bundaburg

Does anyone know if this hotel is for platinums full "SPG" over Element/Tribute?
I was looking to book and wanted to know if lounge access etc is provided.

cbellero

There is no lounge. You can choose the platinum amenity of 500 points or breakfast. I am not sure if a local amenity is also offered. You should receive an upgrade up to a suite if available.

I have not tried late check out yet.

arjen05

Local amenity was Dutch caramel waffles (stroopwafels) a month ago, could change. Late check-out is possible, I'm having one tomorrow. In the beginning of this year there always was a welcome note from the duty manager for plats in the room, haven't got any in the past stays. (not huge issue )

I've never been upgraded to a (junior) suite, counting 6 stays.

khabah

Update: as per one of my last posts, the hotel was supposed to join the Tribute Portfolio today but amended their website early this morning to say that renovations will go on until August 15th, at which point the hotel will join the brand.

T minus fourteen days...

khabah

cbellero

Based upon the observed renovation status I think this is accurate. My room recently finally received one of the new door numbers. The common space is really almost complete beside the hall of mirrors which will likely take a few more days.

They stocked the French restaurants bar with beverages and glasses over the past day. I am sure they will need a few days for staff training. But an opening date of August 10 (last update I received) seems very plausible.

cbellero

The cafe portion of the French restaurant has been open for more than a week now. Although the restaurant looks complete and the tables are already set, the opening date of the restaurant has been pushed out to September 1.

rdlmitedu

I just checked in; used an SNA to get something between a junior suite and a regular suite (122). Overall, a really nice property (especially for the EUR 120 or so rate I have), although it is a EUR 25 20-25m Uber to AMS. I'll probably write up a full review and maybe ask to see a couple different room types tomorrow to take pics.

Sheraton AMS wins for convenience for me, but this is a nicer place to stay. (I'm not a big Amsterdam, AMS, or NL fan, but it's convenient for flights)

The one problem I have is the non-consecutive room numbering; they start around 000 or 100 in the middle and go 130-150 in one direction, but then 120-110 and then 121-150 in the other direction. I think someone just screwed up, but they did a really nice/expensive wall panel room number, so it would be hard to change.

Still not "actually a Tribute hotel".

cbellero

Those fancy numbers were actually very recently installed. They would have had the possibility to change the numbering system. I always thought they were just trying to be quirky, but please ask whoever takes you for the tour of the rooms why they did it that way. It is something I keep on wanting to ask them.

Further update: the French restaurant will now open on 4 September according to the email feedback I have received.

Flying Lawyer

Is that the one close to the Amsterdam Hilton? If so, nice area in town but you need a tram ticket.

cbellero

Update: The French restaurant is now open. Last Thursday they threw a gala opening party (although the restaurant has already been open a few weeks).

cbellero

Also, anyone who has stays this year will get them credited on the SPG Dashboard as Tribute hotel stays. Mine went from 0 to 20 in one night.

cbellero

The hotel now participates in the Make a Green Choice program. I will add this to the separate MAGC thread.

itsaboutthejourney

It’s been a while that I was so deeply disappointed in a Starwood stay that I have to ask if anyone at Starwood/SPG is even working with this hotel to make sure it’s living up to the standards that many of us SPG fans are used to. While lots of money is being spent on the remodel, it doesn’t appear to be coordinated or well planned.

It started with a shuttle mix-up: we followed the instructions that were helpfully emailed from the front desk prior to arrival (my Ambassador had connected us with the hotel to confirm the shuttle time and instructions as they differed from what was on the website).

We got on a shuttle that had logos for 2 Apollo hotels, including this property and the Harbor Club. I asked the driver if he was going to the Apollo Amsterdam and he said yes. When he handed me a clipboard to fill out that showed a Ramada logo I again asked if he was going to the ‘other Apollo' and he said yes. 10-12 mins later, we arrive at the Ramada Apollo and the driver is agitated we are not getting off. I point to the logo of the hotel on his jacket and say we are going there. He storms off. A very apologetic agent from the Ramada hotel comes onboard to verify what I told the driver. My family vouched for everything that was said. She asked us to stay on and go back to the airport to get another shuttle. I said it was the last shutle of the day so that would not be a solution. She then asked us get off and that she would work with their ‘sister property’ to get us to the right hotel. Outside the shuttle was a heated argument among passengers needing to get to the airport ASAP. Apparently there were more people than could fit and our family staying on to go to the airport would have denied even more people a ride.

