Van der Valk Amsterdam Amstel

The room and bed had a lovely view, and I liked having both a shower and a bath. It's a beautiful hotel with beautiful rooms, and the housekeeping staff were nice. I stayed for a long weekend in a comfort double room with an open bathroom. The breakfast buffet was nice, but I've had better and cheaper at Butlins, and the walk-in price of €26.50 is ridiculous. The staff came across as a bit wooden and not especially welcoming. The rooms look beautiful, but the dark decor made mine feel dim even with the curtains open. I think a central ceiling light would work better than the spotlights around the edges.

Breakfast was generous and delicious, and the bar and restaurant were just as good. The location worked well too, close to the metro and less than 25 minutes from Amsterdam Central. Many thanks to the staff, especially Nadia, who was so attentive and welcoming. We had a superb stay in this beautiful hotel and will definitely be back.

The wellness facilities were a real highlight after long travel days: a heated outdoor pool at 28 °C with a swim-jet system, Finnish and infrared saunas, a Turkish steam bath, a Rasul room, and foot baths. The fitness centre, Fitness Adam, was well equipped for a proper workout as part of my routine. I also appreciated the hotel's Golden Green Key certification and its energy and water practices, which show a commitment to sustainability without giving up comfort. For work, the spacious, well laid out room had a dedicated workspace and reliable high-speed Wi-Fi, so it was easy to work quietly after meetings or exploring the city. Good sound insulation and natural light helped keep things calm. Restaurant Amstelle and the buffet offered plenty of variety and quality. It made for a practical, comfortable stay with a restorative wellness setup.

We stayed for three nights at the end of March 2026. At €220-€280 a night for one of the top room categories, the price and quality didn't match. The bed was comfortable, and the shower and bathtub were good, but the suite was a major disappointment and fell short of the visual and quality standards I'd expect at that price. The first suite was on the 3rd floor, facing a student residence, and smelled strongly of cleaning chemicals. People outside could see practically the whole suite. The bathroom and shower were all glass, so keeping any privacy meant leaving the curtains closed. We asked to change rooms straight away. The replacement on the 4th floor gave us slightly more privacy, but it was surprising that all the suites are on just the 3rd and 4th floors in a building with 17 floors of guest rooms. I'd expected a premium room to be higher up and in a more attractive location. The second suite wasn't much better. Its view was poor, and some furniture was worn or damaged. Stains covered the textured wallpaper by the toilet, and we found more on the bed linen, walls, cupboards, and tables. There was stale water in both the kettle and coffee machine. The windows wouldn't open, and many of the listed German TV channels had no signal. The bathroom had only three hooks for two people, not enough for towels and bathrobes, and the two-ply toilet paper was very rough. The wellness area also let us down. The long opening hours were handy, but nobody enforced the rules: guests used smartphones in the sauna. The pool was only 1.20 m deep, heavily chlorinated, and barely suitable for swimming. The advertised counter-current system couldn't be used. There was a deep hole in the wall where a control button should have been, and the staff member on duty didn't know about the feature or how to help. Staff were friendly when we approached them, but they weren't attentive otherwise. We were rarely greeted and never offered help. Breakfast was okay, though for a hotel in the Netherlands we expected a wider and better selection of local cheeses and cold cuts.