Hotel Not Hotel Amsterdam

This was definitely an interesting place to stay! Each room had a theme, and the decor was well designed. Only minus was that the door was difficult to lock (you had to push hard and fiddle with the key to get it out after closing the lock). The breakfast was excellent (not a buffet but à la carte) and the hotel offered a bike rental service, witch helped to explore the city!

What a truly unique experience. We stayed in the secret bookcase and it was incredible. The shared bathrooms were very clean and surprisingly private with floor to ceiling doors. Kevin Bacon restaurant had a great breakfast at a very reasonable cost, and we had a delicious dinner there one night as well. Centrally located. The staff were extremely pleasant and friendly. A very memorable stay for my family.

The property is very unique. It was very clean. The atmosphere is quiet and relaxed. The staff was VERY friendly and helpful. The room was a bit small, but we knew that coming in. We were blessed to have a bathroom in our room; most don't. My only complaint is that the wifi service was so slow that it was essentially useless for uploading the files I needed to send home. I had to go out to local restaurants to get my work done. Other than that, we enjoyed it. And it was nice to have secure parking inside the garage lot (even if it did cost $35/ night).

We didn’t like not to have our own Bathroom and the parking cost for 2 nights (Euro 70,-) is very expensive. All the rest is ok - a very special nice hotel with friendly people.

Hotel not hotel é uma proposta diferente e inusitada de hospedagem. Ficamos no quarto que estava escondido em uma biblioteca e era bem confortável. Apesar do banheiro compartilhado, o local sempre estava limpo e organizado. A localização também era muito boa, próxima de várias paradas de transporte público.

A good stay at this hotel. The room itself (the bookshelf) was nice, spacious and comfortable. The shared bathroom was okay, it was mostly clean but clearly depends on who used it last. The staff were very friendly however most times there was no one on reception and when clicking the button for attention no one arrived. It made the experience a little poorer.

Very polite and helpful staff. Fun and quirky. Bike hire great. Clean and tidy. En suite v.good. Quiet.

Excellent experience.. we booked the larger bookcase room with a window which proved to be the correct decision. Staff are very helpful from lifting suitcases to pleasant manners. The Thai restaurant is worth having a meal.. high quality food and service

It has a unique set up inside and tram stops close by. It has a restaurant and bar on site and the staff were friendly and very nice. There is a shared bathroom facility that was clean and easy to use. I only stayed one night but I intend on returning in the future.

We went in a busy weekend and there weren’t a ton of hotels, so my husband convinced me to settle for a hostel and it was a pretty cool experience. The grounds are clean, and it was a pretty cool place to stay, it wasn’t super accessible to the city center but we rented bikes to ride around the city so it worked fine. The hostel will rent you a bike for 18.50 a day, but you can get them about a half a mile away for only $10. There were not a ton of rooms available, so we’ve got a room that did not have a private bathroom. The shared bathroom wasn’t dirty, but it was toilet paper and soap and paper towels a lot of the time. We knew what we were coming into it we were paying far so it was fine, but I will say the rooms are super tiny and there is no air-conditioning so it gets pretty muggy at night. If you run a hot it can be a little difficult. I definitely would not recommend this stay for a couple, but this is a good spot for a solo traveler. I was just looking to stay for a day or so. The staff was really friendly and attentive, and I Kevin Bacon bar was amazing. The food was great and so was the service. The gentleman bartending gave us one of the house dishes for free, it was fried prawn cakes, and a sauce. So that was super nice, and it was awesome. The food was great. So are the cocktails!

Nice concept and friendly staff. Unfortunately, our experience was ruined when we found large bedbugs crawling up the walls in our room. We were offered a free breakfast and promised a refund for the night, but despite several emails and phone calls, this refund was never issued. This is very disappointing and leaves a lasting negative impression.

The room was unexpectedly small. With the bed in the center, there were only 2 feet space on each side and we could not even fit a small table in the room. We had to go out of the room to the dining area to use our computer. They charged us almost $200 a night. This is way below the $200 hotel standard. Worst of all, in the early morning next day, we found 5-6 bed bugs in our bed, each full of fresh red blood. This scared the hell out of us. We haven's seen bed bugs for decades. It was really scaring situation. My wife got bug bites all over her body and suffered badly. We immediately complained. The good thing is the hotel manager sincerely apologized and fully refunded our money. I believe the hotel should be close for a few days, thoroughly clean the entire hotel and completely disinfect all the rooms before reopen.

