It is so exciting to be back in Amsterdam after a good 7 years. This is one of the nicest European cities that I love. Making use of the Qatar ticket. I will be here for two nights. While I would love to check out the best property in Amsterdam, the signature Waldorf Astoria, the rates are through the roof. They were also rather full and didn’t even have points available. I decided on the Hilton Amsterdam then. It also allows me to use my points as well which came in handy given that there was an event on my first night. This is the second-best property in Amsterdam. The hotel location is slightly out of the city centre, but I figure that it will not be too shabby. Hilton could expand their footprint in the city. Let’s check out the Hilton.
Booking Process & Pre Arrival
I booked directly with Hilton and got the base-level room. I will be staying here for 2 nights. I booked one night with points and the other with cash. For the points rate, I paid 70,000 points. That is quite a deal since there is some event in town going on and the rates were through the roof. Late check-out is extended till 2pm for diamond members. About a couple of days out from my stay, I got an automated upgrade to a Canal View Room. On the day of arrival, I can see from the app that I have been upgraded to a Mercurius Suite. This is a premium speciality suite. I appreciate the excellent elite treatment from the hotel. This suite would have cost around 850 Pounds a night! Hilton Amsterdam comes with 271 guest rooms and suites spread across 16 categories. You can check out the breakdown below.
| Rooms | Executive Lounge Access | Bathtub |
|---|---|---|
| Deluxe | No | Yes |
| Deluxe with Canal View | No | Yes |
| Superior | No | Yes |
| Family Connecting | No | Yes |
| Executive | Yes | Yes |
| Junior Suite Canal View | Yes | Yes |
| Junior Suite Balcony Boulevard View | Yes | Yes |
| Junior Suite Balcony High Floor | Yes | Yes |
| Neptune One Bedroom Suite | Yes | Yes |
| Junior Suite Canal View High Floor | Yes | Yes |
| Mercurius One Bedroom Suite | Yes | Yes |
| Family Connecting Suite | Yes | Yes |
| Mercurius Suite connected to Twin Room | Yes | Yes |
| John and Yoko Suite | Yes | Yes |
| Presidential Suite | Yes | Yes |
| Presidential Suite connected to Twin Room | Yes | Yes |
Checking In
I landed in Amsterdam at about 2pm. We made our way to the hotel after sorting out some errands. AMS is quite a walk and we also waited a fair bit for the baggage. AMS is directly connected to a train station which makes travel rather easy and affordable. I took a bolt instead to my hotel which cost around 30 Euros since we had quite several baggage. Somehow it is not easy to get a ride here. We only get to the hotel at around 3.30pm. It will be much cheaper to take the train but you do need to make another transfer.
Upon arrival, the staff came over to help me with my bags. He is very nice and helpful. We were then ushered over to the check-in desks. It was a rather nonchalant chap who checked me in. Not very friendly at all. I was not even thanked for being a Diamond member. He took our passports before coming back to provide us with the keys alongside a welcome letter that offered some of the hotel information. I went back to the front desk at other times and the rest of the staff was much more friendly. By the side of the lobby, you can find some seating area with sofas and couches.
Mercurius Suite
I got a very surprising upgrade to technically the best suite available in the hotel. This is just below the presidential suite. The Mercurius Suite measures an amazing 131 Sqm. It is super spacious. I got a suite on the ninth floor which is technically the highest floor since the 10th is the roof and executive lounge. It is at the end of the corridor. I was rather shocked by the decor upon entering. It is so retro and classic looking.
Immediately to the left, you can find the pantry area which includes the wet bar. The suite comes with a wet pantry with plenty of cabinets and storage space. There is a Nespresso coffee machine and a kettle. Plenty of packaged tea and capsules can be found. In the cabinets, you can also find utensils. On the other side of the pantry, there is also a multipurpose microwave oven and a spacious fridge that is stocked. There are both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks inside. They only provide 2 bottles of drinking water per stay which is on the stingy side.
Here you can also find a half bath. This comes in handy if you are hosting guests over or having a little gathering. I always appreciate having another toilet in the suite. This suite can also be connected to a twin room for bigger groups.
The entrance sort of lets you out in the middle of the living room which is in a rectangular layout. The outstanding view of the surrounding view immediately hits you. It is so idyllic with all the houses and canals. This is such a peaceful neighbourhood of Amsterdam. I would love to live here in the future. While we didn’t have the best blue skies on the days we were here, it is so charming that I can keep staring at it. The curtains and blinds here are manually controlled.
There are some additional cabinets and storage areas in the living room. To the left, you can find a full-size dining table that could easily fit 4 pax well. The table can be extended to fit even more. This also acts as the working desk in the room. The Wi-Fi connections work very well. I did face an issue with finding a power socket. There is simply none in the area. Left on the table is a welcome amenity consisting of two bottles of water, a local delight and a personalised note from the staff.
Here you can also find a high-quality television with plenty of local and international cable TV channels. I feel that the screen is a little small for this suite.
Look at how charming and rustic this living room is. It kind of brings back to a little 1980s and 90s era. I’m not so sure if this is my cup of tea or if I actually like the Decor. I do appreciate the theme and it is quite special to get a suite like this. The living space comes with a spacious sofa set that could easily fit 5 to 6 people comfortably over a coffee table in the middle. This will be great for gatherings.
