terminalfive

Very good stay so far

Impressed

Gd lounge - decent room, just the bed on the small side

Recomend

terminalfive

Confirm my report as above

Really is a decent hotel

So convenient being so near the station - the Hotel still feels 'new' and I loved virtually everything - room / bathroom included

Just don't understand why the bed was so small - the room was big so that was strange

jamesteroh

I am going to need to do a couple entries for our payroll while I am at this property and it's a pain to do it on my tablet. Is there a computer in the hotel with free access?

baccarat_king

I thought, all of the Executive Rooms had iMacs? Or, was I dreaming this?

edit to add :

not dreaming, and I think it's all the rooms :

jamesteroh

Thanks! Now just to learn how to use a MAC LOL

baccarat_king

LOL
I say the same thing about PCs and the Windows operating system.

jamesteroh

LOL. I think the Waldorf London has mac's in their EL and I get by fine Fortunately I just need to enter some numbers on a grid on a website

I had another question on this property and I know you are a Delta/KLM frequent flyer. If I have a 10:10 AM flight on KM from AMS to LHR and am already upgraded to business class and a Delta Diamond and taking the train to AMS, about what time should I leave the hotel?

baccarat_king

If I have no bags to check, I like to arrive at AMS 1 hour prior to departure +/-.

I'd say, to play it safe, and to keep it simple; just be going out the door of the DoubleTree walking to the train station 2 hours prior to departure (so, around 08:10). If you prefer some potential time in the lounge; or worry about times, then out the door 2.5 hours.

I "sort of" adhere to the lifetime time saved cutting it close/versus time wasted always showing up too early is worth it to me. But, on occasion, I prefer to just work and smoke a cigar in the KLM lounge prior to departure (so I get to the airport early). But, many of these times I show up early, I have an upgrade that needs to be processed and/or I have bags to check.

jamesteroh

Thanks. I am checking a bag this trip since it's a 9 day vacation and I don't want to do laundry on my vacation and will be bringing a lot of stuff back for other people. I would like to check out a KLM lounge anyway and you can't miss a flight for arriving too early

jamesteroh

I arrived around 11:30 a.m. yesterdå¥.and no problem at all with an earl¥.checkin. She thanked me for being a diamond (and in fact acted impressed saying she sees a lot of us gold's but not many diamonds). Was preupgraded to a skyview suite. Great corner 2 room suite with an additional 1/2 bath with a awesome view of amsterdam. Wifi is fast and free to all guests with access to unlimited devices.

Both my tv's have apple keyboard and mouse which is nice. The bedroom tv is an apple moniter and the living room is a large screen toshiba. Onl¥.weird thing is you cant turn the screen on and off with a remote or channel surf (Im not much of a mac gu¥.so ma¥be i just dont know what im doing lol)

Only drawbacks were a long line for checkin (I think it was just when I arrived because I havent noticed long lines after but I had to wait 20 minutes so the¥ reall¥.need a diamond line during bus¥.times) and the exec lounge.

I dont think they give a breakfast option to golds so ever¥ gold has lounge access and it just cant accomodate that many people. Also the door was left ajar this morning and tonight so anyone can just walk in a lot of times. There is a lobb¥.bar outside the door and the¥.allow you to take lounge food to their tables and eat. Breakfast was awful. The¥ had scrambled eggs, hardly any bread choices and one two slice toaster. You can only access soft drinks between 6 and 8 p.m. but the lounge can be access 24/7 for coffee. Something cool they have is a variety of large jars of various candies that can be access 24/7.
\
Great location for a tourist. Outside of the train ride from the airport yesterday I was able to walk everywhere. Great treatment of diamonds. Will definitely stay here again if I return to amsterdam

BotB

Great to hear jamesteroh, ^

My recent stay was a bit different but I appreciate that sometimes one wins and sometimes one loses regarding luck with hotels and flights, etc.

I had booked two rooms here mid June and no upgrade was given for the first room but this was okay given that I was not there at checking and my mother checked in the day before I arrived.

My check in experience matches yours but no upgrade, still a decent night in a standard room (booked on points). Room looked the same as other mint conversions I have posted photos for so didn't take any this time.

