We had immense trouble deciding on a hotel for my husband's birthday break in Amsterdam. We're trying to find a reasonably priced hotel that wasn't too shabby and in a decent location. After reviewing all the options, we went for the NH City Centre, if only because of it's 1920's styling and proximity to town.
We were not disappointed. The hotel is lovely with each room finished beautifully, if you like the modern thing (and we do!). The overall atmosphere is very calm and serene.
It took us forever to find the hotel, but that may have been because I insisted, as I had been to Amsterdam a couple of times before, that finding our way around would be easy, we could walk there and we didn't need a map. About an hour later we finally found the back of the hotel, exhausted from dragging our suitcases up and down a zillion canals. It IS fairly close to the train station but I would recommend finding out your route first, or hiring a taxi (at least while you have suitcases).
The hotel (when you finally find it and get inside) is extremely secure. This could get a little frustrating when you only have one key card between you and the card is needed to access both the lifts and the stairs, but you can sleep soundly in your bed knowing that the likelihood of thieves and muggers is greatly reduced. The bathroom was nice, the room was very spacious and the view from one of rooms was fantastic. We had to change halfway through the stay as you can't book a double bed, it is first come, first served. As a consequence we had a fabulous room with a beautiful view for the first night, and a fabulous room without such a nice view and a random pillar for the rest of our stay. At least after that we stopped falling between the hole created when you push two singles together and pretend that they're a double...
If you're out in Amsterdam you may be doing one or two of a few naughty things that you can't do in many other places. The hotel does not allow certain things (although we caught a dubious whiff of something while passing through a corridor) and it's porn (in my Hubby's opinion) was fairly tame. The quality of vending machines for munchies was also quite poor, but they are fun to play on when you've had a few and can come back with random pressies for your other half (ie chewing gum and m&ms).
The staff were very helpful throughout our stay and made us feel very welcome. Although we drank at the (quite expensive) bar, we didn't eat at the hotel, but there are quite a few very decent restaurant and bars doted around the streets nearby - being away from the main tourist thoroughfare, they were good value and never that crowded. If you wanted something a bit more touristy, Dam square is only 5 minutes away, with it's crowds and McDonalds and the smallest pub in Amsterdam - which serves the best mulled wine if you want to warm up!
Little Update ... I got asked about how much we paid, which is good otherwise I would have been too lazy to look! 3 nights for two people cost us £276.61, an average of £92ish per night. It wasn't cheap, but I've had my share of shoddy rooms in Amsterdam and wanted a little bit of class (it was a birthday treat after all!). This was without breakfast, but as most Dutch breakfasts consist of stale ham and chewy bread, the thought of wandering around little bakery and picking up some little pastries was much more appealing. I think it was value for money, for a classy hotel in a decent location.
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Located right in the heart of Amsterdam, this 3-star hotel offers guests well-furnished, ... more
modern rooms within easy walking distance of many of the city's most popular tourist attractions.Amsterdam's picturesque canals are within a stone's throw of the h...
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Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
excl. Breakfast - HRS Rating: 6,46/10 - NH City Centre has its own restaurant and bar, ... more
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The comfortable three star NH City Centre Hotel, situated in the heart Amsterdam, opened ... more
its doors in 1994. Consisting of 5 historical buildings, built around 1920 in the Amsterdam School style, NH City Centre Hotel perfectly represents the atmosphere ...
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market and the home of Anne Frank. There is a bus stop right in front of the hotel for the NH Shuttle Bus to and from the airport (20 km). The trams take you dir...
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