The living room is separated from the bedroom by double doors. This ensures that you are insulated from the living room if you want a separate space for resting. I love the set-up. While I mentioned earlier that you can connect this suite to another twin room, it is kind of weird that the connecting part is over in the bedroom rather than the living room. The bedroom comes with a four-poster bed which is very luxurious. It certainly adds another flair to the room. The bed was extremely comfortable. I love that the mattress is on the firmer side. The pillows were top-notch and high-quality as well. Flanking both sides of the bed they had nightstands. One side comes with an alarm clock with a charging pad built in. This is handy as I can’t even find a single power outlet in the room. This is so inconvenient.
The room comes with equally an amazing view as well. There is a couch here if you want to take in the view.
In the bedroom, you can find another television which is of a similar size as the one in the living room.
Never to the wardrobe area, you can also find another armchair.
The amount of sitting areas in the seat is endless. There are four wardrobes here, equipped with an ironing kit, plenty of hangers, laundry bags and a safe. The space is generous.
I find it rather surprising that they did not offer any portable luggage racks in this suite at all. It feels like a rather standard amenity to provide these for guests to open up our suitcases. They were not available upon request either. In the end, I had to use the dining table chairs for my suitcases. The bathroom is spacious but somehow in a weird layout. The bathroom comes with two showers. One of them is a shower and tub combo while the other is a slightly more recently renovated standing shower. It comes with glass screens with both a rainforest shower head and a handheld one. The water pressure and temperature control is excellent. The showering space is on the smaller side. They could have removed the additional wardrobe to make the space bigger. As usual, toiletries are from Crabtree and Evelyn in large pump-size bottles.
Turndown service is automatically offered in the evening with the room refreshed and tidied.
Fitness Centre
The fitness centre and sauna are located on the 1st floor. The facility is operated by a third party. Complimentary access is extended for guests. The facility is open from 7am to 8pm on Mon to Wed, till 6pm on Thu and Fri and from 8am to 2pm on Sat and Sun. The timings are weird and for a hotel, minimally it needs to be open throughout the day or overnight. After heading to the end of the first floor, you have to head down the steps and enter another door. The place is manned by a staff and they will let you in.
It is a professional gym with lots of different types of equipment. The place is well-maintained and clean. The huge facility is great if you need to work out with various professional equipment. They also have a pilates room.
Executive Lounge
The executive lounge is open from 7am to 8pm daily and is located on the 10th floor. This is also the rooftop of the hotel. It is kind of like a glasshouse and you can find it immediately after exiting the elevators. All-day refreshments are served and they offer evening cocktails from 5pm to 7pm. The place is on the smaller side and could fit probably around 20 pax or so. I feel like they should better utilise the space here. They have such a huge rooftop. It does come with a nice view of the surrounding area. I am not a fan of the place closing right at 8pm. To me, a lounge should have access throughout the day so that I can pop in for some coffee or tea anytime I fancy.
All day long you have some non-alcoholic drinks and snacks. This includes water, soft drinks, coffee and tea. It is a rather simple affair.
I managed to check out the evening cocktails on the first night of my stay. It can get quite full during the evening cocktail hours. Similarly, it is quite simple, they had some fried finger food, cheese and a small salad station. They do switch up the selection. On my second night, they had some fried jalapeno cheese, onion rings and guacamole.
Drinks aspect wise it is much better, they had two beers including Heineken. How can you do without Heineken in the Netherlands? There is also a sparkling wine, a rose and a red. You can also find a couple of spirits. That is about it. This is definitely not a dinner replacement. It is nice to pop by if you are around but not when you have to make the trek back.
The staff here was polished but I do feel that the place is way underutilised. The layout can be better designed to make use of the roof. I wish that they could do with some outdoor places, especially during the warmer months.
Breakfast at Roberto’s
Breakfast is served from 7am to 10.30am on weekdays and till 11am on weekends and bank holidays. Complimentary breakfast is offered to all Gold and Diamond members. This is offered at the hotel’s main restaurant Roberto’s located on the ground floor. You can find it to the left. I went down for breakfast at about 8am. It is quite crowded.
I was shown to the table by their staff and warmly welcomed. They also had this little grab-and-go counter by the reception if you were in a rush.
Hot drinks are served by the staff and they come by to take orders. Besides the buffet, they also had a small ala carte eggs menu that you can use to supplement it. Other items come at a price.
Here are some of the food items on the buffet line. They have some cheese, cold cuts, fruits, smoothies, juices, pastries and hot dishes. I will let the pictures do the rest of the speaking. The food is delicious and fresh. It is nice to have access to it since prices are not cheap over here in the Netherlands.
Conclusion
The elite treatment here is very nice and I appreciate them upgrading me to this lovely speciality suite. This is a surprise given that it is a busy period. It is one of the best here. While I can’t say that the decor is my kind of thing, I appreciate it. The space is spacious and the view is amazing. I had a very comfortable stay. The suite is showing its age and there are quite several design flaws. The location isn’t that ideal as it is slightly inaccessible. Amsterdam is also not an affordable place to take Uber or Bolt. It will take a 30-minute stroll to get to the city centre. Comparing this to the Hilton Rotterdam where I stayed years ago, I prefer that. They can also improve on the evening cocktail and buff up the offering. The view of the houses and canals from the suite is charming. Looking forward to my next Amsterdam visit.
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