The Bilderberg Garden Hotel is located in a lovely neighborhood to the south of central Amsterdam, within a 10 minute walk of the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum. It is a pleasant location with lots of greenery, set among beautiful houses, lovely shops nearby, and canals to explore. The hotel’s brochures and website information describe the area of the hotel quite accurately. However, it is over-rated as a 5-star hotel and over-priced. Most of the rooms look like a typical 3-star hotel would look in the US with similarly modest furnishings. The room we stayed in was rather worn-out and needed updating, carpet-cleaning, etc. Staff at the desk were polite but not well-informed and not especially helpful. There is a rather spartan “Business Center” consisting of 2 computers and a printer in the hallway of the lower level of the hotel. There is no Fitness Center or pool. Several guidebooks described this hotel as a top-level hotel with beautiful furnishings, etc. Maybe this is true of selected rooms, but it seems that most rooms are not like this at all. Beware – guidebooks say that rooms have Jacuzzis. This is not the case for the average room here. One guidebook called the Lobby “spectacular.” We thought it was rather small and darkly lit --- not very inviting at all. We felt ripped off by the high prices of this place and left after 2 nights to move to a real 5-star hotel in the center of Amsterdam. We are not sure why the guidebooks have gone so far wrong on this place. Unless you stay in the very top-level rooms, you will not find this to be a 5-star hotel. If you want a quiet and pleasant suburban location, walking distance to the big museums, and a rather unspectacular and somewhat over-priced hotel, this is it.

If you're looking for somewhere which LOOKS swanky from the exterior, then this is not the hotel for you. Located 10 minutes taxi ride from the centre of the city, the BiIderberg Garden Hotel looks like an office block from the outside. But to be fair, this is perhaps the harshest criticism to be levelled at this hotel. Although it can feel slightly claustrophic due to it's low ceilings, it does in fact have attentive staff, and a better than average restaurant. The rooms look a little tired, but all in all, this is a good hotel if you want to stay somewhere slightly quieter in this city. It's a just a shame it doesn't look like a hotel, but more like an office.

We stayed in an executive room on the third floor which was very large for Europe and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Our stay was for a Sunday night only with a late Monday checkout. The restaurant was closed so ate in the bar/lounge from their limited menu and we enjoyed our meal. This hotel is not located in the tourist centre which we found a blessing as it's situated in a quiet, pleasant neighbourhood. It is about a 30 min walk or a short tram ride into the busy, noisy part of town. We walked in to town both days and trammed it "home" once. Each day, on arrival back to the hotel, we felt we'd arrived back to the sane part of town! Reception staff very helpful and friendly staff in bar/lounge area.

We stayed at this hotel im May and booked one of the executive suits. on first arriving in the room we were perhaps a little disapointed as the picture of the rooms were entirely different from that on the internet. obviously we are aware that picutre often dont depict the exact rooms, but it was very different. however. on closer inspection of the room we realised that it was very nice. the bed was amazing, huge and very comfy, and the room had all necessary ammenities. the jacuzzi bath was big for a bath, but unfortunately when we got there it didnt work. the manageress came to fix it which we thought was a bit odd, but it seemed to work. that night when using the bath one of the pipes must have come loose again and the jacuzzi stopped working, it was late so we didnt complain, but the following morning we wanted to make sure it would be working for that evening. the staff were fairly helpfull and the jaccuzi was fixed that night. all in all the room was very nice, but a few minor hiccups. most people who have reviewed the hotel said it was quite far out, but we found that to be a blessing. it was still within walkable distance (about 20 - 30 mins) and it was nice to see this part of amsterdam. if we had been staying in the city we would not have got to have seen all the gorgeous building surrounding the hotel. trams were also very convienient if you didnt want to walk overall i think this is a very nice hotel. if you have already looked at the pictures on the internet of the executive suites then you may be disapointed but the staff are helpfull, and location is ideal to be able to get away from the hustle and bustle.

I have stayed at the Bilderberg Garden Hotel for several years now while visiting Amsterdam on business. I find the location is great - a nice neighbourhood if you want to be a little out of the centre but close to classical music, museums and nice shops. Unfortunately I really noticed a slip in standards during my last visit. My room had no working air conditioning and was positioned next to the lift well - very noisy. While I was moved it was only after considerable effort on my part and with little evidence of the friendly and helpful service I have experienced in the past. I have to say also that the renovations that have been undertaken seem like a bit of a step backwards from what used to be offered.