bmh3s

HadesNL: Great reviews of both De Witt and Amstel on FlyerTalk! Curious whether the local expert has thoughts on a 2 night stay in early August for Diamond/RA trying to decide between De Witt vs. Amstel (De Witt is obviously closer to Centrum; but we'll likely use car service from AMS to town anyway due to luggage). We're finally returning home to Norway for a week after 2.5 year absence due to COVID and considering a couple of days in AMS before proceeding up to BGO. Very few NL hotels have rooms for 4, so looking at booking 2 rooms using points (Amstel already responded to request for adjoining rooms--each a King Premium--with offer for upgrade to King Suite and King Premium as only connecting rooms for EUR219 which didn't seem bad). Waiting to see what De Witt has (neither website states which rooms connect, if any)--connecting would be great, but even just 2 rooms next to each other would be fine. It seems to me either hotel would be fine for getting out and walking around the city for a couple of days, but curious if you think one location is significantly better for walking with kids 7 & 9 years old.

Thanks in advance and, again, appreciate your detailed reviews!

TheWiseOne

Currently at the De Witt. Location for me is better than the Amstel for getting around town, additionally it is newer and I would say a little more kid friendly as the staff are very helpful and welcoming.

As for rooms, the DW has the Little House, which would work very well for a family.

HadesNL

bmh3s : thank you for the compliment,
Glad i can participate in you making an informed decision!

I've put my thinking cap on for you, i am basing this advice on four factors you wrote about your trip:
1) points, what do you get for a rewards booking?
2) mindset: unique selling point for children
3) status recognition
4) location



1)points, what do get for a rewards booking

IC AMS:
You wrote IC AMS is giving 2 connecting premium rooms for your points.
These rooms are spaciously large and are all on the fourth floor.
Some say you are in the attic but i still think there is enough natural light coming in.
It has windows that can fully open and a separate bath and showerstall.
There will be no problem at all vying for space

You mentioned an upsell of €219 to KING suite + premium room connecting door combo.
If this means:
- KING jr. suite
(this larger room has as extra a sofa and is on the 4th floor)
- KING 1 bedroom suite (
with a true separate living room, also on the 4th floor but on each corner of the building)
Both have windows that can fully open and a separate bath and showerstall

Kimpton:
on points will give you a basic standard "classic" room normally.
It is smaller then the rooms at IC AMS
Windows can't open, there is only a showerstall
When booking as Diamond / InnerCircle you will get upgraded to a deluxe room,
these are somewhat larger and have a better view but no sofa or bathtub

There is however like TheWiseOne said the offer of the "Little House" , (hosts 4 persons over 2 rooms)
you might have to book this outright € or ask how much the upsell is from a rewards booking.
I never got the chance to try this but in my opinion reading about it, it does seem to have space but seems very dark inside.
Why?
It is a true house but surrounded on all sides by the main Kimpton hotel building:


The little house shown here surrounded by other buildings

The only comprehensive review i could find about it, is from tripadvisor (tip off the hat, courtesy Mr. Ram P, from Tel Aviv)
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Location..._Province.html His photos:








You may form your own opinion...... I personally think it is kinda dark....
And stairs in this room might not be handy with young childeren.


* for space i prefer the IC AMS in this regard,
when travelling with others the 1bedroom suite + extra room connecting door combo makes it so large you have to shout from one end of the room to the other end to be heared,
even if you do get only the room + room combo, it is still very spacious for a family



2) Mindset: Unique selling point for children
What can i say.... being a child once, my guess is that your kids would love the pool at IC AMS!
Great to take reprieve from the August summer heat.
There is really nothing to hate about the pool and besides that it is the USP to be swimming next to the river in unison with the boats
That said, although the hotel has a sense of grandeur, it is still a welcoming place for childeren to get to know palatial classical style and learning about history.

You might worry about dining options fit to your kid's attention span & tastes?
IC AMS has a very nice restaurant (+terrace) but you might want to have a more casual "cheaper" meal with the kids,
Closeby within 5 minutes walking distance to IC AMS is the easy going restaurant Ysbreker https://www.deysbreeker.nl/?lang=en
Or other options are available at the Utrechtsestraat or in the Pijp area. I find these areas better suited for non-touristy dinning

Unfortunately the Kimpton does not have a swimming pool.
Because the rooms at Kimpton are smaller, the lobby area is an attractive alternative place with different places to sit.
However the Kimpton's restaurant Celia is very welcoming and might be an easy spot for dinner if you don't want to go far with tired kids after a long day of walking in the summer August heat.




