The Veteran Hostel

The location made it easy to walk to major attractions, and I really enjoyed the breakfast buffet, which had lots of delicious choices. The on-site restaurant was also impressive and reasonably priced. Staff were very friendly and attentive. My room at the [Hotel the veteran] was clean, spacious, comfortable, and had all the essentials, along with a beautiful view. It was a brilliant stay, and I'd recommend the hotel and plan to come back.

The front desk was helpful, the bed was clean and comfortable, and we had a canal view. It's a great location, though it was noisy outside, so bring earplugs. I didn't try breakfast, but it looked better than most hostel breakfasts, with sliced meat, cheese, bread, hard-boiled eggs, spreads, cereal, fruit, yoghurt, juice, coffee, and tea. It's a budget hostel, so there's no air conditioning and not much space, but it has what you need. The stairs are quite steep. My friend accidentally called it “our condo” because it felt so comfortable.

The location is definitely a highlight. The rooms were okay, but ours smelled of pot, the fridge wasn't working, and the shower barely drained. The door squeaked badly, and there was no air conditioning. Staff were very nice and had a good sense of humor. They did my laundry for 5 euro, which I appreciated. Breakfast wasn't fancy, but it tasted good, and the staff were polite and helpful.

You can see the famous line of seven bridges from here, along with the canals. The building itself is interesting, and its central Amsterdam location puts restaurants, bars and clubs just around the corner. Bus and tram stops are about a two-minute walk away.