Boutique Hotel Albus Amsterdam Centre

The bathroom was dirty when we arrived, and the room got a bit cold at night. The duvet was thin, there was no spare blanket and no phone to call reception. Breakfast was poor. The croissants were fine, but the salami, cheese, salmon and hot food all seemed very basic, probably cheap discount stuff. The coffee wasn't good either. It was funny to see the chef get a proper coffee from the bar while paying guests were stuck with the machine one. As a personal preference, I would've liked the breakfast chef to be a little less funny and more professional, though that's a nice trait and others might prefer that style. The rest of the staff seemed inexperienced, especially at reception. The room itself was modern with good furniture, and the bathroom looked luxurious, though the open-ended shower was less practical than I like because it splashed water around. There was no fridge, though I assume that may have been just my room. The location was perfect, about a 15-minute walk from anything worth seeing. For the price, I wouldn't go back or recommend it right now.

We had an unexpected change of plans more than three months before the trip, but the hotel refused to refund any of our booking. They wouldn't even return the payment minus a fee. There's no flexibility for changes, even when you need to cancel well in advance. Don't book here.

The location was perfect for our holiday stay in December, since we wanted to be near the Christmas market. My husband and I spent a couple of nights here, and it was wonderful. The staff were very friendly, the room had what we needed, and we appreciated the welcome drink. The bathroom light had a sensor, and we couldn't figure out how to turn it off. The hair dryer also didn't work, though it wasn't a major issue. We'd definitely come back.

The hotel is well located, and breakfast was good. The chef was a great guy and made superb omelettes and fried eggs. But the service wasn't good enough, and there are better hotels nearby. Customer service seemed confused and poorly managed. Other guests checking in got welcome drinks, but we didn't, even though we were standing beside someone who received a glass of bubbly. After we left our cases, we got a call asking where we were and saying we'd lose our room if we didn't show up. Housekeeping hadn't come all day, and when we returned at 4 p.m. the room was still unmaid. They did sort it out, but it was disappointing. We knew check-out was at 2 p.m. and went out in the morning, yet the hotel called at midday to say they'd charge us a late checkout fee.