Bedbugs galore; woke up with bites everywhere on the body. Feet and lefs swollen with the bites. Met a couple on 2nd night that let me know that key unlocks all the rooms. Room has no air circulation so woke up with sore throat in the morning. I've let the 2 gents at front know of the issues when checking out, and while they were sympathatic to the issues raised, it didn't quite seem like news to them, unfortunately.

Es un hotel muy básico, parece más a un hostal y la habitación que nos dieron estaba en recepción. Nos tuvieron que desalojar porque encontramos chinches en una de las camas. El personal si nos apoyó a buscar un hotel, les pedimos que nos apoyaran y ya resolvieron el problema. Sin embargo, es una experiencia que nos dejó mal sabor de boca.

My stay was to last 2 days, but on the 2nd night I caught many bedbugs in my bed and immediately left the hotel and arranged a new hotel. There is definitely an insect problem. If you want to sleep with insects, you can stay here.

Checked in late to find my mattress was not only filthy with large stains & loose hairs, but smaller stains consistent with the presence of bedbugs. I took a photo of this horror show of a mattress & showed the late night staff, saying I did not want to sleep in that bed. They told me they wouldn't want to sleep in it either & that there were no other rooms available. They told me I should speak to the manager when he arrives in the morning about a refund. As it was late & I didn't want to walk around all night, I tried to sleep on the floor to avoid the bed & possible bugs. The floor was hard, the room was freezing and I couldn't stop worrying about bringing bedbugs home so I slept for about 20 minutes. When I spoke to the manager, he told me that their rule is only to issue a refund if I have any bites; the fact that they have a bedbug refund rule indicates to me that this is a regular issue. Another hotel guest noted that many recent reviews mention bedbugs; the manager said "you should always read the reviews before booking". How's about just not having bedbugs at your hotel so I don't need to read all the reviews to know to avoid it? Also lots of leaks from pipes in the common area. Despite all of the bedbug reviews elsewhere, somehow there are none on this site so let me be the one to tell you if you are reading this - take the manager's own advice, go read the other reviews and DO NOT book this hotel. It looks cool & would be fun if it was clean, but sadly it is NOT.

I got relentlessly eaten alive by bedbugs!

Unfortunately, this was a rather unpleasant stay as I discovered bedbugs on my first night, but finding alternate accommodation was not possible. The hotel was also fully booked so no chance of an alternate room, and even if I did move rooms, I wouldn't have trusted that the whole hotel wasn't infested. Really disgusting basic hygiene for a hotel to not have bedbugs!!! There is also a distinct lack of amenities, and nowhere to put anything - no suitcase stand, desk, bedside table etc. Just one armchair that I used as a suitcase stand. Could benefit from more shelving hooks or useable surfaces in the shared showers and the rooms. There were also only two showers that were of a comfortable size, & another two tiny cubicles that were more impractical. Also, the shower drains terribly so you end up flooding most of the bathroom. It was much smaller internally (the hotel as a whole) than expected. Also was very warm and stuffy with very weak air conditioning. It served a purpose for being somewhere to crash but it was a restless sleep between killing any bedbugs I saw and overheating. The bike hire was very reasonable and helpful though, was a nice feature that I wasn't aware of before my visit. A real shame because the design and novelty of the hotel really drew me to it, & it would have been an easy 4* review if not for the bedbugs. the pillows were lovely, the bed was a little hard but that's my preference, the bathrooms were decently clean, ish, communal areas were nice.

A great concept honestly - the different types of rooms, especially the library common area upstairs. It felt very fancy for a good price. But the bathroom shower area could have been cleaner, in comparison to other hostels. The rooms get stuffy after you stay for more than a few days - I stayed 5 nights and the room got musty because there was no windows. The worst part though was that I got bed bugs. After my first 2 nights, I noticed I had a few bites on my body and they were itchy but I didn’t think too much of it. The next day though I noticed more. I brought this up to the front desk and immediately she tried to dismiss it as mosquitos. In February. Didn’t make sense. She was compassionate about the situation but either way, she had no solution for me, even though I was supposed to be staying on there 2 nights. The only offer was to change my sheets, which I did mostly by myself with some help from her. They were definitely bed bugs from this place because once I left, I stopped getting more bites. 2 weeks later and I still have marks from the bites and honestly a bit of trauma, with no compensation.

Hotel is infested with bed bug , there are reviews going back over a year

Very interesting property with themed rooms, we had the bookcase room. The room its self was a bit disappointing; very small and cramped, it’s not too bad if you’re expecting a hostel.

