- petenange
- First Reviewer
- 4 out of 5
- Avg. Member Rating
- 16
- Reviews
-
5
- Photos
Editor Pick
It's Been a While but We Loved It
- October 24, 2009
- Rated 3 of 5 by
koshkha from Northampton, United Kingdom
My husband and I are pretty calm and unflappable people who don't get too stressed by things. Despite our family and friends knowing this, I think they were all still pretty amazed when the weekend before our wedding we decided to go to Amsterdam for a few days. They all supposed we'd be at home panicking over last minute arrangements instead of drinking beer and cappuccinos and stuffing ourselves with pancakes and chips with mayonnaise. We married in mid March which is well outside the peak season in Amsterdam and were able to get a really cheap deal at the Victoria.
Why the Victoria?
Well it's easy - that's the main thing. I've got lost by following my nose looking for hotels in Amsterdam and walked miles but you'll not have that problem at the Victoria. You get the train from the airport to the Central Station walk out the front and there it is, directly in front of you on the corner. It's handy if you want one of the many canal tours that are offered nearby, and if you are looking to check out the red light district (don't be ashamed - everyone does. You don't have to actually go inside!) then that's only a 5 minute stagger away. The main shops of the city centre are a similar distance too. With the Victoria you'll need no long walks, no complications getting lost, and no nasty surprises caused by unexpectedly finding your hotel is on a seedy street surrounded by prostitutes. The Victoria is a good solid choice.
If you look at pictures of the outside of the hotel you'll notice it's really rather imposing and that there's a corner with a clock on the top. Our room was on the second floor under the clock tower. As you'd imagine it's not the quietest place to stay and during the day the traffic noise and the trams can be a bit noisy but during the night, it's really very quiet. Our room was of a good size and the bed was better than normal for a Dutch hotel. Getting to the room was a bit of a challenge with lots of fire doors and odd staircases but again, any older building anywhere in the world is always challenged by fire doors. It snowed one night that we were there but the room temperature was just right and we didn't get cold or over-heated. Our bathroom had both shower and bath and the room had all the usual facilities like tea and coffee tray, cable television, hairdryer, iron and so on.
The Victoria is big and has more than 300 rooms so you're unlikely to get a sense of a personalised experience. The breakfast room in particular is a bit like being in a student canteen and is exceptionally busy and loud but the food is good and doesn't run out and they serve until quite late which is important in a city where people often don't head to bed until the sun's coming up the next day. The hotel has changed hands since we were there so I can't be sure exactly what it's like now but no amount of changes will alter the main reason for choosing the Victoria and that's its great location.
Date of Visit - March 1998
From journal It's Not All Cheese, Clogs and Tulips
Hotel was very nice but.....
- May 28, 2009
- Rated 4 of 5 by
a traveler from Travelocity.com
Hotel was very nice, great location excelant accomodations, but my reservations,whichwere for two rooms, and paid for in advance,turned out to be just one room that I was forced to share with my traveling companion.Mad for a wee bit of a sticky situation as it was a female.
Central location, clean, friendly staff!
- May 6, 2009
- Rated 5 of 5 by
a traveler from Travelocity.com
My wife and I arrived at Central Station in Amsterdam from Schipol Airport via the train and it only cost 3.8 euros each. We easily walked across the street to the Park Plaza Hotel with all our luggage. We got there 4 hours before we could check in and the concierge gladly stored our luggage in a locked closet until our room was ready. That gave us time to do a little walk about the city, get a bite to eat, and have a cold drink while we relaxed after 24 hours of traveling. When we returned, our room was 10 minutes from being done so they gave us 2 free drink coupons to use in their excellent bar. Upon retrieving our luggage, we entered our room. We were totally amazed at the size of the room for what we paid and I feel that they must have upgraded our room because I told them it was our 30th wedding anniversary. They also had a bottle of champagne on ice, a fruit bowl, and a big box of chocolate on the table in a raised area near the front window for us. Our room was on the 3rd floor overlooking Central Station which is a beautiful sight to see. We drank our champagne while we people watched from our window. We loved the location of the hotel as it was central to everything and had all the public transportation at our front door. We never rented a car because we didn't need it and probably saved a ton of money not to mention that it would be very difficult to get around Amsterdam and find parking. The bikes, trams, buses, metros, and pedestrians make driving extremely difficult to someone new. Very friendly staff and they all spoke English.
IT WORKS
- July 22, 2008
- Rated 4 of 5 by
a traveler from Travelocity.com
I stayed here 3 years ago and was suprised how much it "aged" in that time - probably from the high traffic of clients. Location is fantastic if you are on foot travelling via train station with luggage. I read a review and it mentioned the carpet and that is the first thing I noticed. It needs to be cleaned throughout the hotel - lobby area, walkways and the individual rooms. It's just dirty. The rest is okay. It's not the place to "hang out" for considerable time in your room (my opinion only - everyone needs are subjective). It's great for the pit stop while hitting the streets and for sleeping. Beds are great - it's rated 4 star - I would say more like 3.5 - I would stay here again, but just for a night, like I did, so it made it easy for me to catch the train to the airport the next morning. I say this because I stayed at another hotel nearby that I can compare it too - different location and about $* more a night - big difference. So, it boils down too - you get what you pay for and that is not the hotel's fault. Price was reasonable and suited my purpose. I would give it a 7 out of 10
Loved the maids, hated the attitude of the front
- April 27, 2008
- Rated 3 of 5 by
a traveler from Travelocity.com
When we arrived they didn't our reservation in their computer and 4 different front desk people told us that we MAY (or may not) be able to get a room. No one ever apologized and they told us we would be "lucky" if we could get a room.
We had a confirmed printed reservation when we arrived. We also had a printed email from the hotel confirming that reservation. We made the reservation 4 months before.
They ended up sticking us in a smoking room for our entire 6 night stay which wrecked our whole 6 night experience.
The carpets needing replacing and the bathroom trim had a giant piece missing.
They did replace our broken tv after the second day of us complaining thanks to our maid helping us, but the the new replacement tv was tiny and Motel 6 would have been embarrassed had they treated us this way.
All was amazing to us as we had paid $2,439.45 for just 6 days
Positives?
Great location and the included breakfasts were very good..