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 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.