We stayed at the hotel for 6 day on new year´s eve. First, the localization is top notch. Walking distance from all the attractions in the center of the city. Plenty of shops and restaurants on the neighbourhood.
The staff is quite kind and helpful, with kudos to our dear Laura, always with the best restaurant´s tips. Thank you, Laura.
But yeah, the hotel needs renovation. The instalations are quite old, the room from the last century and the elevator takes a really good time to go up and down. A really good time.
Our room on the 5th floor was quite small, with no space to sit besides the bed. But the view was quite nice, overlooking the canals.
Breakfast was OK but the restaurant has a nice view of the canal.
So yes, I recommend if you dont go with great expectations.

My boyfriend and I stayed for 3 nights over the new year and had had a terrible experience. Firstly the room was small and dated. We were also at the front on the second floor and could hear pasers by conversations on the street so loudly they could have been in the room with us! The mattress was uncomfortable and there is no free wifi. We would not stay here again and would never recommend it.... Choose another hotel!!

We stayed at the Doelen in December. The building is lovely overlooking the canal, First impression as you walk through the door was cozy and pretty. The staff were friendly.
Our room was a little on the small side and slightly dated, However, it was kept very clean and the bed was comfortable, which, to me, is all that matters.
At the end of the day, when you take a city break you spend most of the time out of the hotel walking around. It is in such a fantastic location, easy access to the trams, close to rembrandt plein, about 10 minutes on the tram to Dam square or Leidse plein, so close to the flower market and lots of lovely cafes.
I loved my time here, would definately reccommend.

Stayed for several days in August 2011. The hotel is in a great neighborhood, right on one of the canals and within walking distance to a lot of the sights. The building itself has an old school charm, grand staircases and art deco details. The rooms are fairly comfortable ( if somewhat dated) and are clean and have nice views. The staff are friendly and accommodating (well, most Dutch are). There is a small business lounge where wi-fi is free, otherwise you have to pay for an access. Breakfast seemed a bit pricey at 19 euro a pop so we ended up going to Coffee& Co. branch which is right next door ( the doors are interconnected) and that worked really well for us since we only want coffee & piece of pastry for breakfast. There were some drunks outside one night, singing into the morning hours and you could really hear it, the windows are old and don't have much in terms of insulation. But I would probably stay there again, you have a lot of nice shops and restaurants in the neighborhood and it isn't too far from the airport either ( we spent about 40 euro on a taxi from Schiphol) so overall a good experience.