We had booked this hotel mainly due to the location (being located in a park) and its good room rate, as part of our Eurostar travel package.
The website was clear about the facilities with good pictures which showed the important things to me due to my disability - the shower/bathroom, any seating area and stairs.
Our Eurostar train was very delayed in arriving in Amsterdam, so we arrived just before midnight rather than the original 1800 and took a pre-booked taxi from Amsterdam Centraal to the hotel which was just over a 5-minute journey. There is no vehicle access allowed in the park, so there is about a 100m walk from where taxis drop and pickup from, which is well-lit along a straight path but not covered (if raining) - the hotel entrance is after the restaurant/bar entrance
Upon arriving, we were very warmly greeted by the lobby staff, which is manned 24 hours a day and includes a shop, cafe and seating area. The checking-in process is self-service using the provided terminals which works well as it is sometimes quicker to type your details that explain the spelling of everything, and the door keys are made of wood
The doors into the lifts and bedroom floors are secured with automatic locks using your bedroom door key, and the lifts are very modern and spacious - they seemed to always know we needed one as we never had to wait for one to arrive
The lobby, lift and corridors are very accessible - no steps unless you wish to use them and wide and well-lit
We chose a loft room, which was possibly not the best choice for me as the room is on 3 levels, but we thought it was something different from a normal hotel layout and liked the idea of loft windows
The bathroom is immediately on the level you enter the room which was very spacious and modern, though the walk-in shower floor was a little slippery (I always travel with a pair of crocks for this reason) and the shower head was tiny but surprisingly very powerful. There is also a small lip on the bathroom floor threshold, which could be a trip hazard if you shuffle like me.
You then go up a couple of steps to the lounge area which has a couple of chairs, a low and writing table along with a kettle, cups, glasses and some complimentary tea/coffee but no fridge - they do provide an ice bucket you can take down to reception for ice if you need something kept cold. Unfortunately, the weather during our stay was not dry or warm enough to use this service. Above the writing table is the start of a couple of large loft windows both of which have independent electric blinds/screens should you need them.
The bed is located on the 3rd level above the bathroom via a set of very sturdy stairs going up the wall on one side and with metal railings and a bannister on the other side. Now I should point out that 'stairs' in the Netherlands is a very loose term and includes what we in the UK call ladders, so they can be very steep. In this case, they were a little steeper than we had hoped but because they are so well constructed and secure I felt very safe slowly going up and down them using the bannister
We also make sure we travel with plugin night lights to provide nighttime low light for my numerous toilet visits during the night, so I don't wake my partner up by switching on lights
The bed itself was amazing and very large, but the pillows provided are feather type and so very soft and do not provide much head/neck support if you need this to either read or sleep in bed like I do
There was just enough room at the end of the bed to put our 2 suitcases as there is very little storage hanging space on the bedroom level, but there is some hangers/space in the lounge level if you need it
There was very little nighttime noise but this may be due to the timing of our stay (Sunday to Thursday) and the fact that the weather during our stay was very wet, windy and cold. I would imagine during the height of the summer when the park hosts events it could be more noisy
The connected restaurant/bar can be accessed via the hotel lobby, so you do not need to go outside which was handy due to the wet weather. We chose to not include any meals with our hotel booking, rather just paying if we used the restaurant or bar. It is also worth mentioning that the restaurant and bar do room delivery via an app using the details left in your room
The restaurant is exclusively vegetarian and if you are a meat eater like me then this will NOT be a problem. We had a couple of evening meals with cocktails along with breakfast, all of which were excellent in taste, presentation, service and value for money (the servings are a good size). We did not need to book the restaurant but Isuspect this was due to our timing and the weather, as during the warm summer months it could get very busy
The cafe was very welcomed upon our return from our day trips - to get a lovely hot drink upon returning from a wet/windy day out sightseeing and maybe there was a cake/cookie included
The shop is stocked with its own brand of ethical merchandise, along with various snacks and drinks.
NOTE: The tap water in Amsterdam is some of the cleanest in Europe and is perfectly safe to drink directly from the tap
The park in front of the hotel (south) - which was part of the old gas works, looks like it is designed to host events, with lots of restaurants/bars along one side and plenty of hard-standing areas. We imagine this area is buzzing during the warm summer days. In contrast, the park behind the hotel (north) is more park-like, with lakes, wildlife, trees, grass and paths and of course, it would not be Amsterdam without a canal running down one side
Trams and buses are easily accessed either via the bridge that the taxis use then a short walk - in total about 350m (hotel lobby to tram stop), or via the north park exit - again about 600m, both of which are flat and firm surfaced. There is plenty of seating in the north park if you need to stop for a rest
Our leaving day arrived all too quickly, which was handled by the cafe staff and you can either defer your checkout time (subject to availability) or ask them to hold your luggage if like us you had a few hours after normal checkout time before your return journey starts
Despite our initial regret about the room when we arrived, we had chosen - with all its 'stairs', it did not detract from our stay at the hotel and I adapted and managed without any incidents
The main standout takeaway from our stay here was the friendliness and helpfulness of all the staff, we will certainly return here if we ever visit Amsterdam again