Quirky hotel in a good location out of the crowds of Amsterdam. Rooms are small, but was fine with two people

Jag och min vän var på en weekend resa och detta hotel passade perfekt för en kort vistelse. Väldigt trevligt personal rena rum och utrymmen och nära till hållplatsen. Dock skulle jag rekommendera att boka ett annat boende om man ska stanna en längre period då rummen var väldigt små.

Our stay at this Amsterdam hotel was extremely disappointing. When we arrived, we were given the wrong room, and staff said there was “nothing they could do.” The room was inside reception—our windows (including one in the bathroom) looked directly into the lobby, with no privacy even with the blinds closed. We overheard another guest also complaining about a lack of privacy. Eventually, we were told we’d need to switch rooms multiple times during our stay—one night in the first room, two nights in another, then two more nights in a third. This was inconvenient, but we agreed to avoid staying in the first awful room. The check-out/check-in process was chaotic and slow, and the staff didn’t even know where the new room was. We were eventually put in the room we originally booked, but were told the door had to be stripped due to mould—hardly reassuring. The room was tiny, dirty, and in terrible condition. The sink leaked, the shower was broken and held up with a mouldy rubber band, and the lock on the door kept sticking. Worst of all, there were bedbugs, no shelves or storage, and one night a man was lingering near our room, which felt unsafe. We left after 2 nights (originally booked for 5), and reception didn’t ask why or seem to care. Only positive: decent location with tram access. Otherwise, this was one of the worst hotel experiences we’ve ever had.

Recently stayed here for 3 nights. Booked the poison ivy room for 2 adults. Staff were excellent and overall a safe stay. The room was awfully small, we had to take turns who was standing as we both couldn’t stand at the foot of the bed at the same time. My main concern was the lack of ventilation in the room, nil windows, nil aircon. It was very hot in the small room with a fan that was fixed to the wall not doing much. When I approached staff he advised to “just keep the fan running at all times” Overall a passable experience however probably wouldn’t return.

A very unique place to stay. The only big downside was the room we were in was very hot, so we had a hard time sleeping.

Wir haben ein Doppelzimmer mit Bad ohne Frühstück gebucht. Das Zimmer ist vom Preis-Leistung Verhältnis in Ordnung. Es war jedoch sehr hellhörig und leider hatte ich keine Ohrstöpsel dabei. Zusätzlich ist die Belüftung der Badezimmer recht laut, so dass man diese auch nachts gehört hat. Das Doppelbett ist dafür sehr bequem und das Zimmer sauber gewesen. Positiv war auch der Service.

The hotel is quirky and conveniently located near a tram stop. However, my room was very small and unbearably hot during last summers heatwave. The room was just big enough for the bed, with no other furniture and only a fan for cooling. There was also no window to open for air. I would stay here again during the winter, but cannot recommend during the summer!

Was good for a quick trip for sure, no AC so be mindful about it

My room was a so-called "secret bookcase," and I now understand why they keep it a secret. The room was just wide enough to fit a 160 cm mattress, and that was it. At the foot end, there were maybe 60 cm towards the door. When you closed the bookshelf door, which also opened inward towards you, you were sealed off from the outside world. A chair or something to put your clothes on? Nope. Window? Nope! Ventilation? Well, it didn’t work, so they came up with the concept of a wall fan that was supposed to cool you down and circulate the air. However, it made such a terrible noise that it would drive you crazy. The light was also too dim to read by, and the walls were, of course, black-blue with a psychedelic rose pattern. So there you lay, staring at your toes in the air filled with the anxiety and desperation of a thousand guests, thinking some final thoughts of your own. How about a bottle of water to welcome your guest? Eventually, I gave up on the insane fan, opened the door to the hallway, and wedged a towel to create a 10 cm opening. This solved a lot: "natural" air from the hallway, a sliver of light, and some comforting voices from the outside world. I was saved. Yes, I would recommend the room for self-destroyers and psychopaths.

Liv is a credit to your organisation, she was so friendly and helpful. The hotel is so quirky… we loved it

We arrived 30 Minutes prior to check-in time. We were then told, our room wasn't going to be ready for another two hours (due to "technical problems". Instead of notifiying us prior, we went to the hotel just to leave again and wonder the streets with my kid for two hours. Instead of taking a rest from the trip, use the bathromm an freshen up, i had to walk around the city with my kid for HOURS. I asked them to notify us, as soon as the room is ready. So after that didn't happend, i called and they said that the room was ready already since an hour and a half ago. We were offered a free breakfast, which was a nice gesture, but didn't compensate us wasting hours and the incompetence of the young man at the desk, not even being able to notify us that our room is ready.

The staff was hit or miss. The lady who works the morning shift isn’t the most friendly or helpful and was rude. The room wasn’t the cleanest and the bar was not even open majority of the stay.

