Trip report: Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam

100   Recommended
Room 54 , Junior Suite
September 9, 2016 by EXPERT

 Map | 2 Reviews | 100% Recommended
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Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam
 Map | 2 Reviews | 100% Recommended

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Room 54

Junior Suite

Liked:
Location
Service
Food
Amenities
Room
Stats
Room
Junior Suite

I wanted to do a daytrip to Amsterdam. While I always stayed at the Amstel before I wanted to try something new this time. First I liked to try the Conservatorium, but for a 1 night stay I wanted a hotel near to the center. The Waldorf is located at the Herengracht, the most exclusive Gracht in Amsterdam and only 1 kilometre from the Dam. Also I liked to eat in a Michelin-starred restaurant. While nothing is around Conservatorium, Waldorf has a 2 star restaurant. So in the end I went with the Waldorf.

Booking

Normally I book through a Virtuoso-agent or in rare cases FHR. Waldorf had a HHonors sale which had significant lower rates than every other option. A Grand Premier room was 451 € with breakfast, it was 685 € with FHR. No other rooms available with this sale.

I was HHonors Gold before via my Amex card. At the moment HHonors offers a status match, so I got instant Diamond-status for the stay. I also opted online for paid upgrades for a Canal View room (65 €) and a Junior Suite (75 €) before getting Diamond.

Pre-arrival

They claim you get a dedicated concierge to pre-arrange your needs for the stay. In the end you communicate with one member of staff. My requests were handeled promtly and to my satisfaction.

Check In

We arrived early at the hotel and the doorman took promptly over our car and lagguage. From outside you can see that the hotel is composed from several houses.

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We were greated at reception and the procedure was efficient. They offered water and hot towells. Something new for me was a selection of 4 parfums which you could choose from for turn down service.

The entrance is not big but nicely done.

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After this we were escorted to our room and got a short introduction to the hotels history and ameneties. Highlight is the Daniel Marot staircase which is impressive.

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The rear part of the lobby offers some seating areas. You find a lot of flowers and over the day the offer macaroons and small cakes for free.

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In the basement is the Vault Bar, the Goldfinch Brasserie

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and the Librije´s Zusje. You also find some art in the floors and the SPA.

Room

Our Junior Suite was on the first floor which is the Bel Etage. The rooms have the highest ceilings from all floors.Our room had a small entrance room with a big closet. The room itself had a king bed (it seemed to be relative small), a coach, a fake fireplace and an armchair. There was also a small second room which housed a desk and the minibar.

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Birthday cake:

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In front of the bathroom were 2 more closets which offered a lot of space. The bathroom offered 2 sinks, a mirror with built-in TV (no reception), bathtub, shower and separated toilet. The ameneties were from Salvatore Ferragamo.

1_11.JPG1_12.JPG1_13.JPGThe suite had canal view.

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Garden

The hotel offers a nice courtyard garden wich is the biggest in Amsterdam. It offers nice seating areas, art and a little pavillion.

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Pool

The SPA-area is in the basement and offers a nice pool (warm water), steam room and a sauna.

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Dining

We ate at the Librije´s Zusje, which has 2 Michelin stars. I decided to wear a dark suit and I was terrbible overdressed. The only guest with tie. The highlight was some kind of rastafari (After a long inner process I decided not to publish the picture).

They offered 2 menus (one vegetarian, one with meat) with 8 courses. We decided to take a pescetarian menu which was priced adequate with 148,00 €. Water was a flat at 7,50 €  Service was attentive and well trained.

The food was of high quality. While I liked most of the "normal" dishes I didn´t really like the deserts. They combined sweets with hearty ingredients like tomatoes or balsmic.

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Breakfast

Breakfast was served in the restaurant. As usual it contained of a small buffet and an a la carte menu. The selection was relative small, the quality OK. The offerings were more or less standard. Only 5 kinds of cheese, 1 fish (samon), some pastries etc. No poffertjes or other Dutch specialities. Not a bad breakfast, but also nothing great. On the other hand I never experienced a great breakfast in Amsterdam.....

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Overall

It was a pleasant stay. The location is great and the hard product nice. Service was without any flaw.

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