... To the left of this lies the Amstel Botel which is a floating boat, doubling up as a budget hotel. The hotel is literally two minutes away from the central station, one of the main reasons why we chose it in the first place.
First impressions were good, on a dark evening the boat was lit ... Read review
Amstel Botel, AMSTERDAM
WELCOME ON BOARD! The Amstel Botel is a modern luxurious floating hotel A unique ... more
experience to discover Amsterdam! You can easily reach Amsterdam Central Station by ferry NDSM ferry in approx 10 minutes All our rooms have their own bathrooms with ...
A review by WormThatTurned on Amstel Botel, Amsterdam January 20th, 2006
Author's product rating:
Value for Money
Poor
Quality of Rooms
Terrible
Standard of Service
Terrible
Quality of Facilities
Poor
Advantages:
Close to station and a great city to explore
Disadvantages:
Just about everything
Recommend to potential buyers:
no
Full review
175 Rooms
Oosterdokskade 2, 1011 AE Amsterdam.
I booked online to stay at this hotel in November of last year. It was to be a happy weekend away with my partner to celebrate her 19th birthday. It wasn't to be.
I booked using a website which is a third party to literally hundreds of hotels in and around Amsterdam about a month before my intended stay. They take bookings then pass the bookings they've taken onto the hotels so that they are aware who is turning up on what days. I recieved a confirmation email straight after I made the booking, qouting a booking reference number which I printed off. I then received another email about a week before just to remind us of the details of the booking and I printed that off also. I booked to fly seperately with Easyjet.
So, we flew out of Gatwick on a foggy Friday late afternoon and arrived in Amsterdam airport as planned. We caught a train shuttle which is located under the airport which headed towards Amsterdam itself. This journey took about 45 minutes. When you get to Amsterdam central station, turn right out of the main doors, not left as we did, which will bring you out into a main square where the tram station is based. Bear left and walk along the main street heading towards the first bridge you will see (of many). To the left of this lies the Amstel Botel which is a floating boat, doubling up as a budget hotel. The hotel is literally two minutes away from the central station, one of the main reasons why we chose it in the first place.
First impressions were good, on a dark evening the boat was lit up with hundreds of neon bulbs and looked a very impressive sight. We took photos outside, then proceeded along the wooden boardwalk parallel to the boat to enter and go to the reception to confirm our booking.
We went to reception where we were served by two very smart, young people. However this is where our problems started. I handed over my booking details to one of the people who tapped the details into her computer. After a minute of tapping away and a few raised eyebrows, she informed us that she couldn't find our booking. Her colleague also tapped away, they conversed in Dutch, then he too confirmed there was no booking. I said "how can this be, as you can see, I have my booking confirmation details including the booking reference number ?" She said that her computer didn't have any such booking which meant that it didn't exist, therefore we woudn't be able to stay in the Amstel Botel and in any case they were completely full with no extra rooms to offer us. The time was roughly 9 o clock at night so as you can imagine, I was tired from travelling therefore wasn't going to go down without a fight. I demanded to speak to someone more senior. They were reluctant at first but complied after some 'friendly persuasion'. This man was Chinese as most of the other staff on the boat turned out to be as we found out later. He spoke to us very abruptly without a care for our situation. When I raised my voice and pointed out how my documents confirmed a booking had taken place and that any mistake that had taken place was firmly his responsibility and not mine, he backed down a little. And as if by magic, a room suddenly became available which we were offered. But at this stage, he offered no apology or even claimed responsibility and in fact thought he was a suffering rough justice.
That night we went for a walk around the city centre and we had a meal which we enjoyed but we were still a little distressed and annoyed at our treatment earlier.
The room itself was disappointing to put it bluntly. We were paying 89 euros a night for our 2 night stay which roughly equates to £63. I've had a better room in a £15 B&B in Blackpool. It was tiny, cabin like in appearance and there was not enough room to swing a cat. There was just enough room for a double bed, which left you just enough space to work yourself around it. The bathroom was 2 feet by 2 feet. The worst thing though was how cold it was. We were six feet above the waterline, the window was single glazed and the heater barely worked (I think the room was out of action for this reason and only offered to us once I kicked up). We were truly freezing that night.
