One thing that continues to bug me about some hotels is the
way they distrust their guests; this can be seen in many different ways, but
two obvious examples are coat hangers that don’t have a ‘hook’ but a device
that basically makes the hanger useless to any potential thief (ie, there’s no
way it can be used to ‘hang’ clothes from). The second is the empty or locked
mini bar. With the latter, especially if it’s locked, I always get a distinct
feeling that somebody thinks I’m not to be trusted. In other words, I’m the
sort of person that would ransack the minibar and then deny I consumed any of
the contents when I check out the following morning or at the end of my stay.
As for coat hangers, who would be so desperate?
But outside of these two obvious markers that pinpoint the
hotel in question’s distrust of its clientele, there is something else that I
find just as irksome. In many ways it’s the worst of the lot and it normally
happens after I’ve made a few international telephone calls. The audacity in
question is normally disguised by an envelope slid quietly under my hotel room
door while I’m out or asleep, but normally a day or two BEFORE I check out – an
unnecessary reminder that I owe them money and they haven’t forgotten.
However, what I found absolutely infuriating and downright
insulting was the phone call I received from the front desk (who must have
clocked me coming into the building). As soon as I arrived in my room the phone
started to ring. It’s normally quite worrying when the hotel room phone rings,
especially if nobody knows where I am bar my wife. While in one sense I was
relieved to hear the voice of the woman on the front desk, I soon found myself
feeling very angry with what she said, which was something along the lines of
“we noticed you’d made two international calls at a total cost of EUR90 and
that you’re checking out tomorrow so we thought we’d let you know that we know
so don’t try to walk out without paying.” I felt like saying I’ll pay it
tomorrow morning when I check out, which, as far as I know, is the procedure
adopted by most hotels, but it was clear that the purpose of the phone call was
to get the money upfront so that the hotel was not out of pocket. I also felt
like saying, “Do you think I look like the sort of person that would walk off
without paying a bill?” I didn’t bother.
However, one thing it does give the hotel is a big black
mark from me and a recommendation from me not to bother if you’re considering
staying at the hotel (I’m sure there are better places in Amsterdam).
The room was fine, although the bathroom was a little
cramped, but everything else was okay: tall windows, a fairly comfortable bed,
a desk and free WiFi. Everything worked so no complaints there, but there was
no restaurant, which is always a nuisance, and the breakfast was appalling and
by that I mean non-descript. I had cereal, yoghurt and fresh fruit. The cereal
was fine, the yoghurt as standard, but the fresh fruit was tired and
unappealing to look at; I’m guessing it was from a tin.
There was also a roughness about the hotel that I didn’t
like and a precarious staircase that was too steep in my opinion and not for
those unsteady on their feet (not that I count myself in that number).
Like a lot of hotels it served a purpose (a bed for the
night) but that attitude surrounding my phone bill jarred a bit.
In its favour – but then could I expect anything else from a
hotel in Amsterdam? – it did hire out bikes for EUR15 cash, but even there they
adopted the attitude of distrust. The money couldn’t be put on the room and
they wanted it as soon as I got back from my ride (I had no cash when I booked
the bike). Once again it felt as if they thought I was not to be trusted. I
should have told them to stuff their bike where the sun didn’t shine and gone
elsewhere, but again, I’m too polite.
In summary, this hotel does the job, the rooms are fine but
the attitude stinks. I won’t rebook in a hurry. In fact I doubt I’ll ever go
back there.
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