Hotel Imperial - Amsterdam, Netherlands 

Pleasant stay
Posted: Fri, Jul 04 2008
I wasn’t sure what to expect after reading the reviews below but I was pleasantly surprised once we arrived at the hotel. We met the owner at check in and he seemed perfectly normal to me. We had a room on the second floor facing the square. There was a lot of noise from the square below especially at night but the double glazing blocked this out, could still hear some noise but very minimum. The bed was comfy and room and rest of hotel very clean. No air con but there was a plug in fan in the room. Breakfast was very basic but for me it had all the essentials needed to start the day, coffee, orange juice and toast or cereal. The stairs are a bit steep but I think this is normal for most Amsterdam Hotels & Hostels. For a day activity I really recommend renting a pedalo/ canal bike so you can choose your own route on the canals; more fun than the boat tour.

Really unfriendly staff and dated hotel
Posted: Wed, Jul 02 2008
Just spent 3 nights at this hotel with my husband, brother and his girlfriend and was glad to get away, i would not reccomend this hotel to anyone. Firstly the staff are the most miserable people i have met, so unhelpful and rude, it was like eveything was an effort. The rooms were clean the only thing i can say positive, but they are dated, no hot drink facilities asked for use of an iron and was told by a glum faced woman that the hotel does not have ironing facilities ?????????? which i think in a hotel is strange. The worst thing is the heat, we were on the top floor, by the way no lifts and VERY STEEP stairs we had a tiny window which had a net on it and was touching next doors high roof so no air, everyone in the hotel complained about the heat as they have no air conditioning and they didnt seem to care, i would not like to be there in the hight of summer. The breakfast was a JOKE cheap cornflakes or cheap musli, fatty looking ham and squares of rubber cheese washed down with cheap orange, it was the most pittyful table of food i have seen in a hotel, the glum faced staff brought the tea and coffee to your table not with a good morning or a smile which i think is nice if you are paying ?110 per night. Lastly the owner was just as glum as his 2 female staff i think they all need to learn some basic customer service. All in all dont go, very dated in need of a good makeover, new owner and nice staff.

Rarity in Amsterdam - a non-smoking hotel ....
Posted: Sat, Apr 26 2008
This was a big plus for us, with obviously no stale smell of smoke in the rooms. The Imperial is one of the cleanest budget hotels we have stayed in. The beds are extremely comfy, and clean towels are provided every day. We stayed for 3 nights and had a twin room on the top floor - the stairs are very steep, especially the 2 flights from the front door. We did not realise the hotel was located on a noisy square, Rembrantplein; the nightclubs go on all night until about 4am then a couple of hours later the dustmen turn up, so more noise. Strongly recommend buying earplugs, which we did. They didn't kill the noise altogether but did help. A few nice reasonably priced restaurants very close to the hotel, and the hotel is very central. Breakfast is provided; it is adequate but not a lot of variety. Getting around Amsterdam is easy, both on foot and using the excellent transport system. Would recommend a visit to Anne Frank's house and for a naughty giggle the Sex Museum!