The next morning we went for breakfast which was a miserable experience. Now by this stage I could be excused for being biased against the place but the breakfast was truly terrible which other people in the room said also. The fruit was soft, the orange juice had run out and the bacon and sausages didn't taste right so I left them. All I had which was edible was tea and toast and had a proper breakfast later.
We went to see the manager of the Amstel Botel who was Dutch. We complained about the room and the breakfast and our poor treatment the night before. He apologized and explained what had happened. The third party booking company they use for taking bookings hadn't forwarded to them our booking or it had been misplaced, therefore our room had been double booked. He said this had never happened before and that usually the third party company were reliable. He also said we couldn't stay the saturday night as they were fully booked but would offer us a free weekend in the future as a token of goodwill. I said I'd never stay there again even if he paid me. I was so furious, we were discounted on our single night to 69 euros, roughly £49 and left.
I calmed down a bit and said to my partner that it wasn't completely there fault as the third party company should have forwarded our booking. I decided to find another hotel and write a letter to the booking company when I got back.
Across the road from the Amstel Botel just happened to be an agency selling hotel rooms in Amsterdam. So we went inside to find another hotel for the night. I explained our situation to the man who ran the place. He said that this happened on a weekly basis and that I was just one of many with the same story. The booking company weren't to blame at all, the Botel overbooked rooms it seemed at will with the late arrivals the unlucky ones as we were. We found another hotel which was absolutely fantastic and we enjoyed the rest of our stay thoroughly. The double booking at the Botel turned out to be a blessing in a way.
I would recommend Amsterdam to anyone. There's the infamous Red Light District, the Anne Frank House, canals aplenty, shops and squares and museums and an abundance of cafes, restaurants and pubs. We loved Amsterdam, it's people and enjoyed the weekend despite the Amstel Botel experience.
I'm mainly writing this review to warn others about the Amstel Botel and the way they do business. The don't care about your custom, they want people through the doors, the more the merrier but most of all they want your cash.
The worst hotel I've ever stayed in, my worst ever travel experience, the worst ever service, the worst ever room, the worst ever breakfast. The worst.
Avoid.
More Reviews
Sink Or Swim Review ofAmstel Botel, Amsterdamby
Paula_23_uk
Advantages: Great location, great breakfast, helpful and freindly English speaking staff. Disadvantages: Very small bathrooms and basic rooms.
I stayed on the Amstel Botel in May 2006 and was excited at the thought of staying in a ‘floating hotel’ within walking distance of the centre.
The Amstel Botel claims to have 175 comfortable rooms all with en-suite bathroom, satellite TV, telephone, radio and safe.
However, although every box is ticked as listed above, the rooms are quite small and the en-suite bathroom is so small that you could use the loo, wash your hair and brush your teeth ... ...bring your own!
The Amstel Botel opened its doors more than twenty years ago, and is currently moored at Oosterdokskade, which is approximately 5 minutes walk from Amsterdam Central Station and a 10 minute walk into the Centre and Dam Square. Its excellent location makes the Amstel Botel a convenient starting point to explore Amsterdam. The Amstel Botel has a breakfast restaurant on the first floor, a bar with TV, a pool table, a pinball machine, ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Value for Money
Quality of Rooms
Standard of Service
Quality of Facilities
very helpful
25.05.2007
THE END Review ofAmstel Botel, Amsterdamby
sylviesinc
Advantages: Close to the centre, on the canal, friendly, clean Disadvantages: Not for children unless you remove the telly
...spent eight days in the Amstel Botel, I have to edit my earlier op, which was written based on a stay many years ago. ~~~~
We booked the Botel on-line because we’d used it before and had liked it. It was very easy to book. I just searched using Copernic, which brought up the Botel site and I E-mailed them with our requirements. They replied within 24 hours to say our requested dates were free. They offered a double room with land view for 84 euros ... ...for the canal view as our last visit had been land view and the only sight to be seen out of the window was the massive concrete Post Office building. For an extra 9 euros we could have breakfast, so we asked for this, remembering the wonderful breakfasts we had years ago.
