Residence Inn By Marriott Amsterdam Houthavens

I loved the view from our hotel room! Room was clean and nice. I wish we could change the temperature tho. As an omnivore, I found breakfast exceptional. Neighborhood is quiet but it is a bit far away from the city center. There's a bus every 15 minutes but it gets uncomfortable if you plan on going back to hotel late night. Also there's no convenience store nearby, the closest is Albert Heijin 2 stops away. That didn't really bother us, just facts. The only thing I found unpleasant was booking experience. It was supposed to be free cancellation but a week before my card was charged with pre authorization money. Had to call Booking to figure out where that transaction came from. I found that a bit disappointing and lied to-that’s definitely not how free cancellation works. If you want me to pre charge, do it with my approval aka write that down in your terms&conditions! Also it mentions deposit being €25 that is apparently a day.

What impressed me most was how welcoming the hotel felt. Some hotels are just a place to sleep, but this one had a warm and comfortable atmosphere from the moment I arrived. The staff were friendly, the spaces were well maintained, and the overall experience felt relaxed and enjoyable. I would happily stay here again.

At check in, Anna helped us out. What a gem of an employee! She’s young but she has that dynamism that’s very appropriate for the hospitality industry. She knew her job and she was very welcoming. John was great too at giving us some tips on how to go around the city. Alex at the bar was also great — when we dined that same day at check in, he was working by himself and juggling all the orders but he was efficient. The drawback — this team member whose name is I believe — Elva or Ilva or Ilga or Eva — could not remember exactlt but very close to these sounds. She was rude to my cousin over the popcorn. When we checked in, we saw the popcorn maker and my cousin loves popcorn so she asked Anna and John if we could make some to take back to the room. They both said yes so we did make some. The next day, as we were headed out, my cousin tried to make some popcorn but this Ilva/Ilga went over to her and asked why she’s making the popcorn. The question yes was okay but HOW IT WAS SAID was NOT OKAY. She made my cousin feel like we were stealing popcorn! We know this to be true — it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. Whoever works in the hospitality industry should know this cardinal rule. Over popcorn? I don’t care what the enthnicity is and I will never accept the excuse of “she just sounds that way because of her accent”. No that will never ever be an excuse. So tweak your speech pattern or practice your voice — anything cam be learned. I hope your training team sees this and creates programs to help with this because it is not a good look. Location was great, views spectacular, housekeeping awesome. In a cutthroat industry, the small things missed scream the loudest so a little extra mile goes a long way.

Ok hotel, the breakfast has a good view but not great choices of food. All rooms have queen beds despite the description on Booking which claims large double beds. When queried this we were given the answer that “the hotel is not responsible for what Booking puts on their site”. Really.