3) status recognition
You must choose what suits your needs for this stay.
RA & Diamond (+InnerCircle) bennies almost overlap in this case.

RA at Amstel on reward night:
- free breakfast for 2 persons (it is only for the room the RA occupies)
- minibar free €50 a day (nothing beats this convenience for thirsty kids)
- early check in / check out (guaranteed always here if you email them in advance)


Diamond at Kimpton on reward night:
- free breakfast for 2 persons (it is only for the room the Diamond elite occupies)
- once per stay €15 "raid the bar" credit of the restaurant /bar
- early check in / check out on request

I don't know if you are also InnerCircle? Then change:
- early check in / check out to guaranteed
+ at restaurant Celia extremely personalised service !
+ free chef's taste dish there



4) location:
IC AMS:
Close to the Pijp and south eastern canals (walking distance with kids)
Museums (can be walked but better with tram for kids)
Close to the hotel at frederiksplein there is a playground and park area
Closest supermarket for selfcatering is:
AH frederiksplein
Lidl Hemonylaan

Kimpton:
Close to the Jordaan and western canals (walking distance with kids)
A lot of shops in all sizes, qualities and prices
The pussycatboat is something nice for kids closeby: https://depoezenboot.nl/en
A much busier neighboorhood so be alert
Closest supermarket for self catering is:
AH Prins Hendrikkade = small
AH Nieuwezijdse Voorburgwal (Dam) = bigger


Hope this information might be of use to you.
Let us know how your stay went and ofcourse enjoy Amsterdam!

bmh3s

Thanks so much to TheWiseOne and HadesNL for the information. Agree with HadesNL re: room details and I had to wait for a response for confirmation and received that this morning:
ICAmstel: 84K points/room for 1K Premium City View; initial response from IC Amstel (to obtain connecting rooms--I only asked for adjoining (i.e, next to each other), but I believe the interpreted the request as connecting--which is even better) was: EUR215 to upgrade one to "King Suite." Upon asking for clarification of "King Suite," response was: "King Suite City View with balcony" for EUR145; or "King Suite River" View for EUR275. Leaning toward city view w/ balcony and from Amstel Website, both appear to be "full 1 BR suite" and not junior suite.

DeWitt: 47K points/room for 1K Essential; upon request for adjoining rooms, if possible, was offered complimentary upgrade to 1 Premium King connecting to 1 Premium Twin.

Both appear to be great hotels so going to discuss location preference with my wife and go from there!

Thanks again to both of you for your incredible assistance!

HadesNL

bmh3s : good to hear from you.
Thanks for letting us know what both hotel offer in your specific case and to suit your needs.

The IC AMS offer of King Suite City View with balcony is indeed a true 1 bedroom suite.
It can indeed form a connecting room with the one next to it, effectively making it a two bedroom suite.
Personally i have yet to try this specific one but i know it is located on level 1.
This photo will show the location on the corner on the 1st floor left corner.
It comprises the 3 windows with the iron cast railing balcony + 1 window for the bedroom on the corner.



Hang outside the bedroom window of "King Suite City View with balcony" on the side of the tram tracks and you still have Amstel river view.

The balcony though is a small ledge as you can see, you can stand on it but it is not for sitting and such. It faces the square and sunrise.

ninjalad

I think I would go for the Amstel with children to me it is a more relaxed area to wander around and the Metro into town is close by as are trams .
The Kimpton is a much better location for nightlife and shops and a much busier location, if your room is on the front then the rumbling noise of the trams can be a rude wake up !

yurtripper

I'd choose the Amstel for the same reason. I've been to AMS enough times that I don't need to be in the heart of the action any more. Feeling like I've got slightly away from the melee at the end of the evening is actually a bonus.

