The ibis Amsterdam Centre Hotel is located next to the Centraal train station in Amsterdam. As such, its location is ideal for exploring the area around the train station, and you can make connections from the station to pretty much anywhere in the Amsterdam area or beyond.
We enjoyed the hotel, except for one thing – the heat.
First Impressions
The hotel appears modern and sleek from the outside. When you walk in, the first thing you notice is that there is no front desk. You walk into a lounge type area, with the integrated bar area “Chill #49” down to the left and a snack area to the right.
It took us a few moments to realize that the staff wear ibis shirts and were present in the lounge. They used their portable tablets to sign us into our rooms, and a nearby desktop to prepare room keys.
The Room
The room featured the Sweet Bed by ibis (a double) as well as bunk beds for our kids. The bed was pretty comfortable and it was certainly large enough for two.
Our kids appreciated the bunk beds; they’re both teenagers and really prefer separate beds.
The family rooms are on the first floor – not the ground floor, as European buildings’ ground floors are floor zero – and are at the same level as the train station platform right next to the hotel. This was the view from our window:
Fortunately, I like trains. You can hear the trains arriving and departing from the adjacent track but none of us found the noise to be disturbing.
The Heat
The main problem we had with the room was the heat. There was no working air conditioning in this area of the hotel, and the windows don’t open in the family rooms. I understand the windows do open in other types of rooms.
There is a ceiling mounted unit but it’s not an air conditioner – I think it’s for heating. The thermostat on the wall makes it look like it can cool the room but it doesn’t.
We complained to the hotel staff and they gave us a portable air cooler device. It works by circulating air over ice packs. I’m not sure it really helped at all. It did blow cooler air – until the ice packs warmed up – but it also humidified the room. The staff were always willing to change ice packs and were generally sympathetic but there wasn’t anything else they could do for us, as the hotel was full.
This was a major issue for us.
Price
The ibis brand is positioned as an economy hotel by parent AccorHotels. Most hotels in Amsterdam are very expensive compared to many other European cities, and this one is no exception. We had a comparable ibis hotel in Paris for half the daily cost of this hotel!
We found the price for the ibis Amsterdam Centre hotel to be competitive with other hotels in the area in its class.
The Verdict
If it wasn’t for the hot room, we would have no problem recommending this hotel. However, the heat was a major issue. I originally wrote that we wouldn’t book there again in a family room… but see below!
Make sure you book a room that has a window that opens.
UPDATE!
A few days after our stay, I received an invitation from ibis to fill out a guest satisfaction survey. I did that, relating our appreciation of the hotel except for the problems with the heat.
I received a response from the hotel manager, who let me know that the air conditioning was indeed not working during our visit but was fixed after we left. He offered to rebate one night’s costs to compensate for our discomfort, which was very much appreciated.
I thought that was a very classy letter and offer and I really appreciate it. Thank you.