Month: May 2016

Westcord Fashion Hotel – Amsterdam

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Hotelchain: Westcord Hotels
Location: Amsterdam – The Netherlands
Classification: 4 star hotel
Official website: westcordhotels.nl/…/fashion-hotel-amsterdam

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Located in the fashion district of Amsterdam, the Westcord Fashion Hotel is a four star hotel near the center of Amsterdam. The city center is reachable with public transportation in just 10 minutes. The hotel is easily reachable with the car and an underground parking is available at reasonable rates. This hotel is a great alternative to the expensive hotels which are located in the center of Amsterdam.

As soon as you enter the Westcord Fashion Hotel you know why it is called ‘Fashion Hotel’. The theme is noticeable throughout the place, from the fashion displayed in the lobby area to the modern touches elsewhere. The reception staff was accommodating and efficient without being over the top.

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My room was located on one of the higher floors offering stunning views over Amsterdam. The large was very large and was comfortably appointed! 4 people could easily sleep here as there was an oversized king sized bed and 2 sleeper sofa’s. Do notice the most comfortable leather lounge chair in the room. I spent hours in here watching some movies. I loved it! The comfortable and modern bath room had bath tub and separate walk-in shower. The room was very clean and smelled good. The Nespresso machine was appreciated as well. I had a great night’s sleep… the bed and pillows were of a great quality.

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The Westcord Fashion Hotel has a wellness area located on the lower floor. Although not too large, it does have a full fitness center with lovely equipment and an indoor swimming pool. The pool area definitely is a bonus! After spending some hours of shopping in Amsterdam, this is the place to chill out after a busy day in Amsterdam. They also offer several beauty treatments at affordable rates. You can also enjoy the sauna for an additional rate of 10 EUR.

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The restaurant Fashion in located on the main floor and offers international dishes again at affordable rates. Also, breakfast is served here and the full American breakfast was of a good quality. The varied buffet will please anyone. Again, staff was friendly. For some reason, I really liked their natural yoghurt! Be sure to try it out yourself!

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The Wescord Fashion Hotel definitely deserves its good name. The lovely staff, spacious rooms and indoor swimming pool are the highlights of this hotel!

Mövenpick Amsterdam

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Hotelchain: Mövenpick
Location: Amsterdam – The Netherlands
Classification: 4 star hotel
Official website: movenpick.com/…m/hotel-amsterdam/overview

Located right at the IJ, The Mövenpick is a unique four star hotel in beautiful Amsterdam. It is only located a few minutes from the city center and Central Station. It offers unique views over the river IJ and Amsterdam’s stunning buildings! The hotel looks brand new, although it opened back in 2006. Today, it still looks great and trendy which means they maintain the hotel in a brilliant way!

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The hotel is pretty large and has 408 rooms. The stunning lobby area is bright and spacious. We were welcomed by a very friendly guy who gave us all the information we needed to know about the hotel and its facilities. The keys to our room were handed in just seconds. As said, the Mövenpick Amsterdam is located near the Central Station and the hotel offers a complimentary shuttle service to the Central Station. Just call the concierge and they will be happy to arrange the shuttle.

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We stayed in an executive floor on the top floor of the hotel. The rooms at the Mövenpick Amsterdam are spacious and beautifully decorated with warm red/brown colors. The comfy chair in the room was a bonus! By the way, the television in the room was one of the best I have seen in any hotel. You can even record your favorite programs and watch them whenever you want. Since we stayed at an executive room, the drinks in the minibar were complimentary. Other facilities I appreciated were the Nespresso coffee machine, oversized working desk and a spacious bathroom with tub. The room was immaculately clean and the view we had of Amsterdam was amazing!

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The executive lounge is located on the 2nd floor and was the best executive lounge I have experienced in Amsterdam! Complimentary soft and hot drinks are served here all day long and from 5pm – 7pm, alcoholic drinks and light bites are offered as well. The lounge itself is very cozy, very classy and the service was top notch! Again, they all seem to work here with great pleasure. In fact, I could have spent here for hours, meeting other people, having drink together, etc. Loved it! In the morning, you can have breakfast here. The small buffet at night is just wonderful with several nice food options: shrimps, dim sum, cheeses, bread, etc.

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Another plus: the spa area with fitness center and wellness. After a busy day in Amsterdam this is the best place to come at ease and have some me-time. Again, every is so well maintained here with plenty of fresh towels. Bathrobes and slippers can be found in the rooms. The wellness area has two sauna’s – a Finnish and Bio – and a relaxing area.

