NH Tropen - Amsterdam, Netherlands     

excellent hotel,clean and very modern,friendly staff and well located for trams,only downside was very expensive bar prices ie 9.50 euros for a wine and a beer.

I thought I knew that all NH Hotels were actually very nice and comfortable hotels, so when I booked NH Tropen, I thought it was going to be excellent – and the home page did very little to change that (not surprisingly). However, I was quite disappointed when I arrived. The reception staff was friendly enough and check-in was easy. It did occur to me, that it did not look rather worn when entering, and this was only to be confirmed. The room was quite small (and judging from the emergency exit chart on the door, they all were on my floor), and it was rather gloomy due to the heavy use of brown colours and not much lighting. It was also very cold, and it took me some time to find out that there was a hole underneight the TV set where I could reach into a thermostat and turn on some heating. A colleague staying in another room also met a very cold room. The heating was effecient but such a cold room is just not very welcoming. My room had twin beds which were not large but rather comfortable. Unlike most other hotel chains, NH actually offers a "pillow menu", giving you a choice of a number of different types of pillows. That is a nice feature, but even the standard ones were fine. The room had seperate WC and bathrooms, both very small. As a male, you would almost have to make up your mind on your use of the WC before entering to ensure that you entered the room the right way round. There did not appear to be any heating in the WC, so there was no hanging around there reading the newspaper. Bathroom was also rather small with a tiny shower niche. Not much water pressure in the shower, and the fittings were generally rather worn, but otherwise it was OK. Apart from all the regular items found in hotel bathrooms, they also had extras like a sponge, dental kit, and a comb. For regular visitors they even offered to keep your gels and liquids (like shaving gel) so that you would not have to worry about that at the airport if you were a hand baggage only traveller. That is actually quite a good idea, if you have the need. One rather weird thing was that the cupboard was located inside the bathroom. The TV set offered a selection of Dutch TV channels plus a few international ones, including BBC 1 & 2, but not a major news channel like BBC World, Sky News, or CNN. But in fact, rather than watching TV, you might simply want to enjoy the view. I was on the 9th floor, and the view from there was fantastic. Surprisingly, even on the 9th floor there was quite a lot of traffic noise from down below. Some of this noise would come from the trams, with tram line 9 operating just outside the hotel, taking you straight into the centre of Amsterdam, including to the central station and Rembrandtplein. Connexion shuttle buses are operated to and from the airport, so if you are travelling by public transport, the place is conveniently located. Parking is available, though at an extra price, and they only have a few spaces. Finally, I would say that I was quite disappointed that everything was extra and at a high cost. With rather limited parking, a charge for this is fair enough, but €17 for an incredibly dull breakfast is a rip-off. Instead of having your breakfast at the hotel, find a cafe or similar somewhere else – it is likely to be both cheaper and better. Internet access was also an extra, offered by Swisscom at a rate of €10 for one our or €17 for 24 hours. With many other hotels offering this service for free, this is really appalling.