De Mallemoolen - Amsterdam, Netherlands     

My friends and I enjoyed our stay here very much. We walked about 5 minutes from Amsterdam Centraal with our backpacks, checked in and climbed up the slightly treacherous (but doable- even with big backpacks) staircase to our 5-person room. The breakfast was decent and free so we didn't complain. There were lots of other young people/students staying there and it was easy to meet your next door neighbors since the hotel only has three rooms on each floor. It's located spitting distance from the Red Light District but we never felt uncomfortable or unsafe at night, or during the day for that matter. The many sex shops may make some uncomfortable but it all depends. It did get a little noisy outside but it wasn't anything a good pair of earplugs couldn't handle. All in all we enjoyed our stay very much.

We arrived at the hotel early afternoon. Checked in next door at the Koopermoolen and recieved a genuinely warm welcome from the concierge (Michael, I think?). He immediately made our children welcome and gave us a terrific first impression of the city. Upon realising we were a family he also upgraded us to an ensuite room (I didn't know we weren't in one!). After negotiating the stairs, (wow!), we entered a smallish but quite neat and tidy room containing double bed, bunk beds, TV and ensuite. Not the Hilton, but definitely not a flea-pit either! The position of the hotel is great, right in among restaurants, bars, cafe's. You're close to Centraal Station, Dam Square, shopping etc, and yes, right next to the Red Light Area, but not in it! This hotel suited our needs perfectly and whilst there were probably a few uncomfortable "cover your eyes kids!" moments, these were far outweighed by the positives. For a budget bed, right in the heart of Amsterdam, you wouldn't go past the Mallemoolen!