Hotel Alfa Plantage - Amsterdam, Netherlands     

I stayed here for three nights with my girlfriend and had a good experience. We got a good deal on the price of a double room and so it turned out to be cheap and cheerful. The hotel staff were very helpful and friendly. There was no breakfast included, but there are one or two nice bars/restaurants nearby. The hotel was very clean and rooms were cleaned every morning, including a change of towels etc. We slept in on occasion and the cleaners didn't bother us which was great- they just knocked on the door and gave us some clean towels. We were in a third floor room with a window on the back of the hotel, so there was very little street noise etc. and we got three nights of undisturbed sleep! On the slightly negative side, the hotel lift fitted only two, maybe three, people at a time. The room size wasn't bad, however the en suite was extremely tight with the shower, toilet and sink literally on top of each other. The hotel window has very little restrictions to prevent falling, so a young family might want to request a room on the first floor. The hotel is located in a nice area. It is a bit away from the centre of amsterdam (I'd say a 1/2 hour walk at least to Dam square), but there is a tram stop rite outside the hotel. Take any tram going to central station to get into the city centre (takes less than 10 mins). To get back, take tram number 14 or 9. The trams are cheap (1.60 euro for the whole day) and run until 12.30 . Taxis from the city centre wil cost around 8-10 euro. Watch out for the hidden taxes added onto the price quoted by the hotel. In amsterdam, there is a 4 or 5% city tax charge and another 4 or 5% bank charge if you pay by credit card. In all, I'd recommend the alfa hotel.

My husband and I stayed in this hotel for 4 days. The hotels in Amsterdam are relatively expesive, considering what they offer. I cannot say that the hotel was bad, but in my opinion it's not a good value for money. The rooms are too small, the bathroom also, but they are clean enough (to an acceptable level). The elevator though, is really narrow, we barely managed to carry our luggage. Another disadvantage is that no breakfast is included in the price, so you may have breakfast at the cafe' across the street, which is ok. The staff at the front desk was extremely kind, and spoke perfectly English. The greater advantage is that just outside the hotel, there is a tram station, which takes you directly to the center of Amsterdam. The itineraries are very frequent and there is a tram service until 23:30 p.m. (last tram that leaves from the city center). As far as the area in which the hotel is situated, I must admit that it's really nice. It's near the Botanic Garden (lots of greenery!), with large streets and nice buildings. To sum up, the hotel was average (maybe below average) and considering the 150 Euros per night that we paid, I cannot say that it's worth it. I think you can find lots of other hotels in Amsterdam with the same price (maybe lower), which are much better than the Alfa Plantage.