About 20 mins later, an identical shuttle arrives to the Ramada and an unfriendly driver takes us to the Apollo Amsterdam. He pointed to an letter size sheet of paper in the window that says 'Apollo Amsterdam’ - yet the entire shuttle has a wrap that contains each hotel logo plus the Harbor club. My advice for FT'ers: verify 5x that you are going to the right Apollo hotel, the difference seems to be a sheet of paper in the window.

Check-in was mildly apologetic for the shuttle, but didn’t seem to understand our adventure.

We were upgraded to a design suite facing the canal with a connecting room.

The room seemed to be a complete refurbishment: everything seemed new, including doors, fixtures, paneling, lighting and decor.

Design:
While the look was interesting and unique, I would not call it functional: tables had curved edges, causing items (phones) placed near the edge to slide off. The suite was so compact that there was neither a full desk nor couch. A thin glass table had a phone and chair, but was oddly placed. An armchair blocked the door to the adjoining room. Another glass coffee table took up a lot of the small living space, we considered tipping it on it’s side, but ended up rearranging things so we could all sit together in the suite and open the door to the connecting room. There was no divider or door to the bed area, and the bathroom had colorful panels of glass, but limited privacy. All this added up to a poorly designed suite that makes me wonder of the designer really stays at hotels? At the least, the room description is misleading using the word ‘separate’ to describe the bed and work areas. A sliding screen or door to the bed area would have made a hug difference, as would a more practical coffee table. We had to take the shade off the ‘desk’ lamp to try to make living room bright. The highly directional recessed lighting above was too far of an angle to to see inside the dark shelves/safe. They spent money on a total refurbishment, why didn’t they put lights inside the shelves let alone made them so dark?

Other design: the same approach to great looking, but not very functional design is found all around the property: dark and dangerous stairs had the same pattern on the steps, landing and dark walls with little lights. I fell once, saw other guests fall as well.

Service:
The Director of rooms sent a note asking me to reach out if I needed anything; but no way to contact her; no extension, no email, no phone

My father was told different breakfast hours than what was true when he inquired before going out for a run. When we showed up at a time before what we were told, but after breakfast closed they offered us some pastries and asked us to sit in the coffee bar area. The 2nd day we were also asked to sit in the coffee area but told we could use the breakfast buffet as they wanted to be ready for lunch. The 3rd day we went down earlier and were seated in the (French) restaurant. Great views and very good selection, I’d advise SPG platinum members to take the breakfast Amenity.

To make-up for the shuttle mishap they waived the fee for the return shuttle, a nice gesture.

Internet connectivity was painful every day of our stay. It was unacceptable and each time I told the front desk, they said they would address it, but apparently never did. I finally went to the lobby to send an important document and barely got 5 MBPS speed there.

We liked the location. The canal view was beautiful. It was an easy walk to the tram and a little further walk to the museumplein.

Overall friendly but helpless staff. Service failures, combined with borderline unsafe design that misses the mark in terms of practical features, SPG members may wish to stay elsewhere. I just wonder where have Starwood people been as the hotel became a Tribute property? The Apollo people clearly need some help.

cbellero

I am sorry to hear that you have not had a good experience at the hotel. I was a bit surprised considering I actually very much enjoy staying at this hotel.

I understand the trouble you had with the shuttle bus. You need to make sure you get on the correct one. If they want to charge you money, then you are definitely not getting on the correct one. Unfortunately, I have heard from other friends of mine that had issues with this. The unscrupulous drivers of the other buses are out to make a quick buck and apparently do not point the guests towards the correct bus. My recommendation to others since there are so many similarly named hotels - make sure they are going to the Apollo Hotel in Apollolaan 2.

Concerning the design: Unfortunately the design rooms are made in line with current trends for hotels. Younger guests are deemed to not work in the room, or on the bed, or in public spaces. Fortunately if you do need a desk then the hotel has another room type in the tower called executive which indeed has a full-sized desk. When I first started staying here regularly, I was not sure which room type I preferred. In the end I decided the design rooms are the best compromise for me. I agree that the design rooms tend to be a bit dark, particularly in the closet area - again this is something that I have also noticed at other "design"-centric hotels.

I have stayed at this property extensively and have never noticed anyone falling or nearly falling. Nor have I felt unsafe on the stairs. Which stairs did you find unsafe? The only time I feel dizzy from the property is when I stare at the structured pattern of the ceiling in my room.

marlee1421

Well said. I also enjoyed the Apollo. Based on reading flyertalk, I made sure about the shuttle times and location and had absolutely no problem. The hotel is well located and very tasteful. If one does not know what to expect with this type of property, and expects a traditional hotel, they could be disappointed. We felt it was charming, well staffed and efficient.