Review: InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam

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Towards the middle of last month Joanna and I took a quick 3-night trip to Amsterdam courtesy of an IHG Rewards promotion. Aside from really wanting to see the city, the Anne Frank house and the Van Gogh museum I was also keen to visit Amsterdam to check out the InterContinental Amstel – I’d heard good things.

The TripAdvisor ratings suggested it should be pretty good….

….and comments I’d read on other travel sites also suggested the hotel was definitely worth a visit. So what was it actually like?

Cost

For our trip the hotel was free for all 3 nights thanks to the IHG promotion I mentioned earlier but, if you were to pay with cash, be prepared to pay quite a bit!

As things stand, the “best available rates” for an Executive Room with City View (entry level room) fall into the following ranges:

Fall – $420 (£272/€376) per night to $645 (£420/€580) per night.

Winter – $404 (£262/€362) per night to $495 (£322/€445) per night

Spring – $500 (£324/€447) per night to $593 (£385/€532) per night

Summer – $525 (£342/€472) per night to $590 (£385/€532) per night.

The prices include local tax (6%) but do not include a 5.5% service charge which, presumably, is levied at the hotel.

Awards & Availability

If you were to use IHG Rewards points for your booking a standard room would set you back 50,000 points per night and that includes all taxes and fees – the 50,000 points covers the total cost of the room.

Award availability looks fantastic at this property – I couldn’t find a single night between now and the end of the calendar (August) which didn’t offer an award redemption. This could make it a particularly tempting choice for anyone looking to use the free nights they pick up from the IHG “Accelerate” promotion that’s just started.

Location

The InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam is located south-east of the city centre and within walking distance of just about everything you may want to visit in Amsterdam. Naturally, just how far you can walk will vary from person to person but, with the exception of getting to/from the airport, we didn’t need to use the very good local public transport at all – and it rained!

Overall Amsterdam is a very walkable city and the area immediately to the west of the hotel has some really beautiful architecture and sights to see. If you don’t feel like walking or if the weather isn’t the best there’s a metro station 2 minutes walk away from where you catch a train to the central station (2 stops).

First Impressions & Check-In

Despite the rain that greeted us as we exited the metro station and walked towards the hotel, it was immediately obvious that this wasn’t a bad area to be in. The sidewalks are wide and lined with trees and, as we approached the hotel, we could see the grandeur of the building and the bridge next to which it stands.

This photo of the InterContinental Amstel was taken from the opposite direction to the one from which we arrived…..but hopefully you get the idea!

A we walked into the grand foyer of the hotel were were greeted by a smiling member of staff who ushered us over to a desk where we were checked in.

The view as you walk through the doors of the hotel

The foyer from above – the check-in desk is at the bottom left

The whole process was very quick and we were being escorted up to our room (by the same member of staff) within 10 minutes.

The Room

The room was a very good size – around 320 sqft or 30 sqm – if a little blue thanks to the Delft-style decor they’ve chosen:

I can’t honestly say that Delft is my thing but, luckily, it wasn’t everywhere….

The room came with a complimentary bottle of water (replaced each day) and a complimentary coffee maker and coffee…

Unfortunately the bottles to the right of the coffee maker were anything but complimentary!

There was the usual type of mini bar with the usual “you’ve got to be kidding me!” prices….

….and the in-room safe was wide enough to hold an 11″ MacBook air (you may struggle with anything wider).

The bathroom was spacious and came with separate bathtub and shower – which I loved because showers in old-style bathtubs tend to be pretty pathetic.

The bathtub was huge (the picture doesn’t do it justice)….

….and it came with it’s own “party-piece”….

We were actually warned about this by the staff member who showed us to our room. Apparently there have been more than one or two guests who didn’t believe a tub of that size could be filled that quickly and they left the water running for a bit too long – the resulting flooding took some clearing up!

As well as being a good size, the bathroom came with a good array of toiletries…..

and robes….