Atacama40

First class review Hades as always. You focus on the things that always appeal to me ..... happy hour onwards. Still amazes me to see such a radical transformation in a hotel. That is one building that saw a lot over the years. And hey, yes it was an ugly ducking but I always considered 'my' ugly duckling. I could share some stories about that balcony on the Penthouse but a) it could spoil future stops for you and b) I could get banned from IHG;'s for life

Hades, just a parallel ask please if I could. I parked in their car park there many times on the RHS street and down underneath but before the times of EV's. Do you know if they have charging facilities there nowadays? I was amazed to find that the IC AMS does not. I thought it might have been a given for them but seemingly not. Kinda strange for a city and country more in tune with such things than we are.

Next time you are at either, if you do speak with one of your insiders, I'd be interested to know if they have any plans to provide.

Keep up the excellent work sir.

HadesNL

@Atacama40 : always on the lookout in a review what appeals to us road warriors travelling with the need for a tipple !
Glad i am able to give you an updated look of the crowne plaza Kimpton, now that all pandemic restrictions have been lifted and life returns to normal.

You got me interested in your stories A+B,
if you find yourself in Amsterdam then we should examine these places insitu together and toast to its glittering history of despair with a chug of agony somethings !

To answer your questions:

About EV-charging at Kimpton de Witt Amsterdam in their allocated parking garage,
The only references i could find online are these:
https://www.vicky.one/locaties/amste...mpton-de-witt/
and
https://www.onepark.co/parkings/4670...r_id=271582123

Which states if using/booking their parking garage, EV-charging is possible.
I believe the max height is 2m.


--------

IC AMS uses/leases parkingspace in an adjenct private underground parking. So they are limited in what the parkinggarage owners are offering and held to government regulations about EV-chargeboxes in underground spaces.

In front of the IC AMS at the square of professor Tulpplein are 2 dedicated parkingspaces for charging of EV.

Be reminded the municipality is clamping down on cars overstaying their allocated timeslots of charging and hogging the valuable outdoor parking space.

I'll post pictures in the IC AMS thread: InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam Master Thread

Atacama40

Moving on from the A and the B ..... :-) You can count on that sir and I look forward to it. Strangely after so many years every week in AMS, it's now been a while and it's definitely time to be back there. I miss it. It will not be long and for sure a meet up sounds a great plan.

Amazingly I know the charge points you mention in Prof. Tulpplien and indeed from memory I 'think' they are doubles. But still surprised the hotel does not have a little more facility given the Netherlands and AMS are near always so progressive in such things ... certainly compared to the island here.

Thanks for the steer on charging and indeed the history lesson KDW wise. And I will be holding you to the first class suggestion. Cheers

nicolas75

Detailed review of my stay in August 2022.

HadesNL

nicolas75 : am going to say this again, but still sincere:
great photos and thanks for the update!

Do i see the SocialHour being moved from the
conservatory back to the main lobby?

Seems business has picked up considerably that they moved the wine&nibbles to a bigger space.

And yes the hotel has become pricey, mostly because cruises (sea/river) have started again in full swing.
The Doubltree Hilton + Movenpick Amsterdam hotels (closest to port) are at full occupancy during cruisecalls,
so that cruiseship passengers are being spread over the city to the Renaissance, Kimpton, Okura, Hyatt and even IC AMS hotels,
with a large consumption/occupancy of the standard rooms at these hotels,
driving the price to double/triple for the rest of the rooms.

nicolas75

Thanks for your kind comments.

The hotel was indeed full. This was reflected in the rate and on the app, which was showed the hotel fully booked.
But the good news is that, even when fully booked, the hotel doesn't seem to be overrun with a horde of tourists.

It should be noted that lunch was served at the bar in the patio, which was nice but less comfortable for both guests (the tables are small) and waiters (who have to walk back and forth to the kitchen).

The lady in charge of the restaurant is just fabulous: always smiling, taking the time to ask if everything is ok.

HadesNL

glad to see that in my absence, they havn't lost their touch!
excellent to know that Celia's hostess still provides warm hospitality to InnerCircles
Although the hotel has some amount of rooms, most guests have such different needs / reasons for Amsterdam that the hotel public area never feels crowded.

You should have mentioned you were coming to AMS, the first beer would be on me!

Points Scrounger

Travel agent has booked us here the night before a Rhine Cruise next month. I'm assuming no elite recognition, but thought I'd ask about others' experiences?