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4.0
#153 of 413 hotels in Amsterdam
Location
Rooms
Value
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
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Max Brown Canal District is set at the intersection of Amsterdam’s most iconic canals and made up of three historical canal houses. Walk inside and you’ll find a completely modernized interior, art by local artist Gino Bud Hoiting and the much-admired—and Instagrammed—book wall. You’ll always have the Max Brown essentials—great coffee, free WiFi and the most comfortable bed around. If you ever just want to unwind, grab a new read from the book swap library, have a drink from the honesty fridge, play a board game or lounge in our peaceful inner garden terrace. The hotel’s front doors open out to Milkmaids Bridge and the canal, where you can hop on our very own boat for a ride. The neighbourhood is filled with revered landmarks to explore, like the Anne Frank House just a few minutes’ walk away.
Herengracht 13-19, 1015 BA Amsterdam The Netherlands
Name/address in local language
Max Brown Hotel Canal District
1,369 reviews
Getting there
Great for walkers
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The Max Brown Hotel Canal District garners praise for its staff's friendliness and helpfulness, with the central location also receiving acclaim from numerous guests for its proximity to Amsterdam's key attractions. While the hotel's atmosphere is cherished for its unique charm and eclectic decor, some travelers have expressed concerns regarding the small rooms and the absence of certain modern amenities.
Cleanliness is generally satisfactory, though opinions on value for money are mixed, with several guests feeling the rates are steep given the offerings.
Location
Central
Atmosphere
Eclectic
Rooms
Cramped
Value
Expensive
Cleanliness
Mixed
Service
Friendly
Amenities
Satisfactory
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Our friends booked this hotel for a two night stay in August 2019 the hotel itself was a stones throw from central station and a great location for easy access to all parts of the city upon arrival we were impressed with the bar areas and the quirkiness of the hotel itself. Unfortunately we were not impressed with our room we were on the ground level in room 003 although the room was spacious enough for a short stay and the bedding was clean overall the room felt a little grubby with scuff marks on the walls. The only window was an internal one please see photos which lead out onto a fire exit/service corridor, there was a light left on all night in this corridor which could be seen around the edge of the curtain, directly facing our room was what appeared to be the cleaners storage cupboard. From around midnight onwards a member of staff continuingly entered and left the room clanging buckets and generally making a lot of noise he then proceeded to hoover the communal areas. We have been travelling through the previous night and were very tired and struggled to sleep through this disturbance. ( On our second night we arrived back late and witnessed a male member of staff hoovering at approximately 12.30 am so this was not a one off) We spoke to a member of staff the following morning and we moved to a room on the upper levels the following night. Again the room itself was a little grubby although the bedding was clean, though the bathroom was no more than a storage cupboard and you had to pass through the shower to get to the toilet again please see photos. On a positive note the breakfast provided was substantial and we thoroughly enjoyed it the staff were lovely and very helpful.. We were offered a small refund for the disturbance which we accepted. Unfortunately I would not stay here again.
On our final morning whilst enjoying a coffee in the bar area we witnessed another guest approach a member of staff and overheard her asked to be moved from room 003 as she been kept awake all night with the noise from the cleaners, I would suggest to the owners that cleaning takes place in the morning following breakfast not the middle of the night
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Date of stay: August 2019
Value
Rooms
Service
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Response from Sebastiaan_GM, General Manager at Max Brown Hotel Canal District
Responded 27 Feb 2020
Dear flyngxxkiwi, Thank you for your detailed review. i regret to hear you weren't satisfied with the rooms allocated to you during your stay and understand that it can be disturbing if the night receptionist is hoovering at midnight. After your valuable feedback, we have instructed our team not to do so anymore at night to avoid any noise disturbance for the rooms on the ground floor in the future. Happy to hear the team was lovely and helpful and the breakfast substandial. As we have so many different room types in our 400-year old canal house, we do hope we'll get another chance in the future to welcome you back and can allocate a more suitable room for you next time whilst in Amsterdam. Kindest regards, Sebastiaan Schaafsma Hotel manager
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I was on a short trip to Amsterdam with my two teenage sons. Due to lack of time I wanted somewhere central. The location of this hotel is fabulous and it’s a really beautiful area. Unfortunately you definitely pay more for location! The hotel is very attractive situated in a traditional Dutch canal house and the staff are extremely helpful and friendly. Our room looked good but was a little bit “style over substance” eg the lovely pink kettle had a lead that was so short I had to balance it on the bin to reach the plug socket. We couldn’t get the bedside lamps to work and the tiny bathroom would have really benefited from a couple of shelves on the wall as there was nowhere to put anything. Also, the walls were very thin so we could hear our neighbours talking (and coughing!) very clearly. All fine for one night but not what I expect for over £250 per night (plus an unexpected 23 Euros Hotel Tax!!) Breakfast was very relaxed and we enjoyed the assortment of lovely breads, the hard boiled eggs and coffee. Overall, if location is most important to you then this hotel is perfect. Otherwise I’d advise staying somewhere a bit less central to get more value for your money.
