Kacee

And you can run forever on the Amstel if you head out of town. I think I did like 18 miles out and back.

SkyTeam777

Does the hotel offer upgrades for $ at reception to club level? Has breakfast or the evening offering improved in the lounge?

notthatdeadyet

Re food:

AM: Lounge has some croissants and Coffee machine is nice. Glob breakfast was in the main restaurant; just gave a room # and never saw a bill.

PM: Lounge has wine/beer and a spread of crudite and cheese, plus some dessert items in the evening. Not enough for a real meal for me, but a nice cocktail hour spread. One evening a family brought in some pizzas for their kids and got some soft drinks for them, plus some dessert. Parents seemed to be going out later on and optimizing available options.

cruisingmickey

So to confirm, even though the lounge has croissants and coffee, Globalists gets to have their breakfast in the restaurant? Is that official policy?

TravelinSperry

I'm here now. FD told me both Globalists and Explorists can choose between lounge or restaurant breakfast.

bsdstone

I used a suite upgrade for my upcoming stay...anyone know what suite I'll be given?

cruisingmickey

Thank you! Is the restaurant breakfast a buffet? Or do we order from a menu? Do you have any photos? Enjoy your stay!

RichardInSF

Any thoughts on this hotel vs the Andaz, especially if someone has stayed at both?

RTW1

The Andaz is a class above the HR, and locations are quite different. The HR isn't bad though and personally I like the location as well since the neigbourhood is a bit less crowded.

Normally the price difference is less than I would have expected, unless you use points....

TravelinSperry

While the property is new and looks nice, it is not yet ready for prime time. I'd stay elsewhere until it is ready:

1- Internet access doesn't work well yet. I've had to call their provider 2x to have the internet 'reset'. It's fast when it does work.
2- Hammering/construction still ongoing. I'm listening to hammers while I work on the floor above. No mention of this at check-in or at reservation. ugh.
3- Strong paint and varnish smells in the hallways and rooms. The place needs to be aired out.

The hotel is otherwise a very nice property in a local neighborhood. Great if you're not sightseeing and want to be away from all the tourists. Service is top notch. Once they work out all the kinks, I'd highly recommend the property. But as it stands now... I'd steer clear for a few months.

TravelinSperry

For clarity, having now had the breakfast here is more info:

The lounge does not have what most would call a breakfast. It is quiet and empty but solely has (i) croissants (ii) juices, and (iii) whole fruits. That's it.

The breakfast served in the restaurant is 28 Euro with eggs or 22 Euro without. Coffee is charged extra. If you are Globalist and/or Explorist AND have access to the club lounge (which for Explorist means you used one of your club upgrades) then you get complimentary breakfast in the restaurant.

It includes, breads, muffins, huge list of made to order eggs, some hot dishes, fresh and cut fruits, juices, nuts & seeds and a few other items. You surely won't leave hungry - but it wasn't the best breakfast imo. Don't take this to mean it was poor at all... I just expect more when I see a price of 28 Euro (paid). Anyway... most will enjoy.

martyYYZ

Here are a couple of pictures of the gym. There is also bottled water. There are no small bottles of water in the lounge.

mleef

Just completed an 8 night stay at the Hyatt Regency in Amsterdam with our two children (7 and 9). We found the location of the property to be excellent; a short walk to major transit options a longer walk (but walkable with children) to all of the sights; and less tourtisty than many locales which we consider a plus.

When we arrived at the hotel by 9am after an overnight flight and were told our rooms were not ready, but we were offered access to the Spa if we desired a shower / change of clothes. We decided to skip the shower and left our bags to go out exploring. Our room was available later that afternoon and we were upgraded from two connecting rooms (booked on points) to the Empire Suite. Our bags were waiting for us in our room which was by any standard luxurious. It essentially spanned three standard rooms made up of a Master bedroom and bath, living room with walk in closet, and childrens room with a 2nd bath.

As a globalist we were provided both lounge access and complimentary breakfast. Breakfast in the hotel was fine and to a large extent what you would expect from a standard buffet. Our children ordered eggs daily and the quality of the cooking varied a bit, but the quality of the baked goods and the rest of the standard fruit, cheese, yogurt, etc on a European breakfast was superb. Daily we saw restaurant manager, Hana, and she and her team did an excellent job taking care of us and more importantly the children. This even included a "going away" treat waiting for them I their bedroom on our last night with the names written in chocolate.

From a staff perspective the highlight was Apprilla in the lounge. She made a point of knowing not only our names and preferences but all of our activities on a daily basis and even making suggestions on activities and restaurants that we might enjoy based on where we were exploring. As someone that logs about 100 nights between Marriott and Hyatt annually this was better service than I have ever received from a concierge.

We had excellent experience with everyone we interacted with at the property and experienced 5 star service and could not have been happier!^^^

Single_Flyer

I am currently at the property. I am an Explorist and used a Club certificate. Upgraded to a club room (corner room) on the 2nd (club) floor. Breakfast is included in the restaurant. I asked the staff; they said the lounge is too small for a real breakfast so they include it in the restaurant for anyone with club access. I guess they listened to feedback! A very nice perk I wasn't expecting.

bsdstone

Currently on my 3rd of 3 nights staying here. After spending the first two nights at the Doubletree Centraal, what a wonderul respite this is!
The hotel is located a bit out of the city center on the east end near the University of Amsterdam. It's a healthy, but easy walk to the canal ring...probably about 15-20 minutes of brisk walking. Took me a little over 30 minutes to walk back from Centraal station this morning at a pretty good clip.

The neighborhood is very safe and gives you a good feel for what real life is like in Amsterdam.
The lobby is a bit odd at first as it is very green and has a huge wall of fern like plants on one side and several hanging from the ceiling. When my wife andI first arrived, it made us kind of raise our eyebrows...but after a bit, it grows on you (pun intended).

We arrived shortly after 2pm and was told our executive suite (stayed on points and used a suite upgrade) wasn't ready, but would be by 3pm. We left our bags and went for a local lunch and stroll. Checked back at 3:50pm and room wasn't ready still. We were escorted to the club room to relax and waited until ~4:20 for our room...was a bit put off, but arrived in room 334 to a nice sized suite with a view of the canal in the back. Noticed an overwhelming carpet type smell, but figured we would head to dinner and see if it would wear off a bit. Upon returning about 10:30pm the smell was still there, so we went to the front desk to move rooms. They informed us they had no more suites available until the next day...the manager on duty came up and smelled our room...she agreed it was bad. Let us look at another room with a king bed that was available...they were going to put us in there, but found another suite (room 220) across from the club lounge and moved us there. Room is great and there is no sound issues with traffic in and out of the club lounge.

Speaking of the club lounge...WOW, the service in there has been nothing short of amazing! There is an indoesian woman who works the evenings (I forget her name), but she is amazing...the best club attendant I've ever seen. Addresses you by name, waits on you hand and foot and is as sweet as can be! While in the club lounge, the GM Tony, was walking around chatting with folks. My wife and I had a solid 20-30 minute lovely conversation with him. Seems like he would be a great guy to work for, and really gets the customer service aspect of it...previously opened the Andaz. He's from Berlin and really seems on top of it!

Besides the club lounge, we also ate breakfast once in the restaurant and it was very nice. Big selection of cereals, fruits, pastries and order from the kitchen.

Had dinner at the Indonesian restaurant last night as we were both exhausted and wanted to stay in. Absolutely fantastic. Service was great and food was as good as I remember it from Bali.

Wife got an in room massage which she said was great, and I used the gym and steam/sauna...also very nice.

Can't say enough good things about this place!