Ramada Amsterdam City Centre, Amsterdam

Booked this hotel through Air Miles, its location looked ideal, our first pleasant surprise was after we arrived at Schiphol airport. They run a modern train transfer to Amsterdam central station in the city centre and it is very cheap & reliable.
Buying a ticket form the machine at the airport was less so, I'm no techno phobic but a pile of young people in the queue with me couldn't figure it out either so we purchased the ticket from the ...
...are double story like a bus, upper deck first class & lower deck second class & the staff check up & throw you out if you are in the wrong section!!
Arrived at the station & went for a taxi to take us to the hotel, the driver refused politely pointing out that the hotel was just walking distance from the station. Fantastic.
Off we went with out luggage on wheels, crossed the canal & the road onto Martelarsgrachtthe which is a short ... more

Booked this hotel through Air Miles, its location looked ideal, our first pleasant surprise was after we arrived at Schiphol airport. They run a modern train transfer to Amsterdam central station in the city centre and it is very cheap & reliable.
Buying a ticket form the machine at the airport was less so, I'm no techno phobic but a pile of young people in the queue with me couldn't figure it out either so we purchased the ticket from the ticket office on the ground floor.
Incidentally the trains are double story like a bus, upper deck first class & lower deck second class & the staff check up & throw you out if you are in the wrong section!!
Arrived at the station & went for a taxi to take us to the hotel, the driver refused politely pointing out that the hotel was just walking distance from the station. Fantastic.
Off we went with out luggage on wheels, crossed the canal & the road onto Martelarsgrachtthe which is a short street that leads onto were the hotel is located called Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal. (Remember these names; they come in handy if you get lost!!!) The hotel is located between a fork in the road with the afore mentioned street to the left & a smaller street to the right but there is no access from the rear of the building on the right. If its raining or your luggage is too heavy you would be best advised to get a taxi from the station.

Hotel reception was smart & modern & checking in was quick & efficient. Our room was on the fourth floor facing Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal (keep repeating it you will get the hang of it eventually!!). The room was divided into two sections, the first section as you enter the room had the wardrobes, and sink with washing facilities, from there was a small shower room with WC, no bath. The other half of the room had the beds, table & chairs at the window & a separte table/drawers with TV, all clean & modern. You will receive UK channels on the TV, albeit one hour time difference.
Breakfast was served in a room off the main lobby, nothing to write home about but then Dutch food is a little non descript at the best of times. Hot food was available along with other pleasantries, cheese was in abundance but as much as I enjoy cheese, having it for breakfast is not very appealing.
From the hotel entrance, if you walk straight ahead one block you are close to the main shopping district & close to a big coach tour operator if you decide to take a tour. Walk out of the hotel to the right & it's a short distance to Dam Square & the main canals. Anne Franks house is only about 20 minutes walk from the hotel & the red light district can also be accessed very quickly (they tell me!!).

In fact the hotel location is spot on for everything touring, shopping, eating, bus tours & gazing at the ladies in the red light district (apparently!!). But there lies the hotels biggest problem, it location is right outside a tram stop, during the day its good to see these quaint old trams driving by clanging their bells and picking up & dropping passengers, it makes for the character of the place. However at 1am or 5am in the morning they don't appear so quaint!! In fact you will find it very hard to sleep with the noise these trams make, running along the tracks with metal wheels & the bells clanging is guaranteed to keep you awake until around 2am when they stop, but they start again about 5am!!
Burying your head under two pillows doesn't work, either does sleeping in the shower! We asked for our room to be changed twice but apparently nothing was available, when I returned to the UK I complained to Air Miles who compensated us with 100 miles.

If I was to stay at this hotel again I would insist on a room at the back of the hotel where the trams don't run.
There are loads of restaurants surrounding the hotel in all directions including a great Indian restaurant about 50 yards down from the hotel towards the station on Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal (you must have it perfected by now!!) & a handy convenience store next to the hotel for bottles of water, crisps & ear plugs!!

Apart from five sleepless nights the hotel was rather good & its location was a bonus for the train station & attractions & I would recommend it. 

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