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Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Sebastiaan_GM, General Manager at Max Brown Hotel Canal District
Responded 4 Feb 2020
Dear Debsth, Thank you for sharing your most recent experiences here online at TripAdvisor. We are happy to read that you enjoyed our wonderful location, which is perfect to explore Amsterdam. However, your review came to our attention and we would like to thank you for sharing it. Your improvement feedback is shared with our technical team so they can take proper actions to prevent re-occurrence. We kindly advise you to always contact our Front Desk Team in case something is not working in your room so we can fix it directly for you! Our rates are based upon availability. The rates are the same as the other hotels in the same category and location. I understand this does not detract from any inconveniences caused, which I highly regret. I would like to inform you that our rates for triple rooms are higher then double rooms due to the extra person staying in the room. Please contact us directly at hello.cd@maxbrownhotels.com if you are planning to return to Amsterdam. We would like to arrange the perfect room for you in the future. Warm regards, Sebastiaan Schaafsma Hotel Manager
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Small boutique hotel tucked away from noise but on a canal and 10 mins walk from the station and the shops. Hotel staff very welcoming and friendly. Good bar. Super breakfast. Cereals. Cheese and salamis. Breads and sweet buns. Loads of fresh fruit. Boiled eggs. Juices. Teas and coffees.
Our room on the ground floor overlooking the canal is lovely. No noise from street. There is the sound of water from a sink or loo in another room. Tv has 3 stations in English. Very comfy bed. Very clean. Tea and coffee in room. Hot showers Hair drier Shampoo and shower gel.
Friendly bar. Good cocktails. Loads of board games to borrow. Pizza on menu at night.
Anne Franks house is 15 mins walk away.
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Sebastiaan_GM, General Manager at Max Brown Hotel Canal District
Responded 8 Mar 2020
Thank you very much Heather. Great to read that you enjoyed your time in Amsterdam. We hope to welcome you again in the future. Kind regads, Team Max Brown
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This hotel was a great little find. The staff were amazing and helpful at all times. It’s was exceptionally clean. It was in a great location close to many sights and the Eurostar. It’s in a very pretty area by all the canals. The breakfast was fresh each morning with hot coffee. I know things are difficult with COVID but the breakfast could vary each day. I.e. maybe a different croissant and ham instead of cheese or maybe offer some cereal. Just a thought. My only problem was the three flights of stairs to my room. It’s probably not a problem for most as it wasn’t for my husband but having a bad leg I found it difficult. There were no other rooms available so we just dealt with it. The room was also rather hot with no air conditioning we did use the fan which did help. I would imagine this isn’t a problem for most of the year we just happened to get very hot weather. The room itself was really nice with a lovely view of the canals. I would stay here again but ask for a room on the ground or first floor. I would recommend this hotel to friends. Thank you
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Date of stay: August 2020
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The staff are great, room 201 was fine for three nights. Bathroom downstairs was clean but a little tired. Also neither of us could stand up in the shower so I recommend it for those under 5’2”! Breakfast very welcome, great location, bit noisy when inconsiderate guests returned to their room at night. Break shorter than expected due to collapse of Flybe, so we may be back, in which case we would stay here!
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Date of stay: March 2020
Rooms
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:Definitely not 003, unless you don’t mind being very close to reception.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Sebastiaan_GM, General Manager at Max Brown Hotel Canal District
Responded 29 Mar 2020
Dear ScareyPlymouth, Thank you for reviewing your most recent stay with us. Happy to read that you enjoyed the time with our staff, the breakfast, our location. I'm sorry to hear you had to leave earlier than expected due to the collapse of Flybe. Please let us know when you're travelling again to Amsterdam so we can organize something special. Hope to welcome you again when travelling to Amsterdam. Warm regards, Sebastiaan Schaafsma Hotel Manager
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Has to be one of the best hotels to stay in Amsterdam we come every year for our anniversary this is the second time we stayed here and once again the hotel did not disappoint. We had booked a medium room which was lovely a good size room , clean and very smart love the basketball hoop Breakfast is a nice touch just enough to set you up for the day and what a lovely touch to come back to find a complementary bottle of champagne to celebrate our anniversary . Overall great Hotel and friendly staff Thanks for making another anniversary Trip perfect
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Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Sebastiaan_GM, General Manager at Max Brown Hotel Canal District
Responded 4 Feb 2020
Thank you so much for your lovely review after your most recent visit, dear Simba! It's a great pleasure to read that you've stayed already for the second time with us and really enjoyed it again. I've shared your review with the team during our meeting Friday and I can tell you that they were really happy to read your positive words. Let us know when your are coming for your 3rd visit to Max Brown so we can make it even better! Warm regards, Team Max Brown Canal District
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The staff here were super friendly and very helpful! We went for our anniversary and they’d filled the room with balloons which was really cute :) The hotel is very small so keep that in mind - we weren’t in a fancy room and there isn’t much space, or room to store clothes, and the bathroom was small too. The downstairs was small and not much room for breakfast so a couple of times we had to share tables with others, and there obviously wasn’t much room left for a big spread. It was super cold when we went too and unfortunately we just couldn’t get warm in the room - it was close to the street and there weren’t any locks on the windows or anything which might bother some people. It was close to Anne Franks house and good places to eat, close to the train station too. But probably a bit further from some of the other main sights.
