My friend and I stayed at this particular Bastion Hotel in 2008 for 7 days (that was the plan). The service was great the staff were wonderful, friendly and helpful. We really enjoyed them. The hotel was clean and the beds were comfy. (2 single beds were great for my friend and I but would not have been acceptable for my husband and I) Access to the internet in the lobby was helpful for keeping in touch with family and also checking itineraries for the next part of our trip.the hotel was undergoing some external upgrades but the noise did not effect our stay. The location was not in the midst of everything but you could get to all the action in minutes on a short bus ride. (We purchased multi-day transportation passes for the city transportation services)
All in All we had a great first 6 days! We were headed to Switzerland the next day by euro-rail. We decided to go have a quick dinner, come back and pack up for the next days trip. We got back from dinner and somebody had climbed the scaffolding on the back of the building and pushed in our window and took the whole safe out of room, the safe was not secured properly, but "hidden" in a closet. In it was our passports and my friends entire wallet. We went across the street (literally) to the police substation to get the police and it took 45 minutes because nobody actually mans that particular station. We finally got them, they said they would have to come back the next day and take prints etc.etc. We had to stay another night, and pay for it. The manager did give us free meals.
We did eventually get replacement passports in Bern, Switzerland. The consulate in Amsterdam was horrible and unhelpful, it was like being robbed of something even more valuable than the passports ~ dignity and hope! They actually made us feel like the criminals!
Upon our return to the US I tried to contact Bastion Hotels to discuss our incident at their hotel and could not get in touch with them in any way shape or form. For months I tried. They had all my info, and were aware of the incident and never contacted me either. This lack of concern and professionalism by the company itself will keep us from ever staying at another Bastion Hotel anywhere.
Thankfully I took travel insurance for myself (my friend skipped it) and I was reimbursed by my policy for most of the inconvenience, including the replacement passport, extra hotel nights in Amsterdam and Bern, and extra meals and train travel. Thank you CSA and my friends Tom and Don for insisting I get travel insurance!
Moral of this review: If the safe is not nailed down, don't trust it! And ask why it isn't! Buy trip insurance, it was less than $80 and worth every penny!! If traveling abroad leave $120 with a trusted family member or friend so the consulate can call them for you and request they wire the money directly to them. They will not allow you to make a call, nor will they accept anything but cash from you!!!(I had my Chase Master Card, they would not take it) Oh and you can not receive a Western Union transfer in another country with out a passport.
- Bastion Deluxe Hotel Amsterdam
