excellent hotel,clean and very modern,friendly staff and well located for trams,only downside was very expensive bar prices ie 9.50 euros for a wine and a beer.

I thought I knew that all NH Hotels were actually very nice and comfortable hotels, so when I booked NH Tropen, I thought it was going to be excellent – and the home page did very little to change that (not surprisingly). However, I was quite disappointed when I arrived. The reception staff was friendly enough and check-in was easy. It did occur to me, that it did not look rather worn when entering, and this was only to be confirmed. The room was quite small (and judging from the emergency exit chart on the door, they all were on my floor), and it was rather gloomy due to the heavy use of brown colours and not much lighting. It was also very cold, and it took me some time to find out that there was a hole underneight the TV set where I could reach into a thermostat and turn on some heating. A colleague staying in another room also met a very cold room. The heating was effecient but such a cold room is just not very welcoming. My room had twin beds which were not large but rather comfortable. Unlike most other hotel chains, NH actually offers a "pillow menu", giving you a choice of a number of different types of pillows. That is a nice feature, but even the standard ones were fine. The room had seperate WC and bathrooms, both very small. As a male, you would almost have to make up your mind on your use of the WC before entering to ensure that you entered the room the right way round. There did not appear to be any heating in the WC, so there was no hanging around there reading the newspaper. Bathroom was also rather small with a tiny shower niche. Not much water pressure in the shower, and the fittings were generally rather worn, but otherwise it was OK. Apart from all the regular items found in hotel bathrooms, they also had extras like a sponge, dental kit, and a comb. For regular visitors they even offered to keep your gels and liquids (like shaving gel) so that you would not have to worry about that at the airport if you were a hand baggage only traveller. That is actually quite a good idea, if you have the need. One rather weird thing was that the cupboard was located inside the bathroom. The TV set offered a selection of Dutch TV channels plus a few international ones, including BBC 1 & 2, but not a major news channel like BBC World, Sky News, or CNN. But in fact, rather than watching TV, you might simply want to enjoy the view. I was on the 9th floor, and the view from there was fantastic. Surprisingly, even on the 9th floor there was quite a lot of traffic noise from down below. Some of this noise would come from the trams, with tram line 9 operating just outside the hotel, taking you straight into the centre of Amsterdam, including to the central station and Rembrandtplein. Connexion shuttle buses are operated to and from the airport, so if you are travelling by public transport, the place is conveniently located. Parking is available, though at an extra price, and they only have a few spaces. Finally, I would say that I was quite disappointed that everything was extra and at a high cost. With rather limited parking, a charge for this is fair enough, but €17 for an incredibly dull breakfast is a rip-off. Instead of having your breakfast at the hotel, find a cafe or similar somewhere else – it is likely to be both cheaper and better. Internet access was also an extra, offered by Swisscom at a rate of €10 for one our or €17 for 24 hours. With many other hotels offering this service for free, this is really appalling.

Though outside of the centre, it is in a nice location on the edge of a park and next to Tropen Museum. Tram No. 9 from the Central Station takes about 12 minutes and, at a pinch, the centre of Amsterdam is walkable - quite a pleasant walk in fact. Room (twin) was quite adequate - clean and comfortable with nice view. Not over large – the shower room in particular was very small and the furnishings and fittings slightly on the cheap side (but shower was particularly good). Reasonable spread at breakfast (hot and cold selection) but overpriced at 17 euros.

We stayed for three nights in late September 2007 and were very pleased with the accommodation although the bedroom was not very large. The beds were very comfortable and there was a wide choice of pillows available. The buffet breakfast was more than adequate and was available until 10 am and later at weekends. Our only slight criticism was that the room maid twice forgot to replace the tea and coffee although the reception desk did so very willingly. The staff are exceedingly polite and helpful, as indeed are almost all the people we encountered in Amsterdam. The location is nice and peaceful, right next to the Oosterpark which has some interesting modern sculptures and a large lake full of ducks and swans. It is also very near the Sloten Windmill which is about the only one to see in Amsterdam. There are good tram connections all round the Oosterpark enabling you to get to the museum quarter, Leidseplein and Rokin within ten minutes and a very fast bus connection to the Centraal Station which gets you there in just under ten minutes. Finally, the street opposite the hotel has many cafes and restaurants so you can have Greek, Indonesian, Chinese or Dutch food all at very reasonable prices locally.

I was there during the end of may for five days with my wife. It is in an excellent location next to the oster park and the tram is just across the street. It is only twelve minutes from downtown and since it is not exactly in the city centre it is quiet. The room was neat and clean,(on the eighth floor with a fine view of the city centre), the breakfast buffet was very good and most of all we got a better price for the room compared to other hotels in the center of Amsterdam. I would recommend it to anybody that is looking for a hotel were he can sleep well, eat his breakfast and wants to be anywhere in Amsterdam within 30 minutes.