I have just returned home from a three night stay at the Hotel Old Quarter, where I visited with my mum. (17th - 20th Feb 2010). We paid 205 euro's for 2 of us, for 3 nights with en suite (we booked with easytobook.com).
The bar/restaurant in this hotel was very charming, played great music and served great food. However, the rooms were not of the same standard (though we didn't really expect much anyway). The rooms were very simple but contained everything you would need. Our only disappointment was the rank smell in the bathroom, which was repulsive. We reported this to reception and they bleached the bathroom but the smell re-appeared the next day. The smell was so bad that we took to using the shared facilities which were located on the downstairs landing.
The breakfast in the hotel was delicious. Bacon and eggs and toast with jams. Also tea and coffee (orange juice at an additional charge). On the morning of our departure we had an early flight but the staff were more than happy to make us toast and tea at 7am. The staff in this hotel (and in Amsterdam in general) were all so helpful and pleasant.
This hotel is located very close to the red light district (although not too close). It was literally a 5 minute walk from central station. The location could have been any better, we were surrounded by charming pubs and cafes selling home made pastries, buns and sandwiches. It took us 5 minutes to walk to Damn Square and about 3 mins to the Damrack where there are lots more cafes and shops (including C&A)! This was our first visit to Amsterdam and we found everything very easily.
On our second day we bought tickets for the hop on/hop off water boat. This stops at various locations around Amsterdam at a cost of 20E each (located near central station). We visited the local flee market which was a great experience (pashmina's and hand made bracelets, etc, at great prices). We also visited the Anne Frank House (we booked tickets online in advance as queues were huge - 9E each!)
All in all, we loved our trip and will definatley be going back. Our only disappointment was the smelly bathroom but the location was second to none!!
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC