Review: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Amsterdam – NDSM Wharf (Queen Superior Room with Water View)

Lowest nightly rate: 78 EUR (99 EUR after tax)
When to book: One week in advance (Winter)
Length of stay: 8 nights
Membership level: Diamond

DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Amsterdam – NDSM Wharf opened in 2014 in NDSM Wharf, a former shipyard with beautiful architecture and street art. If you have been to Amsterdam, you know that accommodation is very expensive here, even Airbnbs. I wasn’t going to pay $300/night on the Hilton, Marriott or Renaissance. I have stayed in really tiny hotel rooms and Airbnbs here in the past and was trying to find a good alternative this time round that will not bleed money out of my bank account.

Arrival

There is a free ferry service that goes between Amsterdam Centraal Station and NDSM Wharf. This journey typically takes 12-13 minutes and the ferry station at NDSM Wharf is about 3-minutes’ walk away from the hotel. I took the ferry every day for 9 days and it was never late! It ran like clockwork even during rush hour. Service runs every 30 minutes from 0645 hours in the morning and ends at 0130 hours after midnight. Use Google Maps to easily find out the departure times.

I booked the room from the lowest category which has no view and was pre-upgraded to the Queen Room with Water View as a Diamond member. At check-in I asked if there is a Superior room available for an upgrade and was given room 404 by the kind front desk staff!

Room 404

It is a corner room, right at the end of the coridoor. The bathroom faces the front door and there is a full-length mirror on the right. The bathroom door opens into this narrow walkway and can be bothersome if someone else is using the mirror. The view of the wharf is lovely. This room faces west and offers a nice sunset view on a clear days. Because of the full-length glass windows, privacy can be an issue. These windows doesn’t seem to be tinted and you could clearly see what every one is doing in their rooms from the ground floor. Of course, there are curtains for times when you value privacy more than view.

After settling down in the room for a while, I remembered that I did not receive my warm DoubleTree cookies. I called the helpline and the staff was very apologetic and sent up a whole can of it!

Internet WiFi

This is probably the weakest point of this property. Connection is poor and experience dropouts frequently every day. This is similar to what I experience at Hilton Garden Inn Bali. WiFi does not require you to log in with your name and room number. You are just given a password, freewifi. I can imagine non-guests using it as well.

Breakfast

Breakfast is complimentary for Gold and Diamond members and is held in Brooklyn restaurant from 0630 – 1100 hours. I really liked the decor in the restaurant. You can order eggs to your liking and the buffet selection is good. There is a very friendly staff who attends to guests walking in who always asks if I wanted coffee. There were days when she wasn’t around and other staff did not do the same. Wish there was a little more consistency there.

The gym

The gym is tiny. So tiny that the large mirror did not do anything to make it look bigger. It is rather strangely located right beside the restaurant entrance. Equipments looked very well-maintained.

Others

The prices for bicycle rentals are rather expensive. It feels like it is being offered as an “experience” rather than a mode of transport.

Conclusion

I enjoyed my stay in this hotel and it would be my number 1 choice for future stays because of how cheap it gets when booking at the right time and how much I love this cultural area. Comparing to DoubleTree Amsterdam Centraal Station, you are basically paying half price here for 24 minutes of your daily time spent on round trip ferry rides.

Ratings

Value: 9/10
Breakfast: 8/10
Service: 9/10
Location: 8/10
Room: 8/10
Facilities: 7/10
Executive lounge: –
Elite member recognition: 9/10

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