BOOKING:
We booked a double room for me and my partner via Expedia. The hotel seemed very good value and the reviews for this hotel were mainly good.


LOCATION:
The location was perfect. We walked to the hotel from the train station when we arrived, this was an easy walk but probably best to get a tram if you have trouble walking or children. There is a tram stop just outside the hotel so that would also be an easy convenient way of getting to the hotel. I chose the hotel as it looked like it was within walking distance of most places and it was. It was just about 20minutes to the very centre of town, with plenty of sights, cafes, bars and things to do in that distance. You walk past the Portuguese Synagogue, Jewish Historical Museum and Rembrandts House before you get to Waag Square.

The hotel is on a lovely quite road and opposite the Artis Zoo area. There are cafes and bakeries on this road as well as a tattoo museum. I’m not a very active person but found I could do lots of walking and the route into the centre of Amsterdam was not a trek!


SERVICE & HOTEL:
The staff were very polite, welcoming and well mannered, also very well dressed. Checking in was easy and straight forward. We were also given a hotel gift bag containing pens, sweets, lip balm, toothbrushes and the hotel’s own quick guide too Amsterdam. We were not expecting that and it was a nice touch. We had a swipe card as our key which worked every time without any problems.

The hotel was smart, modern and elegant as well as warm cosy and welcoming on the cold January night that we checked in. We did not have breakfast but I’d imagine it was going to be good. There were vending machines with hot drinks, crisps and beer for anyone coming in late and needing some refreshments. This was handy. The beds were made and towels changed daily and the cleaning/maid staff were very friendly and polite.

We were also allowed to leave our luggage at the hotel in the luggage room all day. This service was free of charge where many hotels would charge you. Check out time was also 12pm Midday…which was wonderful!!!

PLEASE NOTE: We had to pay a City Tax upon leaving the hotel but that is the same in ALL Amsterdam hotels so we were expecting to pay it. Be aware of this as it is not the hotel being bad it is a normal tax that must be paid. I have seen some bad reviews about this but I think they are by people who have not done their research, or checked their booking information properly.


ROOM:
We were in a room on the 3rd floor, there was a convenient lift for us to use.

The room was very modern, sleek and city style. They had artwork/décor to compliment the city and the headboard was engraved with the shapes of the Amsterdam city skyline. The room was small but with plenty of space to get around the bed and for our suitcases. The one wall was taken up with windows giving us a lovely view of the houses and gardens behind the hotel.

The wardrobe was spacious and had an electronic safe that worked really well. There were tea/coffee making facilities and a flat screen tv that had a personalised welcome greeting on it when we came into the room.

The room was bright, airy, clean smelling and modern. Everything we needed was there and everything was in full working order.


BED:
It was a double done continental style with 2 mattresses together and separate duvets. There were lots of pillows to make the bed nice and to use as many as you required. The sheets were very clean, warm and soft. The bed was incredibly comfortable and I looked forward to sleeping in it every night.


BATHROOM:
The washroom was small but perfect. It was laid out like a continental wet room, where the shower is pretty much in the room. This is normal for the continent. There was also space under the sink for bathroom things. There was also complimentary soap, shower caps and shower gel. The shower was nice and hot and powerful. There was an electric shaving point and a hairdryer too.


OVERALL:
Lots of the reviews were poor because the rooms were small, I think that this is completely unfounded as the size does not make the room. Some reviews suggested that it would not be suitable for a couple to stay. This is also wrong as we had a lovely stay! I’d say this hotel is perfect for families (…as the zoo is across the road), and for couples as it is nice and quiet but close to everywhere you need to go. The hotel also looks very suitable for people on business as the rooms were well equipped with internet points, power, stationary and the hotel has a conference room.

I thought maybe when we got there we would need to catch a tram into town but actually we were so close to the centre that we really couldn’t justify a tram. We walked to Vondel Park, Jordaan, the Red Light District, Oosterpark, Leidsplein with no problems…even though the weather was bad we still managed to do lots of exploring!

I will definately stay at Eden Lancaster on my next trip to Amsterdam. I can’t wait to come back it was just lovely. Thank you to all the lovely staff!

Pleasant on face value, until you are confronted by a buffoon male receptionist with the hospitality capabilities of KGB operative. A few issues over pre payment of the rooms via laterooms.com, an issue that could have been resolved easily if it were not for him being abrupt and diverting from our conversation to answer the telephone - pretty lousy customer service.

One of our rooms was fine, well equipped and spacious. The other room was half the size - a pretty severe inconsistency when both parties are paying the same price.

Outside our rooms on the radiator, we found a key card, perhaps left by a member of staff - One of my colleagues thinking it was for her room unlocked her door, however then found her own key in her pocket. On further probing we discovered that this key could unlock both doors. Leaving a master key lying around outside peoples rooms is a pretty big security issue. Not massively impressed.

My other colleague popped down to find a manager, and was informed by said KGB operative that he was the manager, a statement that he quickly retracted on further questioning. Pretending to be a manager to a guest?! Mad!

Apart from these little incidents we had a very pleasant night out in the city - marred only by being woken up at 11.00am by a housekeeper asking if the room was vacant. Clearly not. Have you no system of checking?? (We were informed by the KGB operative/Receptionist/masquerading Manager that check out was mid day.)

On an upwards note they did store our bags for us during the day.

Bit iffy to be honest

The reception staff were lovely, our room was cleaned and we were only staying for two nights! (we had clean towels without requesting them.) The room itself was a good size, very clean, had plenty of space and was styled nicely. The beds were so comfortable and it was nice and warm in the room morning and night. The bathroom was spotless too with a good hair-dryer and a shower that stayed nice and warm.

We were only a fifteen minute walk from the city centre and Dam Square, we only had to use the tram (that stops outside every ten minutes) on our last day instead of carrying our cases to centraal station, otherwise everything is in walking distance and it's such a picturesque and exciting place to walk around!

I would definitely recommend this hotel and would stay here again.

just got back from a 3 night stay.
on arrival the reception guests we helpful pleasant, good location right near tram stop and it is quiet number 9 takes you to most places.
the hotel is small and so are the rooms, our room was fairly clean but the carpet was filthy although it had been hoovered it had really old stains,
bathroom was tiny you can barely sit on the toliet without touchiing the wall, shower had a curtain would of looked nicer with a glass screen considering there is no bath which didnt bother me.
we had to change rooms due to smell in the bathroom as it smelt like sewers it was awful, the next room was ok still had the dirty carpet though.
the rooms definatly need refurishing,
the safe didnt work and was told it would be sorted next morning whixh didnt happen.
free to use the hotels internet which was handy and the staff were nice and approachable.
cannot comment on the food as we never ate there.
be careful aS there is a small charge at the end of your stay which is about 9.00 euro which we didnt know about.