Hotel Di-Ann - Amsterdam, Netherlands     

Friendly and helpful staff. Had a small problem with the safe in the room and they sent someone immediately to look after it. Small room and long, narrow stair-case, winding at the top. We had the second floor so we did it twice. TOn our canal cruise, they explained why most of the buildings have staircases like this. It is because of land space and population density. So it appears that you will encounter this in most buildings/hotels. Blankets were a bit old and had a couple small holes in them. Breakfast was great. Lots to choose from to eat and drink. We were able to leave our luggage at the front desk after we checked out in order to walk around for a few hours. Directions to hotel from Amsterdam Centraal Stn: Walk out of station, keep right, cross the canal and continue walking straight. until you get to Raadhuisstraat. You will recognize this street by the long "phalic-like symbol" on the left side of the street, there are steps on the bottom where people sit and relax...also lots of pigeons. Mak a right on Raadhuisstraat toward the Magna Plaza, then make a quick left and a quick right, cross the canal and the hotel is on the left.

My husband and I were looking for an inexpensive room that was centrally located. We got it. The hotel has a fantastic location. Sure, the stairs are steep, but that's common. What was worse was the staff and our room. The staff wasn't helpful and could hardly understand English. Our room was small, which was fine, but it wasn't very clean or well maintained. The room was on the street, which was very noisy. The weather was quite warm when we were there, but we had to close the window at night because of the noise. Also, the refrigerator didn't work. The breakfast was ok, nothing special. For the money you could probably find something better, but the location is tough to beat.