The SkyLounge is very nice and in general I liked the hotel but it is very popular and busy. Excellent for access to the train station and that area but I personally would stay in different areas next time as I like the canals and quieter side of Amsterdam.

The staff were very good here and tried their best, which was appreciated as it is busy!

Breakfast in the restaurant was good but again extremely busy, reflecting my previous experiences at UK DT's. One simply has to dive into the scrum and take no prisoners!

Might try here again in the off season and see how things compare. Imagine the suite was lovely.

Kacee

I just stayed two nights. I would not stay again.

On the plus side, the staff is very nice and helpful. The location is also super convenient - transit to just about anywhere you want to go is available from Centraal Station, a five minute walk away.

My two big issues here are the rooms and the lounge.

They were booked full for the weekend so no upgrade for this Gold. I was given a queen room on the "executive floor." The view was straight into adjacent rooms:



The room was absolutely tiny - I suspect under 200 square feet. The bed - supposedly a queen - was smaller than a US double. It was also very hard. Here's what the room looked like:



Note the lamp in the corner was not plugged in - no outlet within ten feet. Nice planning guys. Also, the space looks bigger because the bed is so small. If you are six feet tall, your feet will hang over. I will add that the iMac as TV was for me unsatisfactory. The screen is very small. You can barely see it from the bed.

Breakfast was in the lounge. It's a nice space but it can't handle the crowds. Don't even bother going after 9 a.m., it's a total madhouse. Quality was mediocre at best. The fruit consisted of some brown pineapple and some watermelon. The smoked salmon was inedible. Baked goods were okay, not great. Very small selection of meat and cheese. Three juices. The coffee was not very good (inexcusable in this country where the coffee is usually excellent).

My advice is, if you stay here during the summer, pay up for an expensive room or you may get one of these prison cells.

baccarat_king

I think BotB says it best!

Definitely does seem, that being Diamond is a differentiator. But, seriously, Amsterdam is over-run by tourists in June, July and August; and the DoubleTree is a "super-reasonable" hotel with regard to price in a great tourist location. I would never expect ANY UPGRADE in Europe during the summer season. Heck, we are off to Barcelona shortly; wanted a suite, and purchased a suite (even though, at this property [non-Hilton] this is both a Platinum Elite and AMEX FH&R reservation; I still knew that it would be highly unlikely to expect an upgrade).

Is Hilton Gold really that special anyway? I received that status as a "perk" and I hardly ever stay at Hilton Properties. I'm finding more and more (hotels, airlines) that if you are not TOP/HIGHEST LEVEL status, it hardly matters anymore, IMHO.

jamesteroh

I don't think anyone should expect a suite upgrade at any property. I sure don't don't as a diamond, but appreciate it when it happens, and sure wouldnt expect it as a gold.

Like you said, gold is very easy to get through a lot of various ways. In the US you can get it with the paid Hilton Visa or Hilton Am Ex surpass. And the checkin agent said she has been seeing a lot of US Gold's lately, and that is probably why. A property should upgrade their diamonds over a gold, just like an airline should always upgrade their highest tiers first.

And this property does give all golds lounge access.

jamesteroh

One weird thing about this hotel (and maybe it was just my room) was there was no alarm clock. Wasn't a big deal since I always use my phone for the alarm clock but still like a clock to look at if I wake up during the night (easier than reaching over and trying to find your phone).

I had one issue with the bill at checkout, there was a charge for the skylounge which I never visited. She had to get the original chit to take it off and that took almost 10 minutes but when she saw it wasn't me promptly removed it. While I was waiting on the clerk to get the chit, another employee asked me about the stay and I said it was great except for the lounge overcrowding and she said they were looking at doing another breakfast options for golds and not giving them lounge access anymore or giving diamonds another breakfast option (not sure with a starbucks in the hotel with charging privledges wy they dont give golds a voucher for there. The breakfast was so bad, I left early this morning to eat at the airport lounge for a better breakfast and would rather have had a voucher at starbucks for breakfast instead of the lounge) so hopefully the lounge overcrowding issue will be solved soon