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Hotel the Golden Bear – reviews, photos

Kerkstraat 37, Amsterdam 1017GB, The Netherlands
Hotel amenities
Hotel the Golden Bear
3.5 of 5 stars 110 Reviews
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110 reviews from our community

    Trip type
Traveller rating
    30
    41
    22
    7
    10
Date Rating
Chicago
Senior Contributor
30 reviews 30 reviews
Reviews in 9 cities Reviews in 9 cities
9 helpful votes 9 helpful votes
“NEVER AGAIN!”
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 7 February 2012

Where to begin with what was wrong with this hotel? I stayed here during Queen's Day week, which was fantastic. Probably caused some of these problems, but who knows and honestly, should it matter?!?!

Reception...couldn't check me in until 3 hours after check in time.

Room...no air conditioning and the fan they had in the room made more noise than a diesel engine. Air conditioning shouldn't have been a problem, but I couldn't open the windows because of the street party going on all hours below my window. The stairs to room were ridiculous! Narrow, four stories. I had luggage for two weeks with me and struggled to get it upstairs. No help was offered. That said, I'm in pretty good physical shape. Not sure how others less so would make it up those stairs. In way of comfort, this was one of the worst hotels I've ever stayed at. Beds were bad. Ammenities were non-existent. This place was so bad I ended up leaving and finding another hotel that was astronomically priced (last minute queen's day), but well worth getting out of this place.

Breakfast...No so good. Granted, Dutch food isn't amazing, but this breakfast was tasteless, basic and tables were very hard to come by.

Location...great. Enough said.

Although this hotel is gay, I didn't feel at home there. I would much rather stay at a nicer hotel and sacrifice what little gay feel this hotel had.

Room Tip: Don't stay here!
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  • Stayed May 2011, travelled solo
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 2 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 1 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 1 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 2 of 5 stars Service
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Ask dawagner4 about Hotel the Golden Bear
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
San Francisco, California
Reviewer
3 reviews 3 reviews
Reviews in 3 cities Reviews in 3 cities
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
“One star way too much!”
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 17 January 2012
1
person found this review helpful

Where to start?
OK first we start with the good things, witch the location is great!
i find Golden bear on gaycitis.com and it sound good to me, i saw some of the reviews there and i say, let go for it. i did book it for one week.
well i was very exited and i booked the suite ! ( witch end up a real joke room ) .

well i showed up, first sign in, and the rude person in the front desk, show me the stairs up, and smile and say, there is the stairs, you need to go all the way up with your bags, i was like oh, ok, wow. it was really bad way to start, you have to go all the way 3 or 4 flight of stairs round and round , witch wasnt fun and safe at all.
OK, we start here, then you get inside the room, and i was thinking they say a suite, really? what was that? small room, nothing that special , view to the neighbors patio, and that all. really not something that i need to pay like 1200Euro !

well the next day is come, i woke up, and i had to work, i try to log online, well, there is no internet, i called the front desk, i say," good morning sir, mmm i am trying too go online because i have to work from here ( one of the reason i booked that place because the free wifi ) and the guy at the front desk say, oh, so you need to turn your computed off, i say, OK, and then what? and he say, keep it off then. i was like, you kidding or?" the guy was completely Jerk , i did end up paying for the all week, and staying mostly with friends there because the Rude people who work there .

i am not recommended that place to no one.
there is so many better places there , either the one across the st from them. ( witch i will stay there next time)

you can look at my review , i am not a bad person, and mostly nice, but this place! NEVER AGAIN. RUDE, BAD SERVICE !

Room Tip: do not take the suite room!
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  • Stayed August 2011, travelled solo
    • 1 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 2 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 2 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 2 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
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Ask joey a about Hotel the Golden Bear
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

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3 of 5 stars Reviewed 16 January 2012

Friendly & helpful staff. Small hotel, but not beyond expectations - being in Amsterdam. Ask for the "Anne Frank" room on the top floor. Nice size, clean, private on suite. You cannot beat the location. It was a fun stay. Happy to return.

  • Stayed December 2011, travelled as a couple
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
Was this review helpful? Yes
Ask FuryF about Hotel the Golden Bear
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
Sydney, Australia
Top Contributor
71 reviews 71 reviews
Reviews in 25 cities Reviews in 25 cities
26 helpful votes 26 helpful votes
“Dissappointing”
2 of 5 stars Reviewed 27 December 2011
1
person found this review helpful

I had a bad experienc e in this hotel. It was the most expensive of all places I stayed in Europe, almost 100 euros per night for a room where the windows couldn't close properly, not to mention that the curtains were really old and not enough to cover the window. The staff was relatively nice though not overly attentive but the stairs are definitely a safety concern, even more if you have a suitcase. Location was not bad at all and probably the best point for the hotel.

  • Stayed June 2011, travelled solo
    • 2 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 2 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 2 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
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Ask AusverGeorge about Hotel the Golden Bear
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
London, United Kingdom
1 review
2 helpful votes 2 helpful votes
“clean, good location, rude staff.”
1 of 5 stars Reviewed 13 December 2011
2
people found this review helpful

The hotel was in a good location and the rooms were clean, and comfortable if not a little shabby/dated. The staff were all rude, they didnt even acknowledge guests half the time and the staff on reception were too busy reading magazines to even look up when apporaching the reception desk. The cleaner seemed the most approachable of them all. Would not stay again because of this and there are much better places where they are glad of the custom.

  • Stayed October 2011, travelled with friends
    • 2 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Sleep Quality
    • 2 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
Was this review helpful? Yes
Ask Riche1w about Hotel the Golden Bear
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC

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Additional Information about Hotel the Golden Bear

Kerkstraat 37, Amsterdam 1017GB, The Netherlands
Price range (per night):* INR4,817 - 7,897

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