We chose the Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht for our night in Amsterdam and used points to upgrade to a large suite. This hotel has not changed much from my first stay nearly six years ago, and that is a very good thing.
Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht Suite Review
This hotel runs anywhere from $250-450 a night, with our nightly rate closer to $300. That’s a bit steep (we could have stayed at the lovely Hyatt Regency across town for cheaper), but I wanted to be in the heart of the city considering the short duration of our stay and that we would be visiting the Anne Frank House.
In addition to paying cash for the stay, I used 9,000 World of Hyatt Points for an upgrade to a premium suite. This hotel has three suite types: the Andaz Suite (a standard suite), the Andaz Large Suite (a slightly larger suite), and the Prinsengracht Suite which akin to the presidential suite. both the suite and larger suite were available and I paid 3,000 points more (9,000 versus 6,000) for the larger suite.
This is a Category 6 hotel, meaning a free night ranges from 21,000 (off-peak) to 25,000 (standard) to 29,000 (peak) per night. I value Hyatt points at two cents each, so the $280 made a lot more sense than 25K points. At the valuation, it means I effectively pay $180 for the upgrade, which was well-worthwhile.
From Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, the hotel was a 25-minute car ride away.
Check-In
We arrived at noon, hoping we could check in but prepared to wait, and were delighted to find that our suite was ready. I had sent a note earlier that morning asking if an early check-in was possible and received a response from a hotel manager named Jacques that he would do his best to accommodate that. It turned out to be Jacques who checked me in and he warmly welcomed me back to the hotel.
The hotel describes its interior as “playful” and I find it very hard to put into words beyond the word electic, though I quite liked it:
Housed in the former public library, Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht is one of the most creative luxury lifestyle hotels in the city, featuring stylish yet playful interior décor that celebrates Dutch heritage and the unique flavours of our charming city, with stories around every corner. Staying at our hotel is a dream for every design lover looking for an unforgettable local experience.
The lobby featured high-backed red chairs around the check-in desk with bell-shaped lights overhead.
Nearby, a sitting room offered a cozy place to sit and look out the bustling street and canal outside.
Suite
Our suite, 283, was quirky, but I enjoyed it. Although our room did not overlook the Prince Canal (Prinsengracht), the windows provided plenty of natural light and the suite was made to resemble a Dutch apartment. The more traditional couches, fish/spoon artwork, and Delft Blue WC all came together for what I considered an attractive room design.
The living room consisted of a large couch and matching chair with ottoman and coffee table with a desk and book case behind it.
On the other side, a refrigerator with mini-bar (non-alcoholic contents were complimentary), coffee machine, and water kettle. The hotel also left a welcome note and tin of stroopwafel cookies.
A closet separated the bathroom and living room and opened on both sides.
Through the living room was the bedroom, featuring a king-size bed and two chairs.
That connected to a large bathroom with dual sink, huge bathtub in the center of the room, shower, and water closet.
Sure, a standard room with two beds may have done the job just fine, but it was nice to have this space and the kids slept on the couch with extra bedding the hotel sent up. The hotel offered to send up rollaway beds, but we found this was unnecessary and that kids enjoyed creating a “fort” by moving the couches together.
We picnicked in the room for dinner after stocking up on groceries at a local Spar.
Augustine prepared a list to guide our time:
Power ports and USB outlets in the room were plentiful.
One last thing I liked about the suite was that it had a bluetooth speaker…I use mine all the time at home to listen to music and news throughout the day and it was nice to be able to connect here as well.
Happy Hour (Gin Tasting)
On thing I missed was that the traditional happy hour and all-day coffee are no longer present. In the sitting room of the lobby you used to be able to make yourself an espresso all day long and each evening could enjoy a glass of wine with a light tasting menu. That has been a casualty of the pandemic, though in its place the hotel offered a Dutch gin tasting, which was enjoyable and where I met a great couple from Australia that I remain in touch with.
Fitness Center
While small and focusing primarily on cardio equipment, the hotel fitness center is functional. Heidi rose before dawn on the morning of our departure and did a workout prior to our flight home.
To reach the fitness center (and spa), you walk into the “red light district” of the hotel, down a set of stairs in the lobby that takes you down to a lower level.
Spa
A full-service spa is located on nearby the fitness center with a full menu of services available. You can also proceed through the locker room into a wellness area with a large sauna that I used both days at the hotel.
Garden
While this hotel has no pool either indoor or outdoor, it does have a beautiful garden in between the hotel’s two buildings. It’s not as picturesque during winter as it in spring or summer or autumn, but this is a great place to sit down and take a break from the bustle of the city.
Bluespoon Bar
The most picturesque part of the hotel is the Bluespoon Bar which offers a beautiful seating area, an attractive bar (cocktails aren’t cheap, though), and great coffee. More on the coffee in a moment.
Breakfast At Bluespoon Restaurant
Breakfast is superb (with a big asterisk) at Bluespoon Restaurant. World of Hyatt Globalist members receive a full run of the menu, including the extensive and high-quality buffet and also a la carte items. Even if breakfast is not included in your package, I think the 32EUR/person price tag is quite reasonable for the high quality of the food.
