Matthew Hamby

Review of Mercure Hotel Amsterdam City

The room was clean and comfortable, although a lit...

The room was clean and comfortable, although a little small by the standard of American hotels in which I am used to staying. Perfectly serviceable, though. The fridge worked well. The first morning there, the shower backed up and overflowed, but I told the front desk about it on my way out and everything was immediately fixed, and there was no trouble for the rest of our stay. One night, we returned home late with a take-away dinner and some drinks, which we wanted to drink chilled. I asked at the bar for some ice, and the very helpful barkeep gave me a jug full of ice to take up to my room. Everyone was very helpful, and it was a delightful stay. The one criticism is that it is a bit remote from the downtown area, and there are not many transportation options. You can walk 7 minutes to get to a train platform, and that is very helpful, but not always appealing in heavy rain, which is what we had the whole time I was there. There is a shuttle to downtown and to the airport in the mornings, but only in the morning. There's also a canal boat in the mornings that will take you to Centraal Station. If you aren't up and out before 9:00, then you have to walk to the train. This isn't a huge problem, but if you're looking to stay someplace central with easy access to the city, or if you have a bunch of luggage to carry, there are other, easier options.