Flickr

unwrapped:

Diamond welcome gift wafers by BA_pics, on Flickr

Backer Suite (same as one bed suite with exception of ceiling Fresco which is original from beginning of building, now restored):


Backer suite fresco original 1600 by BA_pics, on Flickr

Another view:

backer suite detail by BA_pics, on Flickr

kirkwoodj

Great photos, thanks so much!!!

fozziedoggie

Excellent photo report as always BotB. ^ ^

jamesteroh

THanks for posting all the great photos. I'm in Amsterdam in a couple weeks and now these photos have me wishing I was spending the extra money to stay there instead of the DT Ceentral station

baccarat_king

Pics are awesome ^^

Concerning the limo, 105€ (one way) from the Airport to Waldorf Amsterdam is kind of crazy, IMO.

For reference, UBER rates (received this email today); and the luxury is pretty luxurious, IMHO. (Uber-Luxury is usually a Mercedes S class; but not guaranteed, just in that category)



Perhaps, I'm missing something, regarding the value-equation vis-a-vis the limo service outsourced by the Waldorf.