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Later that night, we had dinner at the Silk Road Restaurant, located on the 2nd floor, which presents a creative, international cuisine in a relaxed and tranquil environment. The three course meal we had here was delicious! As soon as you enter through the long corridor, you’ll see the open kitchen and great décor of the place. It’s obvious this restaurant was fine dining. The food looked really fresh and everything we ordered was very well prepared. From the sea bass to the most yummy dessert, I loved every bite! Did you know that Mövenpick has its own ice cream and chocolate? Definitely try it yourself, you won’t be sorry 🙂

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The next morning I enjoyed a full breakfast. To be honest, I didn’t need to eat any more that day after such a great breakfast. The buffet was amazing and the cheese and ham omelet was lovely and prepared within a few minutes.

I truly appreciated the friendliness of the staff. I felt at home from the moment I stepped into the hotel which is unique! Every staff member served us with a smile. The hotel is a true jewel near the center of Amsterdam. Comfortable rooms, great food and top notch service… the Mövenpick Amsterdam is definitely one of the better four star hotels in Amsterdam! Highly recommended!

Hilton Frankfurt City Centre

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Hotelchain: Hilton
Location: Frankfurt – Germany
Classification: 5 star hotel
Official website: www3.hilton.com/…/hilton-frankfurt-city-centre-FRAHITW

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The Hilton Frankfurt City Centre is a five star hotel right in the middle of Frankfurt. The location is perfect! If you are here for business or leisure, it truly doesn’t matter as everything is nearby. I love shopping and Frankfurt is great for shopping… It was only a five minute walk to the Zeil, the main shopping area of Frankfurt. This hotel is located right next to a park which is great for walking or jogging.

As soon as I entered the Hilton Frankfurt City Centre, I noticed how large this hotel is. There are 342 rooms and suites located on 12 floors. The lobby area is really spacious and I loved the open atrium! It is huge and I liked the day light and sun shining through the huge windows! Reception staff was very welcoming and efficient. Always nice to be welcomed with a smile even though it was pretty late when we arrived that night.

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We stayed in a junior suite and were very pleased with the room! The suite was pretty large (46 m²) and was luxuriously appointed. It had a separate living area with comfy couches, an oversized working desk, king bed and a large bathroom with both tub and shower. Since we were at the top floor, we had an amazing view of Frankfurt. The room was like a small apartment!

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Floors 10 – 12 are the executive floors where guests can enjoy access to the executive lounge with complimentary drinks and snacks all day long. In the morning, a continental breakfast is served here as well and at night from 6pm – 10pm, complimentary alcoholic drinks can be consumed here at no additional charges as well as appetizers. It kind of felt like a small hotel in a hotel with very personal touches. And although, breakfast at the executive lounge will please everyone, we did have breakfast downstairs at Pacific Colors. The buffet style breakfast was excellent with plenty of choice. The sparkling wine was a bonus!

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A lot of things to do here! The Hilton Frankfurt City Centre is directly connected to the Fitness First facility offering the latest technology fitness equipment. Attached is a large indoor semi olympic sized swimming pool. Guests can use the facility at no additional charge. Even beauty treatments can be booked here as well.

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There are several dining options, from local favorites with regional sourced ingredients at the Vista Bar & Lounge to international cuisine at Pacific Colors.  We had lunch at ‘Terrace on the Park’, a American BBQ and Steak concept styled restaurant with a live cooking station. Honestly, the food and service were top notch! Definitely worth a visit while you’re there! The steak was delicious and the dessert was to die for! I also appreciated the location of the restaurant, in the lobby area but with a private ambiance as it is located at the left side. Fantastic!

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The Hilton Frankfurt City Centre is one of the best hotels in Frankfurt and definitely deserves its high reputation! Every staff member I met was friendly and served us with a smile! Highly recommended!

Frankfurt Hilton Airport

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Hotelchain: Hilton
Location: Frankfurt – Germany
Classification: 4 star hotel
Official website: www3.hilton.com/…/hilton-frankfurt-airport-FRAHAHI

 

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The Hilton Frankfurt Airport is one of the best airport hotels I have been to! It is so conveniently located and directly attached to the airport of Frankfurt. No shuttle service needed here! It opened in 2011 and everything is still looking fresh and new!

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The lobby area is just fantastic. It is like a large atrium with a lot of light and space. As you look up, you can actually see the planes flying by. The check-in staff were very professional and kind. They have us all the information we needed to know about the hotel and its facilities. After some administration, they handed us the keys and guided us to our beautiful deluxe room. All the restaurants are located on the ground floor. There’s a bar/restaurant called The Fifth right opposite the check-in desk offering burgers, sandwiches, etc. At Rise, guests can enjoy several international dishes. Also, breakfast is served here every morning. I liked the overall design of the hotel, contemporary and modern.

