Amsterdam House Hotel Eureka - Amsterdam, Netherlands 

Excellent Location... That Doesn't Match The Hotel Experience
Posted: Sat, Nov 10 2007
I stayed here for 5 nights in August & while it wasn't truly horrible, it was far less than ideal. If you are used to nice places (4-5 star) you'll want to avoid this one... and I mean, RUN. If you are however OK with lower class establishments & are only looking for a place to lay your head at night, you might have an excellent experience. From the outside, it delivers as it has a lovely facade (the pics do it justice) & is located on a lovely semi-quiet, low-traffic street. Inside however, I was not thrilled with the bare asthetics & shaggy magenta carpet, which also covered the typically winding and narrow Dutch staircase. The do have a lift however, which was a plus. I was put into room 25 which is in the back of the hotel & faces into the center of the building, so all you see is a small patch of sky up above, a sky light & tarred roof below, & windows of your neighbours all around. Many of whom talked loudly & smoked a lot well into the wee hours of the morning... This chatter plus the CONSTANT hallway traffic & ghastly-loud door-slamming made my sleep light. Forget about trying to have a lie in unless you brought earplugs & maybe a sleeping pill or 3. The room itself was dark, even despite a seemingly endless array of light fixtures to choose from. The wardrobe was spindly, the decor random & frankly kind of spooky, & the TV didn't work (only for DVD). The bed was low to the ground, lumpy, & took up a lot of the room space. I must say that it was pretty comfortable for the most part though. The bathroom was functional & I thanked God that there was plenty of hot water. The shower is annoying however because you end up getting a wet floor despite the grade in the tile, as there is no shower curtain, only the half sheath of glass to deflect the water. There was also quite a bit of grunge going on in the tile :0 Another thing I didn't like is that the reception desk only opens at eight, so when I went to check out at seven I had to walk a block to get a car to Schipol instead of having one called for me. I know, that's kind of whiny, but it was early & it just would have been nice to have some assistance. On the plus side, the staff are nice, and they have an ADORABLE little house dog. The cleaning staff were also really efficient & I always had fresh linens & towels (& Nescafe ;) ). Again, the location is unreal-good, and is right next to a lot of good Cafes & the Waterloo Plein market, etc., & just about everything is within walking distance.

Amsterdam's best kept secret
Posted: Sun, Nov 04 2007
We've stayed at The Eureka Hotel once which was fine however they also rent Houseboats and Apartments which are amazing! Walking around Amsterdam really takes it out of you and putting your feet up in a houseboat on a canal right in the middle of town is the best possible antidote to tired legs. While the less informed rest, bored in their small windowless hotel you can be watching (and in most cases waving to) other boats that pass up and down the canals, smoking some of Amsterdam's finest and relaxing. We love this place and over the years have stayed in two different apartments and five different houseboats (all only a five minute walk to everything you need) as well as the hotel which have all been good. I would suggest the brown colored boat (with the red door) opposite the hotel is the best, but all the boats are amazing and are centrally heated which is important in Amsterdam in the winter. People expecting 5 star luxury should be warned there's a few dusty corners and all the cutlery wont match but if you can get over that you'll have the time of your life.

Beware!!!!
Posted: Mon, Oct 22 2007
I stayed numerous times at the Amsterdam House Hotel, which is not only the Eureka, but a collection of apartrments and houseboats. I spent many, many dollars at this establishment, and felt that I enjoyed a good relationship with the owners. But I must say that the owner is not very honest with her tenants, as has been reported by many people here. I had a situation where I had booked a houseboat for a specified number of nights. Mind you, I had stayed with them on MANY occasions and had spent a lot of money on the hotel. I usually rented a large houseboat, even though it was only for one person, me. I had an emergency at home, and asked the owner, who then called herself Wilhemina (since then has changed her name) if it would be possible to check out early and get a refund on the 4 nights I would not be staying there. She said my credit card would be credited the amount, which made me feel very good about her and the establishment. When I returned home, after several weeks, I notice that the credit had not been posted. When I attempted to call her, she hung up the phone on me and would not even attempt to speak with me. My credit card carrier advised that I dispute the charge, but believed her instead of me. I can understand their position, but I would have thought that after so many visits and having spent so much money, and having sent numerous guests to her place, that she would have accommodated me. In short, they are very stingy people and could care less about their guests -- only getting your money. I would definitely stay at other establishments where you will be appreciated and welcomed back.