Amsterdam Hostel Annemarie in Amsterdam

The location was what motivated me to book. My purpose for being in Amsterdam was the museums and concerts making this an ideal location. The big museums including Rijksmuseum, Van Gough, Moco are 5 min walk and I could ghetto from my room to the entrance of Concertgebouw in less than 2mins. You can easily walk into the historic centre, though if you go in the opposite direction you are in rows of houses with shops, cafes and restaurants that are not tourist hotspots. If your purpose is clubbing then you will be further from the action as this is a peaceful neighbourhood. During December the museum square had a lovely Christmas Market and skating rink. This is an older house over multiple levels with typical steep staircases. On the ground floor there is a basic kitchen area with fridge, microwave, kettle and sink - suitable for preparing simple food though not cooking. I prefer hostels that have full kitchen facilities but in this case chose location over facilities. The front room contains the reception area which is always staffed and controls entry to the building as you are buzzed in making it secure. Reception is monitoring cameras located around the building. I stayed 4 nights and thus encountered 4 different staff members in the various shifts, all of who were polite and helpful. I stayed in the 15 people room for 3 nights and the smaller 4 person room for 1 night. The bunk beds are 3 levels, which considering the large height of the ceilings in the building I can understand: all beds have plenty of headroom to sit upright and it does not seem cramped. The beds are metal, solid, secured to the floor/wall so it feels safe climbing up and down. Beds are partially made up of, needing only to put the duvet cover on. The 15 person room has 3x 5 lockers (own padlock needed) big enough for handbags and valuables. The small room had lockers located in reception area as no space in the room. The rooms have sinks. The large rooms have en-suite toilet combined with shower, while for the small room this was in the corridor. If at full capacity this may result in some waiting time: during my stay I never experienced any problems though may stay was off season and the room was never at full occupancy. Suitcases do not fit net the bed so if everyone had large cases it would feel cramped. In the rooms only lower bunks have direct access to power outlets. Thus, I charged my phone and power bank in the mornings using the power outlet at reception while having my free cup of tea (also coffee). The WiFi was free and was stable accept for Saturday night which is probably due to it being the busiest night and lots of people in bed using the internet. People should not confuse an older building that in some areas is a little shabby with being unclean. Bedding, shower rooms and common areas were clean and well maintained. What you need to keep in mind is that when doing shared accommodation your experience is directly influenced by the habits and