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Room 445 , Exec Room
October 14, 2018 by

 Map | 3 Reviews | 100% Recommended
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INK Hotel Amsterdam MGallery by Sofitel
 Map | 3 Reviews | 100% Recommended

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Room 445

Exec Room

Liked:
Location
Service
Food
Amenities
Room
Stats
Room
Exec Room

Stayed here on a cash stay for 3 nights while attending a conference. Booked this hotel to try something new in this great city and because the rates were reasonable for a multi-night stay.

Definitely would recommend it and stay again.

Location

The hotel is conveniently located in the city centre and close to Centraal station as well as many tourist destinations but without the noise and traffic of other locations.

You could walk to the hotel easily from Centraal, but also take the tram or metro if coming from elsewhere. There were tram stops just outside the hotel for a few lines and also Rokin and Centraal station stops for the Metro (which happened to also go to the RAI convention centre I needed every 6 minutes).

Map: (courtesy and copyright of Google Maps)

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Check In

I arrived quite early and was expecting to simply drop off my bag and then come back later to check-in and get the room but was very pleasantly surprised to hear my room was ready and that I could get it immediately. (this was around 12 noon). ^ 

There is a separate check-in desk for Accor status guests and I used that desk as the other main desk was busy and was warmly greeted as a Gold member and the staff member really was kind and friendly. Again a great way to start a stay and set the tone. I was informed of the hotel amenities and asked if I wished to buy breakfast in advance (which I did) and soon on my way.

The reception is low key and really just a tressle table on the left as you enter the hotel on the ground floor with the accor status desk just behind that to the left as well.

I quite liked the design touches of the hotel (it was a former newpaper offices) and there were nods to that past everywhere in the hotel. The forecast for the coming days was always out and placed in manual typewriters for example as if it was just freshly typed. ^

The bar is to the right after check in along with the restaurant for breakfast  or evening meals. There is an indoor informal seating area after reception and an internal small courtyard outdoors for those wanting some fresh air but less city noise. Plenty of glass ceilings and windows kept the place bright and interesting to explore.

I had booked a superior room (one level up from entry) and received a two level upgrade (greatly appreciated) to an exec room (29 m2 instead of 22 m2 and some other details that can be found on the website like a wireless Bose speaker, alarm clock, etc...). I'm not sure why I received the upgrade but certainly apprecaited it and especially without having to ask for one. ^

Room

I'll let the pictures do most of the talking for the room. It was a nice boutique style room and I loved it. Enough space to not feel cramped but quirky enough to be interesting for a few days, reflecting Amsterdam in general!

The room was on the 4th floor (of 5) and facing the main street (although one could hear some tram noise during the day, the reduced frequency at night meant I didn't actually hear anything when I did come back to the room (admittedly quite late around midnight each night). The lifts require the RFID room keycard to be used to call the lift (but not to select a floor once it does appear or is called). There were two lifts and I did not see any queues during my stay for the lifts (or anywhere else for that matter).

The room layout was nice with a square footprint, excepting the stairs to get into the room. The bathroom was a bit small and two people would have to take turns or at least be in different parts of the bathroom if using it at the same time.

The room was in decent condition but some bits were starting to show a bit of age (nothing that needed maintenance yet though). The only issue I had (and reported upon leaving) was that the shower door didn't seem to stay closed and would open while inside...it didn't leak much and so wasn't a big issue but hopefully they fix that before the next guest.

I liked the Gold amenities they brought up later in the day (some drinks, the ever present waffles, a small bag of chocolates in the form of letters and a small jar of honey. ^ They additionally provide a cloth carrier bag for people to take home as a souvenir of the hotel stay that was on the bed and that was a nice touch as well.

Pictures;
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Dining

I ate breakfast here each day and found it great. The staff were wonderful, the food great and the variety also excellent. The majority of people were not English speaking and that seems to have brought more diversity to the food offering and quality in my view. There was plenty of hot options and eggs cooked to order (free of charge) with many cold items as well. Coffees were made by a dedicated bar staff member on a proper machine and juices were also fresh with bits and not from concentrate.

The atmosphere was relaxed in the restaurant and it was always well visited but not heaving. ^

I also had a couple of G & T's in the bar the first night I was there and tried the house cocktail using the Accor drink voucher they gave me at check in that is called the G & T Ink cocktail. It was lovely but too sweet to have more than one! They finish the cocktail off by using a old fashioned ink stylus to write a few letters or symbols into the foam with some food colouring (I'm guessing) and it was a nice touch to the history of the place. The price for a G & T with premium Gin and tonic water was a very reasonable 8 Euro IIRC (I did have a few!). ^

Pictures of the restaurant, bar area and also the fresh herb garden they used each day with the freshly prepared eggs or other dishes:

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Service

Service was excellent throughout the hotel with anyone I interacted with.

Turndown service was done in the room when I didn't have the DND sign up and water / chocolate provided as well. ^

 

Overall

Highly recommended, I'll definitey stay again and the rates were very competitive to other mid level hotels and certainly less expensive than the excellent Sofitel, however, the value for money was better here than the Sofitel in my view.

Safe travels.

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