The professional photos of this "hotel" are faked. These are not of the Armada "hotel!!" When we first arrived we were given a room on the fourth floor. We had booked and paid for a twin room and were given a tiny double. We complained at reception and were told that there were no other rooms available that night and would have to wait until the next day. The next day, we took our luggage down to reception and were told to leave it in the corner and it would be put in to our new room once it had been cleaned. We were out all day and when we arrived back at 11pm our luggage was in exactly the same place. This room was the reception, the dining area and an area to sit so we are really quite lucky that our cases were still there!!!!

Our new twin room was even worse than the first. It was just as small and there was no way of sepearating the beds. It had mould on the ceiling, stains on the walls, holes in the towels and sheets, and was also right above the front door. As a result all you could hear was the music and noise from the pub next door (which has a large outside area where about 40 people a night gather until about midnight). When we tried complaining, the man on reception told us that our new room was a twin and that was the best we could expect. I tried arguing and said it was not worth the money and he actually agreed with me. It is never a good thing when the staff recognise how rubbish the hotel is!!

As for breakfast..........
We had breakfast once and i would not recommend it. Disgusting. And it is taken away at 10am sharp so if you start making a cup of tea just before then, then do not expect to be able to have milk with it!!!

I would not call this building a hotel. It is a hostel!!! And not a good hostel!! It is dirty and stuck in the 80s and is also a death trap. I think the idea is that the bathroom is a wet room but when the water from the shower covers the entire floor and the stream covers every inch of the wall (including the hair dryer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) then you are taking a risk in this hotel.

I wish i had read more reviews before i stayed in this hovel because then i would not out of pocket of 700 euro for 4 night!! (not to mention a 5% tourist tax and 3% chargs for using a credit card which they also add on!)

It has even put me off visiting Amsterdam again.

I urge all rational people not to stay in this "hotel"

I don't know how this hotel received two stars in the first place! It's the worst hotel we ever stayed! It was tiny, torn, dirty, and expensive! The only good thing is its location - 5 mintues walk from Rembrandtsplein.

The room we stayed in had two twin beds pushed together - one higher than the other. The blankets were so thin and had lots of holes in it! The mattresses were so uncomfortable that I woke up every moring with a back, shoulder and neck pain! There was only 1 night stand with a telephone on it, and only a single chair on the other side of the bed. We didn't dare to sit on that chair because it barely could stand itself!

No wall or any protection separating between the toilet and shower - so the bathroom floor was mostly flooded. The exhaust fan didn't work because the steam stayed in the bathroom for the whole night when we kept the bathroom door closed!

One last thing I have to mention that's absolutely ridiculous and amusing too was when we asked for the final bill with the exact rate for each night we stayed there, the staff simply replied "it's impossible"! :-P There only listed the rate for the 1st night we stayed there, and apparently, the remaining two nights were more expensive. We were told the rate for the remaining two nights verbally, but "it's impossible" to be printed on the final bill. They could only print the rate for the 1st night and then a total figure. BTW, we could never add up to the total figure with the rates they told us verbally! After arguing with the staff trying to figure out how he came up with the total amount, he manually did some calculation with a calculator and hand-correted some figures on the bill, then told us we didn't pay them enough! WHAT A JOKE!

We were two friends with a very tight budget for an hotel.
Pros - The location is excellent, just a short walk from Rembrandtsplein and it overlooks a beautiful canal. The staff service was good and helpful (except for when we asked them to fix the TV - they didn'teven offer to send someone to check whats wrong with it). Breakfast was just fine for me, i enjoyed it!
We requested and early check and we got it.
Basically if you're just looking for a place to sleep it's pretty much OK.

Cons - The elevator is a joke, no self respecting hotel, as cheap as it may be, should feel comfortable with an elevator like the one the hotel has. It's tiny and looks very fragile (imagine yourself with luggage) and you have to HOLD the button to call the elevator until it reaches your level, and when you're inside the elevator you have to HOLD THE BUTTON AGAIN until you reach your floor. If you stop pressing the elevator stops and the lights are turned off. That's scary!!

We requested a twin room and got a double room. Our room was TINY. When we got to the hotel we were told we got "a room with a view" even though we didn't ask for it, and apparently the view is a compromise for size. We could hardly move in the room, don't even mention a closet so our bags caught the the little room left (which was none).

Transportation - the hotel mentions tram #4 is right outside but the tram was undergoing construction and we were dependent on the Rembrandtsplein tram lines.

The hotel overall is very pleasant. Unfortunately, the standard of hotels in general in Amsterdam is rather low. While we were there, there was an article that said Amsterdam was voted to have the dirtiest hotels in Europe overall. This is mostly bc people are so into the "uniqueness" of it (parties, weed, prostitution), that they don't mind inadequate hotels and the standard gets lowered.

+ This hotel is a 15 minute or so walk to the central station.
+ It's a great location overall and there is a canal right outside. (I'm not sure how many rooms have a view of it though).
+ Breakfast is buffet style and starts at 7:00 a.m.: rolls, salami, ham & cheese, orange juice, milk, two types of cereal, coffee and tea.
+The people downstairs are friendly; always available to answer questions plus they take your key before you leave and return it when you get back. *Although one day we were leaving early for a day trip and even though the guy had taken out all the breakfast he said we coulldn't have any because it wasn't 7:00 yet. He was also pouring himself juice while he said it!)
+ There's a small basic television in the room with a few channels in English.
+ It's basic and clean; gets cleaned every day

- There's no air conditioner in the room which, surprisingly, is a little bit of a problem because it's warmer upstairs than outside. We slept on top of the covedrs every night except for one.
- The window is permanently opened, (at least while we were there) and the guests have no control over it. It doesn't create a privacy issue because of the curtains, but a couple bugs flew in at night when we only had one or two lights on.
- It's nice to be central but the hotel is RIGHT next to a bar so if you are a light sleeper-and you plan on sleeping:) - you may not want to stay there. The party ends late EVERY night.
- This hotel is best for people who pack lightly. This hotel, like mostly everywhere in The Netherlands and throughout Europe has very narrow stairs and no elevator that i know of.