My buddy and I found ourselves in Amsterdam over the holidays. We are both members of the Canadian Forces and were off on our Christmas leave. After base-camping at a Macdonald's and calling a few places we eventually landed on the Hotel Arena. Along with an already reasonable price and location, they also offered us a sizable military discount. The staff was great, often asking us how our day/night was, what we had managed to see, and also providing suggestions on what to do and where to go, whenever we walked passed front desk. The building is quite contemporary, with high ceilings and modern furnishings. This also held true for the rooms. Even though we rented one of the smallest rooms available, the Studio Room, it had an awesome bathroom, decent sleeping quarters, and an upstairs loft with an additional TV and a desk. This also provided a great place to hang out, crush a few beers, watch some TV and check out some places to hit on the computer. The only thing to take note of, is there is no gym or pool, which we never really needed anyways, and the hotel is a little further from the city centre. However, it lies right on the TRAM network and getting to the hotspots is no problem at all. You can even walk it if your down for a bit of a hike. I overall had a great stay and would definitely stay there again without question.

Myself and my partner went to Amsterdam for 5 days, we stayed in the Easyjet Hotel for the first 4 nights and thought we would treat ourselves to a luxury stay for the last night. Although Hotel Arena is further out form the city (approx 2miles) the building, decor and furnishings are excellent. However the staff that we had the misfortune of encountering were unwelcoming and unhelpful and this really spoilt the stay for us. We had planned to spend our last evening in the Hotel eating at the restaurant and relaxing in the bar. After one drink in the bar we decided to travel back to the city, the atmosphere was cold and the bar staff were as welcoming and friendly as the staff at the front desk. Avoid this hotel if you like to be greeted with a smile and treated like a guest.

The location is good and not that far from the city centre. Would probably take 30-40min walk, but trams are quite good and run every 7-10mins. The staff was very nice and helpful. The room was excellent as it had the balcony work area. Brakfast was very rich and delicious allthough it was expensive.
The hotel needs a freshening up. Slow internet.

The hotel is near Artis and the Tropenmuseum and is near public transport which will take you directly in to the city center. The hotel is in a beautiful building which use to be an orphanhouse. The interior is modern and they do have spacious rooms with high ceilings.
Breakfast buffet is good and includes champagne and fresh fruits.