Vi havde en fantastisk tur og med helt exceptionelt god service. Den unge fyr der var i receptionen, var helt igennem fantastisk. Vi havde bil problemer ved afrejse, og han hjalp med at kontakte nogen og gav os et sted at vente, mens humøret ved os ikke var helt optimalt, hjalp hans gode humør også på vores Tusind tak kæmpe anbefaling

A good stay at this hotel. The room itself (the bookshelf) was nice, spacious and comfortable. The shared bathroom was okay, it was mostly clean but clearly depends on who used it last. The staff were very friendly however most times there was no one on reception and when clicking the button for attention no one arrived. It made the experience a little poorer.

It’s a wonderful place to stay, as the name says hotel, not hotel. That’s what makes it very unique. I have stayed in a similar place before few times around the world. But what make this place unique is the member who works there? Specially, this new manager, Tamara, she’s absolutely very, very kind person. The moment I have arrived, she had my room key ready for me. The check-in process was only a few minutes and very nicely. She explained to me about the entire facility. When I walk into my room, I see this beautiful welcoming handwriting by them sitting on the bed. It made me very happy. So I highly recommend this place.!!!

Hotel Not Hotel was a super cool experience - we stayed in one of the bookshelf rooms. Takes a bit to get used to the limited space - but very doable! The vibe of the whole place is incredible - very chill, but LOTS to look at. The staff were very friendly and helpful, and provided some great food recommendations for us to check out (Foodhallen - where we also received recommendations from folks working there!). It was quite hot - however - we knew that going in, and doorstops are available so you can prop your shelf/door open and hang out in some of the comfy chairs in the shared area while the fan does the work and cools off the room

Absolutely everything about this quirky charming eclectic place is amazing!! The owner and everyone one of the staff I encountered were so kind and thoughtful. I arrived on 10/13 having left my medications in the United States airport I was layovers in. I was absolutely stressed and in pain. The front desk accommodated my and found a room that was downstairs for me to bush was easier on my knee. I stayed 3 days. On my 2-3 day I stayed in my original room booked upstairs behind a bookcase for days 2-3. Such a great location to get anywhere from the tram 17 and 13 will get you into the center of town. Shared bathrooms were new to me but quickly accustomed and felt safe and very clean. Similar to being in a cool loft space of a friend and just going downstairs to use the shower and toilet and sink. Must visit the flower stand at the end of the street and the little cafe Benji’s. The very best chai latte and French toast!!!

The staff was very helpful and professional

We booked one of the XL bookcase rooms for my partner and I as we’re both big readers and thought this would be perfect for us! We were really excited about the idea of sleeping inside of a bookcase. When we got to the hotel we were shown to the Mrs De With room and told we would be staying there. When I told them I didn’t book this room, I was told we’d been moved rooms as there was an issue with the bed in our room. I asked when this issue occurred and was told it happened 2 days ago. Why they couldn’t inform me or get a new bed in 2 days in preparation of a booking I do not know. The room had nothing to do with books, had a picture of a bum, and was also right next to the bar, making it very loud until 11pm. They made out as if they were being uber kind by giving us a slightly bigger room than the one we booked and we would therefore not get a refund. When I looked online it turned out the room they put us in was the only one left for the night. It was still available to book for that night! If someone had booked this room last minute we would have been left with no where to stay! The most they could offer us was a free breakfast, which consisted of 2 kinds of small, cold pastries, some cold meats, bread, juice, fruit, tea and coffee. This didn’t make up for the fact we’d been moved rooms and completely ruined the trip for us. We have since contacted hotels.com to ask the hotel for a refund and they have refused. Completely unacceptable. Will not be staying here again.

If you want something different than your typical hotel this is it a very cool Boutique Hotel nothing fancy but have everything you need breakfast, bar, outside patio and a great neighborhood close to transportation with a fantastic staff I highly recommend for your stay in Amsterdam especially if you want to feel part of the culture and not in the heart of Amsterdam with all the tourist

Original concept, clean amenities and nice staff. The hotel is located close to Tram 17 giving easy access to the centre of Amsterdam.

Super nice staff, clean room, great location and easy accessibility to public transportation.

Quirky hotel in a good location out of the crowds of Amsterdam. Rooms are small, but was fine with two people

Hip vibe, but 20-30 min from downtown by car

The staff is very friendly. It is only a few min walk to the tram.

El hotel es genial; un diseño único; todo muy cómodo. Solo que no hacen limpieza en la habitación. El desayuno es bueno; podría mejorar un poco. El hotel está en una excelente ubicación y se pueden regar bicis directamente en el hotel.