Our room, a deluxe executive room, was located on one of the executive floors (floors 9-10). The room we stayed in was comfortable and had all the amenities I would expect of a four star hotel. The king size bed was great to sleep in! The large bathroom had both a bath tub and separate walk-in shower. The room was immaculately clean and temperature was great! The comfy couch was very relaxing for watching television later that night! Loved it!

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The executive lounge was located on our floor and actually was one of the best Hilton executive lounges I have experienced! The food throughout the day was excellent and all soft and hot drinks are complimentary all day long. From 6pm – 8.30pm alcoholic drinks such as white/red wine and some spirits are offered as well. The food was great too! Small hamburgers, vegetables, pasta and some sweets. The lounge was large featuring several sitting areas. It was great to hang out reading a book or surfing with my tablet. Service was fantastic and nothing was asked for too much!

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With all the eating and drinking, I wanted to work out. The fitness center at the Hilton Frankfurt Airport is large and one thing I noticed is the nice temperature. I don’t know why, but most times it is just too hot at a hotel’s fitness center, but here it was as it should be, not too warm… and not too cold. Perfect! After a great work out I used the steam room and felt completely zen afterwards.

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After a wonderful night, we had breakfast at the executive lounge. The small buffet was an excellent start of the day and I appreciated the calm atmosphere at the lounge! At some lounges, you do need to look for a place to sit, but no need to worry about that here… the lounge is huge!

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If you ever need a place to stay near the airport of Frankfurt, do not hesitate to stay at the Hilton. With direct access to the airport, great rooms and fantastic service… This is THE place to be!

 

DoubleTree by Hilton Amsterdam Central Station

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Hotelchain: DoubleTree by Hilton
Location: Amsterdam – The Netherlands
Classification: 4 star hotel
Official website: doubletree3.hilton.com/…/doubletree-by-hilton-amsterdam-centraal-station-AMSCSDI

As most of you know, I am a Hilton fan! 🙂 I was happy to experience and explore the DoubleTree by Hilton Amsterdam Central Station as I heard good things about the hotel and oh boy, it definitely deserves its high reputation! The hotel is perfectly located to explore Amsterdam as the central station is right next to the hotel and the city center of Amsterdam is just a few steps away. Just as I like it, a central location without the hectic city center.

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The hotel itself is quite new, it opened back in 2011 as the first DoubleTree hotel in the Netherlands. With 557 rooms, it is pretty large but they manage to provide a personal service which I appreciated very much. As usual, guests receive a chocolate chip cookie (I’m in love with these cookies by the way!) and all the information we needed to know was given. It are those small things like the cookies that make the hotel experience different than the usual. Our keys were handed in just seconds… great!

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We stayed in an executive room which gave us access to the executive lounge which I will tell you more about later. The room itself had a good size and had a modern decoration. One thing I never saw in any other hotel was the iMac. Every room at the DoubleTree by Hilton hotel Amsterdam Central Station has its own iMac which works as a television as well. I was happy to leave my own laptop at home! No e-mails… no messages… no files… Just browsing the internet! Excellent! Although the bathroom wasn’t too large, it had all the amenities I needed such as single sink, toilet and a good size walk-in shower. One detail: great toiletries including mouth wash … never seen in any four star hotel.

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After exploring our beautiful room we went downstairs to explore the executive lounge which is located on the ground floor near the bar. The executive lounge at the DoubleTree by Hilton Amsterdam Central Station is one of the better lounges I have experienced. In the morning, guests can enjoy a wonderful buffet breakfast. I saw guests ordering omelets, etc. and they were happy to prepare them. I even noticed champagne at the breakfast buffet which is not common at an executive lounge breakfast. From 6pm – 8pm alcoholic drinks such as beer and wine are served. Small bites are offered as well. I suggest and highly recommend to upgrade your room to the executive level. For a small amount, you get so many advantages!

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Before heading to bed, I visited the Sky Lounge, a famous rooftop bar in Amsterdam with a great ambiance. There was a cool atmosphere with lounge music played by a dj and several seating areas. The menu is amazing with several unique cocktails which are prepared in a very professional way! I couldn’t ask for a better view, by the way! The 360° panoramic views of Amsterdam are unique.

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Breakfast is served at Eastwood. The breakfast served here is above average with complimentary champagne and lots of hot/cold dishes and several à la carte items. The perfect way to start your day!

The DoubleTree by Hilton Amsterdam Central Station is a top notch four star hotel with 5 star service and great facilities such as a large fitness center, bars and a full service restaurant. After staying here, it became one of my favorite hotels in Amsterdam and would recommend this hotel to anyone! Thumbs up!