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Date of stay: March 2019Trip type: Travelled as a couple
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Short walk to central station. Quiet and upmarket area despite being close to central . Very comfortable bed , we both thought so, view from room is sublime. On the down side the stairs (as per the whole of the canal district ) are VERY steep and 209 is on second floor . Not recommended for those of poor health, heavy luggage or those whose balance may be impaired after sampling local produce . I strongly recommend this hotel and I would imagine like me you will be spending as much room time looking out the window. BTW it has a wet room with stand up shower. The shower doors do fold away from you when you’re sat on the toilet (something that initially escaped me )
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Date of stay: June 2022Trip type: Travelled as a couple
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This isn’t our first time staying at this hotel. This time around it was with our 2 year old daughter. The location of this place is very good. The neighborhood is just lovely, right on the canal and a short walk away from everything. The train station is very close by. You can also park your car there for about 20€ a day, which we did. Depending what room you get there are steep stairs pretty much throughout the hotel. There are a few rooms that have fewer steps, so if that’s an issue for you, make sure to get in contact with the hotel prior to booking to see what rooms are available. Also only a few rooms have a/c; this is pretty common in many northern and western European countries, since the summers are normally pretty mild and not as humid as say North America, but it’s something to consider when it’s really hot here . We stayed on the top floor which had a bigger room, however no a/c, so it was pretty hot starting around 10:30. There was no way of staying in the room at that point without melting. But you are in Amsterdam, you should be out exploring anyways. However people with health issues should be aware. Opening all the windows helped at night, but it was still pretty hot either way. We did have a fan, which made it bearable. The breakfast is good, nothing spectacular, but yummy nonetheless and included in the price of the room. Yoghurt with granola, apples and bananas, bread, ham and cheese, jam etc and really good coffee. The staff is very friendly and accommodating. The hotel is clean and well kept. The vibes at this hotel are easy going and help to kick off your Amsterdam adventure. We will definitely be back.
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Date of stay: June 2020Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Location: Very close to centre and lovely views of the canal not far from hotel. However there are construction works directly outside but not hotels fault.
Room: Room was very clean and tidy with enough storage for us. Our room had a double bed and a sofa bed which were really comfy. The only problem with the room was the sink isn't big enough to fill the kettle with.
Staff: The majority of staff we met were lovely however I must say the customer service from the male staff member who was on between 3pm-10pm (didn't catch his name) was exceptional. He was really accommodating and put up with us Scottish pains ordering the strawberry jars cocktails. 100% made our stay enjoyable.
Breakfast: Breakfast had a small choice of continental offerings and mabye could be expanded a bit more in terms of seating as the seating area and breakfast are the same area.
Additional points: Our breakfast which was included within our package holiday wasn't communicated by the systems so was a bit of a pain however was eventually sorted. Be prepared for deposit however as we wernt informed prior. We were charged €25 per night which for us amounted to €75! This can be used towards hotel credit but you also have city tax which your deposit can be used for. Think we ended up with like €6 back at the end so be prepared for this
Overall a genuinely good stay and would recommend 👌🏻
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Date of stay: October 2022Trip type: Travelled with friends
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Annabelle Weemaes, Guest Services / Front Office at Max Brown Hotel Canal District
Responded 24 Oct 2022
Dear SecretRater, Thank you so much for taking your time to write this wonderful review of your stay at Max Brown! We are so glad reading you have had such a good time with us in Amsterdam! It is great to hear that you enjoyed the hotel's location, the room comfort and cleanliness and our customer service. I will definitely pass your kind words onto the team! Thank you for your feedback in regard to the breakfast, we will definitely take this into consideration. During the check in, we always ask our guests for a credit card to authorize a deposit of 25 euros per night. This can be used as a credit for incidentals and to cover for the city tax, which is always charged after the stay. Our city tax policy can be found on both our website and in the booking confirmation. We hope to see you back sometime at Max Brown Canal District! Kind regards, Annabelle Weemaes Front of House Manager
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It is very central - 5 min walk from the central train station and close to everything. We just jumped on a train from the airport - tickets at the airport station. If you google "By train from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol" this will bring you to a website which will give you the details.
We did take a taxi back to the airport when we left as we had been travelling for a month and couldn't be stuffed doing the train again!
Amsterdam, The Netherlands115 contributions5 helpful votes
Many! The hotel is on walking distance from some nice restaurants and cafes. The staff made a booklet with their recommendations which is available in the hotel reception.
There are more places to choose from in the Amsterdam area.
PRICE RANGE
€122 - €250 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
chic & basic amsterdam hotel amsterdam, chic and basic amsterdam, chic basic hotel amsterdam
FORMERLY KNOWN AS
chic&basic Amsterdam
LOCATION
The NetherlandsNorth Holland ProvinceAmsterdamGrachtengordel-West / Canal Ring (Grachtengordel) / Centrum
NUMBER OF ROOMS
34
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