Blue Square Hotel, Amsterdam

...he booked us into the Blue Square Hotel, and proudly showed me the documents he had printed off and the website. "Looks lovely, oh it says it's close to the town centre- within walking distance- can't wait!" was my reaction. Out of the airport we trundled a few weeks later with our cases and got into a waiting taxi. He drove us to the hotel. It took a LONG time. As he was unloading our cases with us he said "This is not a good area ...
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The Blue Square Hotel is over 15 minutes away from the town centre by tram and certainly cannot be done on foot. The trams are quite expensive as prices have gone up and a taxi will set you back £40. The hotel exterior looks like a disused swimming baths but the interior is lovely. The room we were sent to found us barging in on another couple in bed having a lie in, and we were mortified. We returned to reception and they could not ... more

My partner and I recently visited Amsterdam (in late May for 4 nights) and as I was so busy with work, left it up to him to book the hotel and take care of the details. We have been to Amsterdam before and the hotels we usually stay at had no vacancies, so he booked us into the Blue Square Hotel, and proudly showed me the documents he had printed off and the website. "Looks lovely, oh it says it's close to the town centre- within walking distance- can't wait!" was my reaction. Out of the airport we trundled a few weeks later with our cases and got into a waiting taxi. He drove us to the hotel. It took a LONG time. As he was unloading our cases with us he said "This is not a good area for you." I asked him what he meant by that. "Is not a good area and is too far to walk to town, you will have to use trams. Don't pay all the time for taxis, it is so expensive" he said. What an honest taxi driver! I was a bit disappointed with his advice but thought as a young fit couple, we can cope just fine. I was wrong.

The Blue Square Hotel is over 15 minutes away from the town centre by tram and certainly cannot be done on foot. The trams are quite expensive as prices have gone up and a taxi will set you back £40. The hotel exterior looks like a disused swimming baths but the interior is lovely. The room we were sent to found us barging in on another couple in bed having a lie in, and we were mortified. We returned to reception and they could not apologise enough and gave us a new room on the ground floor. I was initially wary as I thought it would be noisy outside at night and this would disturb us. Unfortunately I was not wrong, and each night a fairground up the street played dance music at top volume and kept us awake. We did enjoy a complimentary drink on our first evening though as the hotel wanted to apologise for sending us to an occupied room. Was this enough? I'm not so sure. The decor of the rooms is rich and they appear very clean and well looked after, certainly there is an air of luxury. I was very happy in our room until the last night. We were getting ready to catch the tram into town for the evening (which don't run after midnight so if you want an evening out and stay at this hotel, be aware of taxi prices), and I took a shower. What was crawling in the shower? A silverfish! For those of you who aren't sure what this is- it belongs to the cockroach family but is smaller and runs very fast. It was a great shame as the cleaners obviously work very hard. Every day we had fresh toiletries, clean cups, new coffee and tea sachets and crisp new towels. This hotel cannot be faulted for 'small gestures'- they do have some nice touches that will make you feel special.

The room had a double bed which was incredibly comfortable and a flatscreen television. There is a small kettle which holds enough water for two cups and there is a very good air-con system which is very quick to get the temperature down. The bathroom is a good size and has luxurious fittings- the shower is very big and I was pleased it was not a 'wet room' type bathroom as many in Europe are. The bar in reception is a bit too open-plan and is not particularly romantic or ambient, although we saw a few businessmen on our trip so it could be that this hotel caters towards this market. The men behind the bar were so polite and friendly and really made us welcome, the people behind reception were less friendly but still professional. We did not eat in the restaurant, it was very expensive. I would not bring children to this hotel because it is too far from the town centre and they would get fed up with the journey. The noise at night is very disruptive and there is nowhere to nip and buy things. Had this hotel been as close as it claims to be in the advertising, I would have rated it higher, but the location really does let it down. The area is very dirty and rundown and it became clear to us over the holiday that the area was well known for being undesirable. We did not feel comfortable walking back to our hotel at night from the tramstop as there were a few groups of young men hanging around, one of which shouted something at us although we didn't understand what.

This is of course just a very small negative experience and is not a reflection on the hotel but on the area. The hotel seems value for money when booking but on arrival, once the travel costs have mounted up it actually becomes more expensive than a hotel in the city centre. I personally would not stay here again because it didn't serve our needs (to be able to constantly nip into the city and enjoy the night life and restaurants) but for a business trip, it is perhaps suitable. The area the hotel is in has no restaurants or cafes so the choice is between over £30 a head for a meal at the hotel, or travel into town. There are more convenient places to stay in Amsterdam than this hotel, so I would recommend really doing some research. 

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