Hotel Zwanenburg

We were left stranded in the middle of the night because they never sent the PIN for the key, and staff were hard to reach, sometimes taking hours or days to reply. They wouldn't let us change our dates after the airline canceled our flight, which was out of our control. The room itself was uncomfortable too. The bed was hard as concrete, the floor was dusty and poorly cleaned, the bathroom handle was broken, there was no shower head, and the radiator didn't work. We could hear everything outside through the thin walls. A very disappointing stay.

After an eight-hour flight with two little ones, they wouldn't validate my reservation. I spent an hour on hold, only to be told more or less to sort it out myself. I expected staff to make an extra effort, but once I'd paid, the hotel left my family and me out on the street.

We couldn't even get into our room. Staff never sent the PIN to open the key box, and although I was already expecting very little, we couldn't get a room at all and were left stranded. Some really nice travellers staying there helped us out. They were much more useful than the actual staff. There's no emergency number either. Once staff finish work, they basically leave you to deal with things yourself and act like it's not their problem. What kind of hotel offers service like that? People said the rooms were bad, and now I believe them. The staff were terrible. The good reviews are probably from that annoying, useless company.

There’s plenty of free parking on site, which was a plus for me. It’s a quiet area, close to Lidl and various shops, and the train station is a five-minute drive or about a 20-minute walk. The return fare was €8. Check-in was pleasant, and the young woman was happy to help. Our clean, comfortable room was adequate for two nights while we visited Amsterdam, but it looked tired and could use some TLC. The room and hotel didn't look much like the pictures. We were on the second floor, accessible by stairs only, with no lift. For the price and location, I'd be happy to come back.