ajca

I stayed in a 'bad room' at the Pulitzer for one night last year and wouldn't be rushing to go back. Great location but unless you book a suite or are sure of an SPG Platinum upgrade, you're unlikely to be impressed by the rooms.

Pausanias

There's a new Waldorf Astoria, constructed from several old townhouses, a la Pullitzer. It got a rave review in the Daily Telegraph a few months ago.

playbbg

I stayed at the Pulitzer as a PLT100 last year. The location was perfect for us, easy to get pretty much any where in the city. As for the hotel, we were upgraded to an executive suite and, while the layout was wonderful and the view was beautiful on the canal, I felt the room needed some rehabbing. It was far from luxury and felt like it came out of 1960 with luxury bedding and bath amenities.

That being said, I feel that's part of the charm of being on the canal in Amsterdam. The service was impeccable and the facilities were great, including the gym. I also really appreciated the personable service and the many nooks and crannies that make this property unique. I saw where the WA was and it seems like the location isn't optimal.

Overall, the location can't be beat and it is definitely a unique property with committed staff. I would probably choose it over the andaz next door given it's funkiness, but that may be because I know I will be taken care of as PLT100.

aa213bb

Had a fantastic stay at The Conservatorium. Elegant and beautiful design, and we quite enjoyed our 1 BR suite.

It's right by the Van Gogh and Rijks museums, so it's a touch removed from the canals and "downtown" areas, though we both quite liked it.

Very much recommended.

stimpy

The Pulitzer is NOT a luxury hotel. It's at best a business class hotel that doesn't do a great job supporting business people. It does have some nice high end suites, that in the past they used to upgrade me to, but when new management came in that practice stopped. It also has a nice bar and a nice location, but those are the only good things to say about it. It has many terrible rooms and these days mostly poor service.

This is not the forum to talk about the Pulitzer. There are several luxury hotels in Amsterdam and this isn't one of them. Plus there is a huge thread in the Starwood forum on the Pulitzer with many hundreds of posts since it was reset in 2008. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...er-thread.html

RichardInSF

Have stayed at two different suites at the Andaz. Location is fine and their largest suite is nice. They do try but it is not a luxury hotel. Still if you can get to the top suite level, you might consider it.

RTW1

Sorry but that's nonsense.... it never was true, and even less in the last couple of years. It might be true that service can sometimes be lacking a bit, don't expect service like you get in Asia, but that's not any different from most western countries. Amsterdam hotels are rather expensive and that's why people might assume they are in the same league as some of the truly luxurious hotels you might find elsewhere...

What people should start with is not just looking at the US based chain hotels, even though the Andaz and the Waldorf are pretty nice. But there are more independent options that are good too like the Conservatorium and the Dylan.
Personally I don't like the Pulitzer due to most of the disappointing rooms, but some do.

kamel123

This is absolutely true. There are quite some posters over in the Starwood forum who like it, but between the very slow and sometimes rude service, the tired/cramped rooms, underwhelming breakfast, I find few reasons to return. Yes, it's nice as a concept (converted townhouses - sense of place and character), but execution is lacking.

pricesquire

I want to hear more about the Conservatorium.

The main knock against the Waldorf, of course, is that the rooms could be in any Waldorf in any city in the world (the main complaint of Waldorf hotels anywhere ,really). Also, I heard they aren't allowed to serve alcohol or food in their main garden area? Can anyone comment?

How's The Grand? I don't like the location, but I've heard decent things about the suites.

Pierre&Cédric

+1
It was already 2 years ago but we had a very nice stay at the Conservatorium.
Some pictures in our TA review:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserR..._Province.html

EuropeanPete

Obviously opinions are personal, but I'd disagree. Amsterdam has a shortage of hotels in general (hence inflated costs and occasional nights of low availability) and those it does have rarely get beyond the adequate.

Obviously you wouldn't compare Amsterdam to a London or Paris, but as a tourist city you would expect it to compare to Florence, Vienna, Barcelona, Geneva, etc with multiple internationally significant luxury hotels. Instead it's more of a Warsaw or Dusseldorf.

RTW1

It's nothing like that.... Just reading this thread could give you a handfull of hotels that are (way) above what you find there. But I guess when your opinion is made, you stop looking at the facts. Calling these hotels just adequate is beyond ridiculous.

Makes me wonder where you have been staying... Certainly not at one of the properties that were mentioned in the recent posts. It's not the truly luxurious category, but most certainly it's just below that.

offerendum

To be fair DUS is not that bad. I stayed only at the IC Amstel so far and in my eyes it considers as luxury. Perhaps not the best hotel in the world but more than just adequate. Can`t talk about the other hotels but it doesn`t seem that Amsterdam has no good options. If you like Amsterdam over all is another question.

RTW1

I know DUS is not that bad, I stay there regularly... But mostly at properties a bit below the level that is discussed here. For instance the Hyatt in Dusseldorf works for me, but is no comparison to the Andaz in Amsterdam. Also not in price...

Personally a good hotel in a city is more than enough for me. I save the luxury for when I'm on holiday and get to enjoy the benefits a bit longer. But I sometimes stay for work when others are staying as well.... And it's pretty easy to find somewhere that's good.

stimpy

I think it's a very good and interesting hotel that was renovated quite well a few years ago. And the only "bad" thing about the location is that its near the tourist red light district. But in Amsterdam, everything is a short walk away. Even the Pulitzer that people say has a great location is a short walk to one of the other red light streets.

I also think the Amstel does qualify as a luxury hotel, but I've only stayed in Executive suites there. I think it has the best health club/steam/sauna/pool in Amsterdam.