Review: Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam

Nice review, thanks Ben. In a city where there are many solid options, and in particular a lot of boutique hotels I like a lot, the WA really is a tier above. Phenomenal hotel and service.

Super review, Lucky. I'll be staying here for sure next time in the city.

Nice review! We have a 2 night stay on points in May next year (with a couple nights later at PH Paris) Am contemplating whether to extend stay to 5 nights (the consecutive nights are currently available on points) although not sure what will do on the longer stay in Amsterdam, maybe there's good day trip options to fill the time! Seems worth it though given diamond status and breakfast where at Hyatt don't have top status.

Ben, you said in the introduction to this series that you had very strong feelings about WA Amsterdam and Grand Hyatt Athens. I had assumed this one to be negative, though they are outstandingly positive. Can I get a hint of how Athens was (positive or negative, nothing more) before the trip report comes out? 😉

Great pictures, just how early do you get up and walk around the property to get pictures without other people in the field of view?

I had a great stay at the WA with my mom before she passed. The doormen were soooo nice. I also love the Andaz Amsterdam and seemingly switch between the two hotels.

What’s great review. My wife and I will be visiting for 2 nights in February and can’t wait.

I find Netherlands tends to be one of my favourite countries for service in general. Usually friendly, helpful but also casual. And with a relatively flat social hierarchy, so it doesn't feel uncomfortable to receive attentive service the way it does in some countries.

Really reinforces my prior opinion about how relatively tacky all of those Paris hotels were. I've never stayed at the WA Amsterdam, but I've been in a couple of similar level row house hotels; they were all really solid.

@Luke: You definitely should extend your stay in Amsterdam. Our family went a few years ago and easily filled up five days. There are amazing art and history museums, including some lesser known gems such as the Dutch Resistance museum. But if you're going in early May, you MUST go to Keukenhof ( https://keukenhof.nl/en/). It's unlike anything you've ever seen with breathtaking gardens and tulips in every size, shape and design. It's an easy train ride from Amsterdam -- we did it with no problems. Enjoy!

Reminds me very much of our stay at the WA Shanghai on the Bund. Our favorite hotel stay of all time. If you end up in Shanghai in the future, you should definitely check it out and I will be checking out WA Amsterdam if we end up in the city in the future

It’s a beautiful hotel. The only negative is they cheaped out on the tiles in the shower and wc. That is not in line with expectations for such a high caliber hotel.

That Pizza looks good. I always order one in every hotel that offers it.

I just stayed there last month and had the same experience ... Everything was perfect ... the staff, the room, the 'extras' ...

I agree with Ben, having stayed at this hotel in early October for one night only. I redeemed a free night certificate, smartly so said the Hilton agent who booked it for me. “Some people use the free certificates to book Hampton Inn,” he said, laughing. The Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam is as good as it gets. I only have one regret: that I did not order the Eggs Benedict after having seen Ben’s photo.

Could not agree more! This is the best stay we have had for all of the reasons you stated. We also did it on points at the last minute. Great review.

I just stayed at GH Athens and I can assure you there will be no rave review forthcoming

Nice review, and makes me want to stay there.

I am curious how the garden is a UNESCO site. The closest site listed is the "Seventeenth-century canal ring area of Amsterdam inside the Singelgracht". Would be interesting to learn why the garden had special rules that the rest of the property did not.

I would second Keukenhof!

Superb review!

Any comments on this vs Andaz (HH diamond and Hyatt glob).

I stayed at this hotel last month and I had similar impression of the hotel. I will only add that other WA in Europe have similar attention to details and over the top luxury.
Just like you, I too used my free nights as a diamond member for my stay.
What a treat after the long Covid closures!!

Now I'm curious as to how the staff knew where you dined the previous night without discussing it with them. Sounds both a little odd but also charming.

I third Keukenhof. Easy to get to from the city.
And so many wonderful things to see in Amsterdam itself - as mentioned the Dutch Resistance Museum is worth it. Our Lord in the Attic is an interesting place. Wander through the Jordaan area.
And so many easy day trips - Haarlem, Gouda, Alkmaar, Delft. You could fill way more than 5 days. We did 8 over 2 trips and still have more to see.
Enjoy!

Spectrum is great, though possibly a bit challenging for the more unadventurous with food. There's a nice twist with the menu that confused me at first...

It was one of the food highlights of a four night stay that included five Michelin-starred restaurants! The other was &moshik, which has unfortunately now closed, but the food in general in Amsterdam is very good.

No, it doesn't look good. It looks like a frozen pizza that you can buy for 3€ in every supermarket

I stayed there the same time as you (saw you all at breakfast each morning) and had the same incredible experience. What a terrific hotel, across the board.

If there was one thing I had to critique, it would be room size. As a Diamond, I was also upgraded to a grand canal view room, which was beautiful, but it felt more like 250-300 square feet to me. It was perfectly fine, and totally understandable for an old building in a city center, but if you were expecting a larger room as the 500 square foot description markers, you may be disappointed.

I also have to reiterate how amazing the staff and service were, without being stuffy or overly formal. Especially at breakfast, the service was top notch and then some.

5 nights for sure.

So many great day trip opportunities. Brugge, Brussels, Antwerp, Cologne, etc. All super easy via train.

Not to mention AMS itself — lovely town to explore.

Best thing about these row house conversion hotels is that they really are located in the middle of everything.

Nothing beats being able to walk out of your hotel and right into the center of town. My personal favorite is the Pulitzer, but this WA looks quite nice as well.

The caveat with these hotels is that you pretty much have to spring for a canal view room. The “views” in base rate rooms tend to be pretty brutal. At least those canal views tend to be worth the premium!

I thought the same about the shower tiles.

This hotel and Amsterdam itself both look amazing! so rare to see the historical buildings preserved and maintained so well. This looks like near perfection!

If you’re too late for Keukenhof (depends on what time in May you’ll be going) there are so many more places worth visiting. The Hague is 45 minutes away by train with a beautiful historic centre, Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring”, the Haagse Markt and the great beach and pier at Scheveningen. On the fast train you can also get to Rotterdam in just over half an hour with loads of great sights.

I am so happy I came across your review, just so happens that we earned a free night reward spending $8k on our Amex Hilton ( husband's) and he had still over 100k pts from opening the card last year.. nice perk now included in new card owners.
So I called the number on his account to use the free night certificate and was able to book one night for Sept 11th and he booked Sept 12th for 95k !! Incredible luck as I checked again these dates and the hotel is going now for over 450k points. I am so stoked. I did read a review on TripAdvisor from a customer not receiving the continental breakfast that was suppose to be part of the booking My way benefits. Hopefully that will be included as their breakfasts run around 40 euros!!! Yikes.
thanks again for a very descriptive review.

I completely agree with all of your points in this review! We had an amazing experience there this summer and the afternoon tea in the Peacock room was something I will NEVER forget.