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NEW Review as of 3/31/2003 - A Hotel Near the Amsterdam Museums Hotel Acro. Jan Luijkenstraat 44, Amsterdam, Netherlands Tel: +31 (0)20 662 5538 or email info@acro-hotel.nl Check their website: ACRO Amsterdam Hotel - www.acro-hotel.nl I can't say enough good things about this high-end two star budget travelers hotel. Located just steps away from the Rijksmuseum, this is the first place to check. I just stayed there a few days in March 2003. I had not been there for two years, and I was very happy to find that things have only gotten better! Some more rooms were added, the breakfast room was redone to be more convenient for the guests, and the bar has been completely redone. I do miss the Y2K countdown clock, but otherwise the new bar is great -- it's much cozier than the old one. Cozy is the English word for gezellig, and the ARCO has moved the gezellig up a notch. (What the heck is gezellig?) BOOK YOUR ROOM EARLY!! CALL THEM OR CHECK THEIR WEBSITE FOR RATES, as rates may vary with the season. If you plan to stay there for Queen's Day in April, you might want to call about 8 months in advance -- really! Because this is such a cool hotel many travel agents send individuals and groups there. Because of this, the hotel sells blocks of rooms early! If they don't have a hotel room available check with an Amsterdam travel agent, or with your travel agent to see if they have a room at the ACRO. TO GET THERE: From Amsterdam Centraal Station: Take tram 2 or 5 to Hobbemastraat / Rijksmuseum stop. You are on Hobbemastraat near Jan Luijkenstraat, across from the Rijksmuseum and Museumplein. Look up Jan Luijkenstraat away from the museum, and you will see the ACRO sign about halfway up the block. The Hotel ACRO is a rare find in Amsterdam. It's the cleanest place I've stayed at in Amsterdam (including the Hilton). They usually are booked complete a month or two in advance. There is a reason for this. The ACRO is a simple hotel with some nice features. I stayed there a few times for many days, and every day the room was made up beautifully. They have nice beds and cable TV. There are telephones, although the last time I stayed there, guests had to place calls through the person working downstairs. If you get a room facing the street, you get a nice view: some of the finest houses in Amsterdam are on Jan Luijkenstraat, which is one block away from P.C. Hooftstraat, an expensive chic shopping district. Within a 2 minute walk is the Rijksmuseum (the Dutch National Museum) and the Van Gogh Museum, as well as the Stedlijk (modern art). Also nearby is the Van Gogh Cafe. Leidseplein is only a 5 minute walk from the ACRO, as is the art quarter of Spiegelgracht. Is there anything bad to say about the ACRO? No, except for the things I would say about any hotel. My standard disclaimer: just because I had a good time there doesn't mean you will. One thing I see guests having problems with is being impatient. Your bartender is also the reservations department, the front desk man, the telephone operator and the chief of security. If you have to wait a bit for your beer, please be patient. This is true of many Dutch hotels, and we impatient Americans have to get used to this. If you are an American traveler and you really prefer the kiss-ass treatment available at (much) more expensive places, you may want to try the Hilton or the Marriot. Otherwise I truly recommend the ACRO. Mercure Arthur Frommer Noorderstraat 46, PH # 31-20-622-0328, WARNING this review is very old, I have not been at the Mercure Arthur Frommer for years. From friend B.B. comes: "I think the high season rate is 210 NGL. Minibar, great A/C, Comfy beds, nice staff. Off Vijzelstraat the 16, 24, and 25 trams stop just off Noorderstraat. Quick walk to museums, Leidesplein, and Rembrantsplein." I have personally stayed there and they are a good hotel, for sure. A tad expensive, and they don't like people smoking pot and hash in the rooms, but they don't stop you either. They offer a nice breakfast downstairs with coffee that will wake you up. Also nearby is the Noodzak Deli, the Little Coffeeshop, and the rest of Amsterdam. I think it's funny that this hotel is much nicer and cheaper than the Ibis by the Central Station, though Ibis hotels are supposedly cheaper. Ibis is related to Mercure: they are French hotel chains with locations around Europe of various quality. Usually Ibis is the cheap one where you might even share a bathroom, while Mercures are higher quality. OTHER HOTELS I KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT Based on friend's recommendations, the Owl and Citadel hotels are nice but simple. Above the Van Gogh Cafe near the ACRO and the Rijksmuseum is the Hotel Smit. I never stayed there but I looked at the rooms and they seemed nice but simple. I did NOT LIKE Hotel ACCA (not ACRO, they are good, the ACCA is around the corner). The ACCA was not clean like some others, and at the last minute they decided they wanted cash, saying they couldn't take credit cards. I figured they meant they wouldn't take credit cards from me. As of mid 2003 I hear the ACCA has not changed their lack of quality. |