Hotel Vondel, Amsterdam

I've mentioned it a few times on here that I'm a bit of a hotel 'snob' and I often worry about the bookings I have made. My hotel paranoia began after staying at a well known budget hotel in London with my ex boyfriend. When we arrived, the hotel was filthy and stank of mould and stale smoke even though smoking was prohibited in the hotel rooms. It took us weeks to get the smell of damp out of our clothing and every time I think back to that hotel I shudder. These days I try to spend a bit more money on hotels in hope that they would be better quality. When I booked my hotel for Amsterdam, I spent quite a long time researching neighbouring hotels and finally chose the Hotel Vondel, a boutique hotel next to Vondel Park and within walking distance from Museum Square where most of the large museums are based. 

When we arrived at the Hotel Vondel, I was blown away by the beautiful, quirky decor in the lobby and fell in love with the Georgian townhouses that it inhibits. Luckily for us, although we arrived a few hours early we were told our hotel room was already ready and we were assisted with our bags to our large suite on the top floor.

This particular hotel room featured a very large bed - which was two singles put together, but we managed to cope, a wardrobe decorated with a scene from Amsterdam, a desk with plugs and a safe - a perfect place to work away from home, a living area with quirky lamps and a soft, relaxing sofa and a stacked mini bar with a gigantic bar of chocolate and little luxuries to make you feel at home. The room also had an espresso machine that admittedly both my husband and I couldn't figure out how to work! Another addition we both loved was the hotel book placed on the coffee table with recommendations of where to visit in Amsterdam, it was a lovely touch. And downstairs, you could pick up small business cards that gave you a percentage off your meal if you visited one of those places.

The bath was also large and spacious and featured a 'his and hers sink' that I loved. I like having a bathroom big enough for two sinks as I always take up so much room when I'm getting ready and my poor husband is always shoved to the side. It meant that both of us had adequate space to ensure we looked our best in a hurry.

The hotel staff were lovely during our stay and made sure that all our requests were attended to. We were supposed to visit another hotel for a meal and panicked because we had no idea where we were going, they booked us a taxi and made sure everything was sorted for us so we could sit and relax. The staff were also great at giving advice on places to visit and how to get around Amsterdam.

On our first night we were in too much of a rush to find a place to eat and had our canal cruise at 9pm so we opted to eat at the Joost restaurant in Hotel Vondel. The food and service were spectacular and although the vegetarian option played it a bit safe with a normal looking lasagne, the desserts were to die for - honestly that was the best apple crumble I've had in my life.

My only fault regarding this hotel is their WIFI. If you cannot live without internet for more than a couple of hours you may struggle at this place, but I managed to buy some data from O2 as it was only £1.99 a day and in all honesty, the rest of the hotel made the stay more than worthwhile. If you're just using the hotel as a resting place on an evening, there's loads of bars, cafes and museums all of which have WIFI that you can use during the day. Yes it was frustrating, but for us it wasn't the end of the world. I would still rate the Hotel Vondel highly and once we figured out our way around Amsterdam, it really did become our home away from home.

Have you been to the Hotel Vondel before?