There was a welcome letter waiting for us in the room which outlined the benefits we would receive (Joanna has basic “status” with IHG so all IHG Rewards members would receive these):

And there was one final thing I found in the room which I thought was pretty cool – a jogging map of the area:

I should probably add that I didn’t try out any of the routes – I have much better things to do with my time than run around a city – but I’m sure this will appeal to a good many guests who have yet to discover the joys of motorised transport 🙂

View

We had an entry-level room so we weren’t expecting anything at all – which is just as well because the view wasn’t much to write home about:

But, then again, we weren’t in Amsterdam to look out of our hotel window so it really didn’t matter.

Connectivity

As you may have seen from the welcome letter (above), as IHG Rewards members we had complimentary wifi throughout the hotel and, while I didn’t do a speed test, it seemed fast enough for our needs (email, surfing the web for restaurants etc…).

Dining

We only ate breakfast in the hotel so I can’t comment on any of the other meals that are served, but if they’re of a similar standard then they’ll be just fine – if a bit on the pricey side.

Breakfast is served on the lower ground floor in a room that sits at water-level (the river Amstel is just outside). On a nice day breakfast can be taken on the terrace but, as we were faced with a rainy few days, we settled for a decent view from the inside.

The hotel only serves one type of breakfast but it encompasses just about everything you can want – it’s a buffet with a choice of cooked-to-order meals all for $40 (£26.50/€36.50) (unless you want to add Caviar or Truffles which will cost you more).

Clearly this is anything but cheap and you’re hit extra hard if, like us, you tend not to take up the Champagne which is included in the price. Nevertheless, the buffet selection was very nice and the cooked-to-order Eggs Benedict I had were done to perfection.

Service was always given with a smile and the staff seemed genuinely happy/cheerful/friendly whenever we interacted with them – it got the day off to a good, if slightly expensive start.

Other Hotel Amenities

The hotel has an indoor swimming pool on the lower ground floor which opens up on to a terrace outside – no pictures of this because, frankly, taking pictures of people in a swimming pool feels more than a little creepy. You’ll just have to take my word for it that it looked nice.

The terrace outside the swimming pool was by no means the only outdoor space the hotel has – they seem to have terraces everywhere…..

….and on more than one level….

It was such a shame that the weather wasn’t a little bit nicer for our visit because any of those terraces would have been great to sit out on, with a cup of coffee, while watching the world go by on the river – it’s a great location.

It even looks like a nice place to sit out of an evening:

Inside, the hotel has a number of super-comfortable lounge areas, most with great views of the river, where guests can have lunch or just a tea/coffee/wine etc….

The main hotel bar is on the ground floor and it’s surprisingly modern compared to the decor of the rest of the hotel:

I spotted another bar on the lower ground floor but it didn’t appear to be open while we were there so I’m not sure what its purpose in life is.

We didn’t have a drink at the hotel so I can’t say how cheap or, more probably, expensive the bar is.

Overall/Conclusion

This is a very, very nice hotel. It looks great during the day….

….and it looks pretty nice at night too….

The staff are friendly, helpful and, during our stay, always smiling – that often makes the difference between a good stay and a great stay.

The rooms are spacious and well appointed and the location is perfect – any closer to the centre and you run the risk of crowded, narrower streets.

While I wouldn’t pay the rack rate to stay at this hotel that’s only because I wouldn’t pay that rack rate at any hotel – it’s not a slight on the InterContinental Amstel. I love the hotel but I find it hard to justify that sort of outlay on accommodation when I spend almost all of my day out and exploring the city.

However, from an IHG award point of view, I’d be surprised if you could find many better ways of spending your points. This has got to be one of the best places to spend reward points or free nights from IHG promotions.

If you plan on visiting Amsterdam then this hotel should definitely be on your short list. Whether you pay with points, free nights or cash you will almost certainly have a good stay – it’s just up to you to decide which works best for you.