Cute space. Great for a quick stay in Amsterdam. Very close to airport and walkable area. Don’t recommend the VW bus stay in hot weather as there is no AC only a small fan. Can get hot. Bathrooms were clean and overall space was quiet for a shared space hotel. Would return.

Funky, interesting hotel fairly well located in the SW portion of the Centrum. ~20 min walk to Anne Frank Huis and the Rijksmuseum. Staff is really great; everyone seemed to do everything. Rooms are very small. Compensating for that is the fact that the common spaces are very generous; spend your downtime there. There's a good Thai restaurant/bar on site. Even when it was crowded, there was no noise issues in the room.

This quirky hotel was off the beaten path, a short ride on the tram or a 30 minute walk from Amsterdam Centraal station. We stayed in the Blue House upstairs. Mattress was very comfortable, hot shower, kind of quiet. Steam set off smoke alarm at 22:00 inside our room. Breakfast was fair-continental plus a hard boiled egg, cheese, cold cuts. Service was inattentive. Overall, it was okay.

This was definitely an interesting place to stay! Each room had a theme, and the decor was well designed. Only minus was that the door was difficult to lock (you had to push hard and fiddle with the key to get it out after closing the lock). The breakfast was excellent (not a buffet but à la carte) and the hotel offered a bike rental service, witch helped to explore the city!

Check in was easy enough - although we did get hit with surprise fees that weren't mentioned in the booking (though if we did the research maybe this wouldn't be so surprising). The first real negative came at the hotel bar - the service was slow and the whiskey tasted like it has been watered down (Jameson isn't normally the best, but it definitely shouldn't taste like that). The next day the shared bathroom was completely out of toilet roll - this is pretty unacceptable and was a recurring issue throughout the whole stay. On toilet had a broken seat until the last night we stayed. The bed was somewhat comfortable, although this comfort was very limited - we were given one small pillow each, and when we asked for more, were told they didn't have any. The blanket sheet had a hole in it, the room had a window with constant light pouring in from above - there was not a single night that we slept well. Every towel, bedsheet, pillowcase and blanket had an RFID tag, which honestly felt a little ridiculous given everything else felt cheap. Overall, the "hotel" is incredibly average - we booked it because it was cheaper than the others at the time and looked quirky and fun, but really it just felt a bit like a prison cell.. though a prison cell may have actually been more luxurious. Was basically beside a tram stop though, which is nice. Not sure I can give the hotel credit for that though.

Really quirky but very clean and comfortable place with extremely helpful staff. Would definitely recommend it as a great place to stay. The bar on site had delicious Thai food at sensible prices.

This quirky hotel was off the beaten path, a short ride on the tram or a 30 minute walk from Amsterdam Centraal station. We stayed in the Blue House upstairs. Mattress was very comfortable, hot shower, kind of quiet. Steam set off smoke alarm at 22:00 inside our room. Breakfast was fair-continental plus a hard boiled egg, cheese, cold cuts. Service was inattentive. Overall, it was okay.

Excellent experience.. we booked the larger bookcase room with a window which proved to be the correct decision. Staff are very helpful from lifting suitcases to pleasant manners. The Thai restaurant is worth having a meal.. high quality food and service

Un hotel muy original gran diseño que lo hace muy acogedor. El desayuno delicioso y el personal muy amable. Fácil acceso al centro

J’ai tout aimé! Superbe concept innovateur et unique : le design de tout l’hôtel, des chambres ainsi que l’attention aux détails est incroyable. Beaucoup de services et commodités disponibles sur place. Personnel super attentionné, serviable et gentil.

Eigentlich ganz niedlich, aber der Frühstücksservice ist schlecht. Hatte Brötchen, man muss um Messer, Gläser, Tassen bitten. Wenn der Kaffee leer ist werden die Kannen nicht selbständig vom Personal nachgefüllt.

We stayed in the lower blue room. There were no reading lamps by the beds and no table or other furniture to put things, except for one chair. The foot end of the double bed had collapsed and offered no support. When showering, most of the bathroom floor got wet. The breakfast tasted good but offered quite a small selection. Hot chocolate and apple juice were not included. The staff was very polite and friendly but it took some time for them to show up when we and other guests rang for them. This place has a fun concept but needs to work on some things to raise its over all level. We will book another hotel next time we visit Amsterdam.

Super séjour, le concept de l'hotel est genial avec un beau décor. Salles de bain communes propres et avec des cabines séparées. Le restaurant est super avec un tres bon service