Zuidlaarderveen Trip

It was chaotic. Staff was chaotic. Bags stored for a fee which no other hotel had. Our bags didn’t fit in the bunks and we didn’t want to pay the fee so we upgraded to our own room. It was very nice. Overall nice hotel clean comfortable bed and great location to get into town.

This location is good if you want an affordable hotel that’s walking distance from the canal districts and from the De Pijp neighborhood. The beds were comfortable and the room fairly well equipped. Unfortunately we got woken on the first morning, with “do not disturb” on our door, because the hotel plumbing had backed up and the plumbing access was in our room. Not a great start, our shower backed up with water from the sewers and smelled terrible. The hotel did give us a room to shower in for the day which helped and the staff were great. I’d like to have liked this hotel a lot more than we did, unfortunately starting a stay with a plumbing failure affecting the overall stay isn’t going to result in a five-star experience anywhere though.

The hotel is located in a very fun and walkable neighborhood loaded with restaurant options. It was also a relatively short walk to the museums and Vondelpark. And the buses picked up right in the next block. The hotel itself was fine. The rooms weren't overly large, but had everything we needed. And the receptionist on the 4th floor was friendly and helpful.

The reception staff were just amazing and so helpful. We were given an upgrade when our TV didn’t work. Unfortunately there are major roadworks outside of the hotel so getting anywhere is difficult and tedious. The major let down was the cheap and tacky breakfast. Highly processed bread, cheap granola, scrambled eggs made from a mixture in a big box, fresh fruit that tasted months old. Cold food that should have been hot. Definitely the worst breakfast on our 6 week trip. The surrounding area outside the hotel looks unkempt and uncared for. Positives were good staff, good room, good supermarket nearby and walking distance to a major train station but you do feel like you are out in the sticks.