A business trip to Amsterdam led me to stay at the Swissôtel Amsterdam.
The hotel is located a 10 minute walk from Amsterdam Central Station which is a good point. On the other hand, you have to be careful to find it: if you can clearly see the sign from the opposite sidewalk, you can pass in front of it without realizing it, as the storefront is so discreet, not to say ordinary.
The Swissôtel Amsterdam is conveniently located 10 minutes from the train station
Once the door is passed, it’s better. If the floor looks a bit “cheap” the rest is rather nice and warm.
The check-in goes well and the staff is very friendly.
I go to take possession of my room. The hallways are well decorated and give a much more upscale feel than the rest suggests.
Room without any charm and bad smells
The room is not very big even for a standard room but we have seen worse.
On the other hand, the furniture is really “cheap”: you would think you were in an old Mercure. Neutral and without much personality.
As for the bathroom, it is also minimalist in size.
In short, the whole is clean but really lacks character. You can’t say that you feel at home or that you feel anything special.
If we don’t feel anything, on the other hand, we smell things. The room smelled like detergent or poor quality air freshener. It’s as if they wanted to mask the smell of cold tobacco or whatever. So I’ll leave the window open when I leave for dinner to let it out.
The opportunity to admire the beautiful view:
I’ll come back four hours later after having dinner and the smell will still be there. I will have to sleep with the window open. The bedding was decent, without more, as much to say that I will not keep an imperishable memory of my night.
The next day I will not linger and will go to my professional obligations in the early morning.
The Swissotel Amsterdam saved by its staff
No express-check out but the departure went rather quickly at the desk. Once again, the staff is very friendly and, as a rare gesture, they offer a bottle of water to the departing customer. Appreciable.
At the time of my stay the gag of AccorHotels and its loyalty program continued. While AccorHotels bought Swissôtels several years ago, it was still not possible to credit Swissôtel stays to Le Club AccorHotels even though you can book a Swissôtel from the AccorHotels website. Fortunately this has been resolved by now.
I might as well tell you that at almost 200 euros a night, the Swissôtel Amsterdam’s value for money is not good at all. Apart from the staff there is not much to be kept.
