Is Hotel Krasnapolsky (AMS) that bad?
 

I recently "won" a bid on PL for NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky in Amsterdam (for one night in Feb). The hotel is listed on PL, and many other sites, as a five star hotel.

However, in consulting tripadvisor, the last five or six ratings for this hotel have been absolutely horrendous.

Has anyone stayed in this hotel lately? I'm not really that worried that it might not be a "true five star" but more that it has minimally acceptable quality in terms of cleanliness, level of service, etc. (I know it's in a great location.)

We stayed there about a year ago, and it was fine. Not a true 5 star, but the rooms were clean and large, the hotel was safe, had a nice lobby, etc. The concierge arranged a private tour at a diamond factory, which was fun. I would stay there again no problem - the location is great.

I am looking for a place for May 31-June 3 and considering PL or hotwire due to my budget situation. May I ask the dates you are staying and your winning bid ?

Thank You,
Alan

PM sent.

A friend of mine stayed there last year and really enjoyed it.

Our Krasnapolsky Horror Story
 

We stayed at the Krasnapolsky about three years ago. We had booked a non-smoking room, but ended up in a room that stank of stale smoke. We complained, and after initially being told that there were no other rooms available we were, eventually, offered an upgrade to what they called an apartment.

To get to this apartment we had to walk out of the back of the main building, walk about 100 yards along a canal (we only realised later that this was the Red Light District) and then let ourselves into a separate apartment block - it looked like these were probably once residential apartments.

Our apartment overlooked a very small inner courtyard - meaning no sunshine and very little light -, and it had a distinct musty smell. The furniture was ancient, and the whole place had a really dark, depressing feel to it.

The rooms in the main building are OK (it was just unfortunate that ours stank of smoke), but the apartment was just horrible.

So... you should be OK as long as you're in the main building and they get your smoking preferences right. Don't, whatever you do, accept an "upgrade" to the apartment block round the back!

It's an odd hotel, and relies far too heavily on its reputation: many Amsterdammers still seem to believe it is the best hotel in Amsterdam.

In reality: the restaurants are good but pricey, and the rooms are variable. The premium rooms (across the alleyway) are lovely, the main block rooms passable, with some particularly pokey single beds ones. It's a sprawling old hotel, so the queue to the lifts for some of the outlying wings can be quite large if there's a conference in!

I've stayed in one of the apartments Aviatrix described - there's a couple of good ones on that block, and a couple of appalling ones. Worse still are the apartments that you access via the passageway used for kitchen deliveries!

It wouldn't be my first choice, but I wouldn't complain at all about staying there on a good rate. Its location could hardly be better.

One word of warning, though: unless things have changed in the last two years, do not get a taxi either from the concierge/doorman, or from the rank in front of the hotel. This used to be basically mafia-run (I knew several drivers who wouldn't even drop you off directly in front of the hotel), and you were asking for trouble. Call TCA yourself or go to the rank outside the Albert Heijn on Nieuwezijds.

Thanks for that. In all of my visits to Amsterdam, I've never found a taxi necessary. Walking and the tram seem to get me to where I want to go.

I agree 100% (well, 50% - bike is the way to get round Amsterdam!) However, if you're running late for your flight and are tempted... Beware.

It is highly variable in quality. I was surprised to see it at $108 for Feb 11 this AM so business must be really tanking. FWIW I didnt book it.

MisterNice

I've stayed at the Grand Kras and the Barbizon Palace. While they are both highly rated (in terms of number of stars) on most websites, I would choose the Barbizon Palace over the Grand Kras everytime, unless the Grand Kras was discounted by 50% or more.

Since they are usually just about the same price, Barbizon wins.

My apologies, we stayed at the Barbizon Palace and not at this hotel.

I stayed at the NH Grand Krasnapolsky last March for one night. It was a nice hotel, but the price at the time was a little high. One thing I didnt like was the refrigerator mini bar is computer controlled. You take an item out, and a charge is added to your room bill right away. I dont like using mini bars, and would rather buy what I like elsewhere and put in the refrig myself.

I was back in Amsterdam for a week starting New Years Eve day, and stayed at the NH City center on Spuistraat which; and is about a five minute walk from Dam Square. Nice hotel, the rooms were nice and roomy, fairly new furnishings. The shower stall was a little small, but if I recall correctly it was small at the Kras as well. It had a regular refrig and only 2 bottles of water for purchase inside. I was able to stock it with my choices of local beer and snacks instead.http://www.nh-hotels.com/nh/en/hotel...?action=search

I booked the room through http://hotels.nl/ and got a little better rate than any other place on the web.