Motel One Amsterdam

What a gorgeous, fun lobby, full of welcoming touches like the mix of chairs and all the different lights. The breakfast buffet was beautiful and plentiful, and those croissants were even better than Paris. The staff were friendly and helpful, and a shout-out to the in-house pastry chef. Kostas, Mousa, and Kasia each took great care of us and represented the brand so well.

For Amsterdam, the value was excellent, especially during the Harry Styles concert weekend when affordable places were almost impossible to find. Adding a child often means expensive rooms or no stay at all at many hotels, but Motel One’s setup felt fair and family friendly. You need to book the 20 m² “Special One” room instead of the standard 16 m² one, then email the hotel to add a child. The child stays free, and breakfast is half the adult price. We had a corner room on the 9th floor with lovely views. The hotel was clean, well maintained, and felt quite new. The area is quiet and practical, more business oriented, and the metro is a short walk away. Breakfast was tasty and sufficient, though not huge. The lobby turns into the breakfast area, and that works well. Kasia and Yaroslav were both working breakfast and were genuinely friendly and welcoming. They also made great espresso. Toast bread is available, but there’s no toaster or other way to toast it, so that could be improved. The elevator could be faster, and the air conditioning only partly helped during the very hot weather. The room still felt warm at times, and the windows can’t be opened. Keep in mind they market themselves as budget design, so there’s no telephone, coffee machine, or bottled water in the room, though the tap water is drinkable. Still, considering Amsterdam’s high accommodation prices, especially that concert weekend, it was a real gem with clean rooms, friendly staff, and a practical location.

It’s good value for the price, with the RAI convention center directly across the street. There are two Metro stations nearby, buses to Keukenhof Gardens stop right opposite, and a supermarket is just down the street. There’s no refrigerator in the room, but the bar staff kindly stored some of our food in theirs.

The hotel management has handled my duplicate reservation very poorly. I explained the situation to reception at check-in on December 26 and again on December 27, and it was acknowledged both times. Staff explicitly assured me in person that I wouldn’t be charged for the duplicate booking. But the hotel didn’t follow through. Booking.com tried repeatedly to reach them by phone and email without success. On January 5, Booking.com finally got through by phone, explained the situation again, and the hotel verbally agreed to treat the duplicate reservation as a free cancellation. They still never sent the written confirmation needed to process the refund. As of January 26, I’m still being charged for a service I never received. Booking.com has confirmed that the refund is blocked only because the hotel hasn’t responded in writing. This isn’t a Booking.com issue. It’s a failure by the hotel to manage the matter, communicate, and take responsibility, despite knowing about it from the beginning.