I particularly recommend the egg shakshuka (United could learn something from this) and the avocado toast with poached eggs and chili. These may be “hipster” staples, but they are done very well here.
The buffet truly has some very fine quality meats, cheeses and pastries. Give the Dutch cheese a try–it really is some of my favorite in the world.
We ordered hot chocolate for the kids and that came with a bowl of frothed milk and the chocolate on a stick like a popsicle. While that was not the way I intended the kids to begin breakfast, they greatly enjoyed it.
My complaint is that the coffee was horrible. You can serve yourself or a member of staff will get it for you, but the coffee was extremely bitter and those German-made WMF are consistently the worst, in my experience.
However, in the morning bad coffee is better than no coffee at all and so I requested a refill. When my flat white came, it looked very different…and it tasted great.
I asked the woman who was caring for our table what happened and she said, “Oh, I know. So much better, right? I made this one manually at the bar.”
Sure enough, the bar has a beautiful La Marzocco machine and the coffee truly is like night and day. Had she not been so kind, I would have had no idea.
Ask for coffee from the bar – don’t waste your time with the automatic swill from the restaurant.
CONCLUSION
Our brief stay at the Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht was a great one. Hotel staff were lovely, the hotel has aged very well, our room was comfortable and spacious, and the breakfast was excellent.
I do love the Hyatt Regency Amsterdam as well, but if you want to stay in a central location, this is a very good choice.
“The living room consisted of a large L-shaped couch”
You mean a 2-seater, a 1-seater, and an ottoman…
Looks like a nice hotel overall. Any link to the review of your previous stay, just to see any changes?
Here’s the old review:
https://liveandletsfly.com/review-hyatt-andaz-amsterdam-prinsengracht/
Agreed – on what planet is that an L shaped couch? It’s like saying the walls in the room are pink with yellow stars on them…
You may find it interesting that unlike my esteemed colleague OMAAT, I write my reviews first and add the pictures after (he does the opposite). Once in a while, as here, my memory fails.
I’m saving this one: as a fan of interior design I really like the vibe of the lobby. I always knew dark blue walls worked well
A few pleasant nights enjoying truffles in that garden.
Great review. Do you tip at breakfast in Europe?
No. The beauty of hotels like this is that you are not even presented a breakfast bill. And every staff member is paid a living wage. It’s a welcome throwback to the way things should be.
The reason I ask is when a few of us were staying at the Hyatt in Mainz a couple of months ago we tipped consistently in the club lounge and when service was good in the breakfast area and in both cases the tips were appreciated. Europe is tough in this context.
Not tough at all. Service is almost always included in the price, so you just do not tip anywhere apart from rounding up, at top-end restaurants serving multi-course meals (as in ones with Michelin stars etc), and for truly exceptional service.
This was Globalist/Guest Of Honor free breakfast and free club lounge so that’s a bit more dubious. Also, even though the tipping was not solely up to me I felt that service in the instances where I did tip was pretty impressive. I have no problem following the social proprieties, it’s just difficult at times to know what they are.
It’s no different from booking a room rate which includes breakfast – you just wouldn’t tip for it because it is part of the contracted service. No issue with tipping for really above and beyond service, although it probably is not something that would occur to most European people within a hotel breakfast setting.
People always say that folks are paid a living wage in various European countries – but is that really true? I was in Amsterdam in June, and saw an employee wanted poster in a Burger King window. The wage being offered was EUR 13.20 per hour.
That’s basically the same as the minimum wage in blue state urban areas in the US.
I get that the Andaz may pay more than Burger King, but given the similarity in the minimum wage, it leads me to suspect that hotel waiters may get paid a similar amount as in the US – but without the tip income.
Could be, but speaking generally they are also in a country with rich paid vacation and excellent medical benefits, which really helps to lessen the blow of lower wages.
Very nice hotel, I don’t think I could convince myself to pay that sort of money- Amsterdam is one of those places which are consistently overpriced when it comes to accommodation. Last time I needed a hotel for Schiphol, I ended up staying in Utrecht to avoid the insane rates.
Wow what a small world!
My wife and I stayed at the Andaz Amsterdam back in February and also upgraded to a Large Suite (though I think on a different floor judging by the art above the headboard). I echo your comments on Jacques–we also arrived early on the KLM – ORD flight and he worked diligently to get us into the room as fast as practical.
Glad to hear your family had a nice stay!
I find the location and vibe of the hotel warrant the premium. I greatly enjoyed my stay here – glad you also scored a nice upgrade!
I also loved doing in-room picnics with my kiddos. Just made the trips more memorable.
We do this more and more—it not only is low-stress and saves money, but it’s a great bonding time without the hustle of a restaurant.
Stayed at this Andaz last year and absolutely loved it- just so whimsical. Luxurious yet practical and even the base level room was spacious.
I see that the complimentary food and drinks selection in the room minibar hasn’t improved since last year though… and I wish I knew about the happy hour gin tasting.
Did you have any issues being 4 people in a room? We are trying to book it but are being told all rooms (including suites) are a max of 4.
Meant the rooms are a max of 3. Thus, they want us to book 2 rooms or conjoining rooms.