Best hotel in Amsterdam?
 

Hi,

Need a recommendation on a hotel in Amsterdam. Can't stay at the Amstel Intercontinental for personal reasons. Haven't been to AMS in several years. My TA is pushing the Conservatorium. Prefer not to stay in very small boutiques. Thanks!

Went to Conservatorium for cocktails on my recent stay, all the bigger suites not fully running a month ago. Saw some of the top suites, and quite small, felt very crammed and narrow. Intresting design wise, but I would certainly hesitate staying as it is so new and the rooms weren't that impressive. Nice, yes. The casual restaurant and the lobby area were very nice, a huge light atrium.

Stayed at the Dylan and found it nice. Nice suite overlooking the canal, very light and airy. Almost like an apartment feel. Only downside was that it was noisy from the street/canal noise.

The Grand looks interesting, but haven't had a chance to check it out...

Pulitzer
 

I've spent more than my share of time at the Pulitzer. Rooms can be variable, but the nice ones are very nice. Service is decent, and the location is excellent.

I've been a fan of the Hotel d'Europe over the years but I'm not fond of their recent renovations.

I tried the Dylan once and the service was so amateurish that it was almost funny. For example, when I asked for a restaurant recommendation and reservation because their restaurant, where I had booked a table, was closed for a special event, the young kid at the concierge desk gave me a tour book and said that I could read the descriptions myself!

Huge fan of de l'Europe in Amsterdam (3 stays in 6 months since the reno )
What I do appreciate about it :
. great location (amstel canal) , close to everything (10 min walk at max)
. good service (not a lot of rooms) and, when you become a regular, they really take care of you (last time, booked a junior suite and ended in a deluxe suite)
. love the reno (and the good point about the reno is that now, since everything is brand new, it is hard to find "shoebox" size rooms, compared to before when picking your room was quite risky)
= design tone is modern, all usual luxury amenities included, nice bar (The freddy)

What I would say, however, is that service at this hotel can be quite slow at peak times and that there are a few things that still need to be sorted out even after one year of reopening (especially breakfast service, room service during the night with only one person taking care of it, meaning that you can wait more than an hour for a simple meal).

However, to me, despite its lack of recognition on this board, De l'Europe is one of the main contenders, especially if you're not so keen on old school / bland design (IC Amstel) or Pulitzer ( so many "bad" rooms).

If anyone has any specific questions about this hotel, ask !

The Sofitel Grand is a very, very nice property that was recently renovated at a huge cost. To me it's the hands down winner for non-boutique luxury. The Amstel is a great hotel but it needs renovation. The Pulitzer has a few top end suites that are nice, but it is really a business class hotel rather than luxury.

I agree: I stayed in one of the Dylan's new rooms last July and was underwhelmed by both the room design AND the service. I won't stay there again.

For me The Conservatorium is tops - very comfortable suites and great food. Service, too, was much better than most Amsterdam hotels. Tunes, the fine dining restaurant, is superb and with a great atmosphere.

The Sofitel is vile. Awful food and very garish design throughout.

Agree that the Dylan can be amateurish, but the rooms and suites are nice, as is the food.

A few questions, especially targeted towards Vuittons' knowledge :D

1/ What's the issue with the De L'Europe reputation (it seems to have gone downhill over the years) ? Is it only a reputation matter or did the renovation completely decrease the value of the place (have only been there post reno and found the service amazing, though decor and design can be critized depending on taste ) ? Because, though i've been to only a grandes dames, I felt, while being there, that it was clearly up to par with the Meurice or any real five star ...

2/ Was pushing for the Conservatorium when going in Amsterdam end of December. It had just opened (like 10 days before my arrival date) and everybody told me to forget about it (it was described, by relatives, as a new 'five star" boutique hotel with teething problems and a great gap concerning the "whole product'" compared to the Grandes dames of Amsterdam (IC, de l'Europe and maybe Pulitzer).
Has it improved and how is this property ? (the concept of personal assistants, though attractive, has always been to me quite problematic with either an amazing service (a butler without a name) or awful service (like deciding to cut costs, choosing to do a PA thing over a front desk + concierge organization ..)...

3/ Last of all, i've grown bored of the location of the De l'Europe and the IC in Amsterdam (Amstel canal, pretty residential ..). Anyone could recommend a trendy neighbourood to stay or at least visit while there that would be totally different from the regular places ?

This is a hard city for great hotels. Apart from micro boutiques, there isn't much more than the hotels already discussed. I have stayed at the Dylan a bunch of times, but it is hit or miss (even though rooms can - depending which one you get - be gorgeous). L'Europe always seemed a bit tired, and Pulitzer isn't really "luxury" within what people on this forum think of.

Beethovenstraat/Stadionweg is a wealthy area. I had an apartment there for a while. It's in the Old South and it's pretty much the only place in Holland where people park Ferrari's and Rolls Royces on the street in front of their apartments. The only hotel I know of in that area is the Hilton, but you can take the 5 or 24 tram to get there from Centraal.

Also the Jordaan is pretty nice. When the weather is good, the trendy cafes and restaurants are quite busy.

How about Krasnapolsky?

Pulitzer?
 

Has anyone experience of Hotel Pulitzer in Amsterdam? The website is enticing.

Amsterdam's not a great city for even good hotels. I hated the Krasnapolsky. Service designed for mass tours, smelly and very loud outside.

I don't really have a positive recommendation - I used to mainly stay years ago at the Hilton whose suites quite nice and which has a glass Executive Lounge put on the roof which has to be my favourite ever. Not a luxury hotel by any normal definition though.

Been a couple of years but I really liked the property and as stated unthread the location is fabulous.