~~~~
When we arrived in Amsterdam, a city we have visited twice before and loved (but not for what you think…bad people!!) we were a bit disconcerted to find that Central Station, ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Location, clean and tidy Disadvantages: Small rooms, thin walls
...3 night stay on the Amstel Botel with a friend - we are very regular visitors to the Dam.
The location is fantastic - our main reason for settling on this. Turn left out of the Centraal station, a couple of minutes through the bus bays and you are there. Be careful not to slip if the metal walkway is wet! With trams, the metro, trains and buses all going from the Centraal you can pretty much get to anywhere from here.
On arrival we found the receptionist ... ...us in. I don't think we made ourselves too popular asking for more hangers (there were only 2 in the room originally). The night porter is from Cape Verde and much more friendly and helpful.
Breakfast is a fairly basic continental buffet, if you're expecting a full English then you will be disappointed. However there are one or two bars and cafes nearby offering a good value English Breakfast.
Rooms are a little smaller than usual (as you would ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Value for Money
Quality of Rooms
Standard of Service
Quality of Facilities
very helpful
21.11.2006
(23.11.2006)
Never Again Review ofAmstel Botel, Amsterdamby
natalia_ann
Advantages: It was cheap Disadvantages: Everything you usually expect from a hotel... didnt deliver.
We stayed at the Botel for three nights in January 2008. Never Again!
To be fair we were looking for something relatively cheap and it sounded fun to stay on a floating hotel. The hotel cost us about £ 25-00 a night and we booked through easy jet. However as soon as we checked in we experienced problems as we were shown to a room with one single bed! The man tried to walk away whilst i was saying that we both wouldnt fit into this single bed. He ... ...three hours before another double room was cleaned. I have never experienced such bad organistaion, it was as if they expected us to take a single bed!! Well off we went to check out the hotel's facilities. P.s. there arent any. Only a bar with a pool table a T.v some really old couches and a pinball machine.
Alas, we made it to our cramped and dirty room four hours later. It had a tinsy winsy bathroom and there was no shower tray so when we showered ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: very central,reasonablly priced, friendly staff Disadvantages: none i can think of
...it for a short break.
thanks for reading
yvonne
p.s. for anyone who knows me, you'll know i always put op's in the wrong place.
sorrree, i've done it again. I've done and op on amsterdam!! it should be for the Botel Amstel Hotel. Sorry agian. ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: Excellent location, low price, comfortable rooms Disadvantages: First impression
...We have just returned from a really successful trip to Amsterdam - successful due to the fact that I had heard a lot of good and bad things about the place. I was concerned that it wouldn't be 'my cup of tea'. In fact, I loved the place.
Booking the Hotel
After booking our flights on a whim through Easyjet, I started looking for hotels. I searched a few sites, but found prices cheaper on laterooms.com. Their prices for Amsterdam hotels are shown in euros rather than pounds. After looking through a list of potential hotels, we originally settled for the AmstelBotel 'Floating Hotel' which was sat on one of the canals just outside the centre of Amsterdam. The price for three nights was £190.00. We had set our budget for around £200.00 so this sounded perfect for us. I secured the booking...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Cheap, Cheerful and Clean Disadvantages: Bit far out from centre and good 15 mins walk to tram stop down dark canal path
...Inn Amsterdam West.
Coming and going from the hotel is easy as there are staff on reception 24 hours a day. If it is late, you have to ring a night bell but the response is immediate. There are 2 lifts to all floors and an electronic paper stand nearby at an extra cost.
Overall, I had a wonderful first trip in Amsterdam and a wonderful stay in this cheap and cheerful hotel. I would recommend this hotel to all budget travellers, groups/students etc but not to families or the elderly. I am returning to Amsterdam in May 2006 with my partner but am staying nearer the city centre in the floating hotel, the AmstelBotel and so will let you all know what that is like when I return.
I hope this review has been helpful and teases you into visiting the wonderful city of Amsterdam....
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Etap is part of the French Accor Hotels Group which operate under several names. and comes into the budget bracket, Etap has at present 311 hotels dotted all over Europe, but mainly in France
Etap Amsterdam Airport opened in early 2003 and like... more
This product has not yet been reviewed. 
04.12.2005
