Gay Hotel the Golden Bear - Amsterdam, Netherlands 

OK but wouldn't rush back
Posted: Sun, Jun 08 2008
We had Room 17, a double, at the top of the building. It was clean but on the day of arrival and the following night we were disturbed by the vibration of loud dance type music permeating through from the apartment that was in the adjoining building. We mentioned it to the guy on reception who offered a twin bedded room on the front of the building instead, but he did say that we would possibly here the street noise there. We decided to stay put. The stairs are the steepest and the narrowest of any hotel I have been in, and you will struggle with a large case. The staff at this hotel are courteous and helpful. The breakfast area is a bit claustrophobic, sitting right on top of other hotel guests, and the continental breakfast served is uninspiring. We paid nearly ?95 UK ($190 US) for a double room for two of us, including breakfast, which I thought was overpriced but then Amsterdam is quite expensive generally. Amsterdam is totally gay friendly so you do not necessarily need to opt for a gay hotel.

Not Worth it at All
Posted: Fri, May 30 2008
I cut this place a lot of slack when I booked, after reading reviews by others. It made sense to me: An old building in Amsterdam would be very different from a Holiday Inn style hotel in North America and perhaps the reviewers had been too demanding. But when I got to the Golden Bear, I wanted to have my head examined. While its amenities and facilities were decidedly pre-war, its prices were posted in modern day Euros. And for modern day Euros I need a few modern things: - Staircases which have been modernized and do not require a full grown and fit man to be fearful for his step and ability to move luggage up four floors of the smallest, narrowest, most out of date staircase imaginable. - When paying in modern Euros, I also need a a bathroom which is at least as large and as comfortable as an airplane's lavatory. I was prepard to share a bathroom. No big deal. But I was not prepared for a tiny closet of a room with an inaccessible sink. Worst of all, the only towel in this bathroom was a single white cloth hanging uninvitingly. Yes, I know this is an odler building in an older city. But since they are charging modern Euros for this heap, there is no reason they couldn't renovate and bring their facilities into the 21 century as I saw done at other small hotels in town. Particularly one right across the street. Not only were their stairs and bathrooms rebuilt to modern standards, they were polite, friendly and helpful! This was not the case at Golden Bear. With the exception of the very helpful and friendly David, the others were humorless, unplesant, unhelpful, unwelcoming and totally devoid of a sense of hospitality. Breakfast: A joke. Toast and cold coffee with some cheese and meats in a room which reminded me of a cafe I once saw in East Berlin. Same charming ambience! Noise: From the next room, constant. Housekeeping: On two of my four days, it never happened. When I complained, it was looked after only grudgingly. Smells: The hotel literature warns that clients caught smoking will be asked to leave. However, I noticed that the innkeepers would often be smoking outside on the stoop with the hotel door wide open. Of course, this caused cigarette smoke to waft into the hotel and drift up the stairs right into my room. I guess their kitchen is also out of date. Because when they cooked bacon that smell also wafted right up through the house and into my room. Cleanliness: If I ignore the toe nails on the carpet when I checked into my room or the mess on the walls next to the in-room basin, I guess it was ok. This place has no right to be in business in 2008. If they don't have enough respect for their guests to update, then they really should get into a different line of work; or be honest that they run a dump while charging modern prices.