A November holiday is not everyone's ideal - nor was it ours, but 'needs must.'... and it was our 30th wedding anniversary !
Since Easyjet were starting their Belfast to Amsterdam journey, it was decided that a break for a few days in Amsterdam was a possibility.... though for some reason colleagues in hospital and church kept teasing us like mad about coffee shops and red lights for some reason !!!??
1 LOCATION : ===========
The Garden Hotel is part of the Bildeberg group, and this particular hotel is located in the Museum area of Amsterdam. Basically that meant it was a pleasant walk in the crisp November air to get to the Van Gogh museum, and then a bit longer walk into the centre of the city.
There are the legendary trams and the service is so brilliant, we used them a fair bit too. O for public transportin UK like that ! The airport
is not too far away, and a special hotel bus service did the job both ways for us.
2 COST : ======
We had a special online price for 3 days which translated from Euros to about £35 pppns. on Bed & Breakfast basis. Not bad for a 5* hotel near a city centre. We turned down the dinner optiion because you never know what the restaurants in hotels are like, and we were keen to have a taste of the high life - food wise, that is - in Amsterdam.!
Now this was 2001, and prices have changed, but at the end of that week we were booked into a Travel Inn outside London and that was going to be £49.50 for room only - and not 5* either.!
Trying similar dates for this year direct with the hotel produces prices nearer £180 per night !
3 FACILITIES ==========
This is a 5* hotel. I had been asked during my online booking with a hotel booking service, if there were any special requests. I replied, with tongue in cheek, that with my height and weight, an extra large bed would be appreciated.!
I was a bit taken aback when we checked in, and was told that my request was being complied with.! We were shown to a suite that was enormous., with a bed that must have been all of 7' x 7'.!!
The hotel boasts very few of the standard facilities of many modern 5* hotels - no spa, no swimming pool, no beauty salon, no fitness suite and no shopping.
It does have a restaurant - more of that in a moment, and very classy rooms.
4 ROOMS : =========
On entering our room, there was a closet for coats etc, and a place for suitcases to be stored. There was then a little corridor down to the main bedroom, and a door off of the corridor took you into the bathroom.
The bathroom was beautifully finished in marble ! I would guess that it had been fitted out in the 1960's, so was not up-to-the-minute modernity, but still quite spectacular. The bath was a jacuzzi, and added a touch of luxury, but also practicality after a hard day's walking round Amsterdam.! ( For the guys reading this - be warned about Amsterdam! the real fatal attraction is shoe shops, not koffee shops and there are millions of them - more or less ! - why did I ever marry Imelda Marcos?? )
In the evening, the door was knocked and we were treated to a turn-down service for the bed and fresh fruit as well. The girls who looked after our room seemed to take great delight letting us have our choice of fruit and giving us plenty of it.
5 EATING : ========
If anyone from the hotel ever looks at this review they will probably accuse me of a terrible crime, becasue I have used the word 'eating', rather than 'dining' or something even more elegant.
The first night, we had travelled during the day, walked all afternoon, and decided to use the hotel's dining room. We arrived downstairs and to our horror found that the room was full.! This is no ordinary hotel bistro ! 'Mangerie de Kersentuin' is a restaurant that draws in crowds of locals every night for gourmet experiences.! We should have booked !
As we were about to take flight in search of the nearest chip shop, we were taken under the wing of the head waiter who sensed our dilemma. He performed his magic and we were soon seated.
Suffice to say that we ate there every evening of our stay... and made sure we booked ! We were recognised next evening and given a choice seat near the window.
One evening when Barbara was unwell and not able to face a three couse meal, she was given a free starter made up specially for her, to save her the awful prospect of doing nothing while I was munchng away on a proper starter !
On another evening, I fancied the gourmet special - all 8 courses.! However the menu stated that it was for a minimum of two persons ! Barbara didn't fancy the foie gras etc so I was resigned to using the 'ordinary' menu. Head waiter to the rescue again ! Would sir not like the gourmet ? Yes of course sir would, but the other half would not.! Well sir, you just have the gourmet, yourself - it would be our pleasure !!
Breakfast was not quite that good ! But still superb! Everything you could dream of for breakfast was available ! The only criticism was that the temptation to 'stock up for the day' with an excessively large breakfast, meant that we spent an hour or so of our precious time doing just that !
The smart among you will comment that that saves shoe leather, and cuts down on the need for new shoes.!! No you are NOT smart - you have displayed wanton and inexcusable ignorance of the female gender ! They do not buy shoes because of the state of the leather underneath - just for the sake of the colour and pattern of the leather ( or plastic) on top.! Now your education is comlete as my report on the Garden Hotel in Amsterdam. It was a real treat and is the hotel at the top of my list of 'All the hotels in the world that I would like to go back to if you're offering a free stay !! ', which might soon appear on Ciao community!
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