Hotel Avenue

Our room at the back of the hotel was very quiet. Full-length windows looked onto the backyard and made the space feel bright and cheerful. It was neat and clean, with comfortable beds and a strong shower, though the shower stall was a bit too tiny. In our case, the top mattress kept sliding out of place when someone sat on the edge of the bed. The hotel is handy for getting around, about a 5-8 minute walk from Amsterdam Central and Dam Square. Reception staff and the dining room crew were helpful and friendly. Breakfast was reasonably priced, tasty and substantial, with a wide choice of items. It seemed popular, as all the tables were occupied each day we ate there.

After we got home to the UK and unpacked, we found that five packs of cigarettes and £70 in cash had been taken from inside one of our bags. We had left our luggage in the Avenue Hotel’s designated storage facility for several hours after checkout, before departing. Before leaving the bags, we specifically asked a staff member if the room was secure. We were told it stayed locked, that only staff could enter with a key, and that it was monitored by CCTV, which was pointed out to us. It wasn’t an open-access luggage area. Hotel staff had exclusive access and control of our belongings while they were stored there. We believe it’s reasonable to expect security when access is restricted to staff and CCTV monitoring is represented as being in place. The removal of items from closed luggage raises serious questions for us about staff access, supervision and safeguarding procedures. We’ve formally asked for the CCTV footage to be preserved and for details of access during the relevant period, and we’re reporting the matter accordingly. Travellers should carefully consider the risks of leaving personal property in this hotel’s storage facilities.

Apart from the location, the hotel had nothing to offer. The room was extremely compact, and staff couldn’t resolve technical problems with the AC or hot water. The stay was unpleasant, and I feel I wasted both my time and money. In Amsterdam, you can pick almost any location and walk around, since nothing is far away. I’d never recommend this place.

The bed was the worst part of our stay. We booked a double, but got two single beds pushed together that kept sliding apart. One mattress was damaged and so uncomfortable it left me with back pain that I could still feel two weeks later. The room itself was dusty, seemed much smaller than the 18 m² we had booked, and didn’t even have a hairdryer. We were already busy with planned activities, so we never had time to complain. The lobby was dirty too, and the receptionist’s uniform looked so filthy that it seemed like it hadn’t been washed in weeks. We noticed it every time we walked past reception. I was also uneasy about the hotel appearing to steer bookings toward partner deals that don’t let guests leave a review on sites like Booking.com. It makes me question how trustworthy the overall rating is. For the high price, this was one of my worst hotel stays, and I wouldn’t recommend Avenue Hotel in Amsterdam.