Hotel De Gerstekorrel, Amsterdam

...accommodation. I was recommended this hotel by a friend who said it was basic but clean and the location was superb. He advised me to book online with www.bookings.nl (which I intend to also review shortly) to get the best price.

So I did, and sure enough, within minutes I was booked into the Hotel de Gerstekorrel for just 45 Euros a night for a single room WITH en-suite! There's gotta be some kind of catch I thought... well there ...
...the time did come, the hotel was surprisingly easy to find, being just off Dam Square on Dam Straat (heading over towards the seedier side of the city centre). It's in the middle of a bustling street and can be quite easy to walk past as it's basically just a door but if you keep your eyes peeled it's not too hard to spot.

The reception area is light and airy, I think it's been recently refurbished with nice lighting and modern steel ... more

I recently got back from a short break in Amsterdam, where I had a fantastic time exploring this vibrant and exciting city.

I've already reviewed the superb airline I flew with (Jet2.com) - check them out, but that leaves the accommodation. I was recommended this hotel by a friend who said it was basic but clean and the location was superb. He advised me to book online with www.bookings.nl (which I intend to also review shortly) to get the best price.

So I did, and sure enough, within minutes I was booked into the Hotel de Gerstekorrel for just 45 Euros a night for a single room WITH en-suite! There's gotta be some kind of catch I thought... well there is, slightly, you have to pay another 5% city tax on top of that but thats all. Got a friendly confirmation email shortly afterwards, which I printed and took with me.

I arrived in Amsterdam at about 10am so spent the morning exploring as check-in was not until 2. When the time did come, the hotel was surprisingly easy to find, being just off Dam Square on Dam Straat (heading over towards the seedier side of the city centre). It's in the middle of a bustling street and can be quite easy to walk past as it's basically just a door but if you keep your eyes peeled it's not too hard to spot.

The reception area is light and airy, I think it's been recently refurbished with nice lighting and modern steel railings etc. The staff on the desk were always very happy and polite and spoke excellent English (being a typical crappy tourist of course I hadn't bothered to learn any Dutch).

Just gave my name and within minutes my room was fully paid for and I was in possession of a card key for my room. Here lies a slight gripe, my room was on the 4th floor of the hotel (being a non-smoking room), and given the tall and thin nature of Amsterdam buildings, this meant a climb of about 10 flights of stairs every time I wanted to get up there - rest assured this is pretty tiring!

Still, I was pleasantly surprised with the room when I finally got there, the corridors and things are a little dingy but the room itself was fine. Clean white walls and furnishings, two comfy(ish) beds with clean linen, and a fully functional and non-smelly en-suite bathroom with clean towels. There's even a small telly and phone for calling reception, which you can also connect to the landline for a fee.

I didn't really spend a lot of time in the room to be honest, and nor would I have really wanted to, feels a bit lonely up there on the 4th floor and the views were nothing to rave about, but like I keep saying, it was a means to an end and for the price I can't complain at all.

My friends had a smoking room on the 1st floor so were most amused by my enormous trek up to the 4th floor, I spent a bit of time in this room too, to be honest it was a bit dingier and certainly a lot smellier but still more than adequate given how much they paid (about the same as me).

Reception were consistently helpful and friendly, also available 24h so you could come and go as you wish. Breakfast was a fairly steep 7.50 so we didn't bother with this and instead went to the nice patisserie next door where fresh croissants were excellent and reasonably priced.

Check-out was at 10am (ugh, early mornings) and again, friendly and easy. All in all, I'd say the Hotel de Gerstekorrel is an excellent basic hotel for those on a tight budget doing a city break. You wouldn't really want to stay for more than 3 or 4 days and if you're used to the very best then it's probably not for you. However, it's great prices when booked online, superb central location and clean/friendly attitude certainly count for a lot.

Thumbs up! Thanks for reading, Tom. 

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