2022.04 Amsterdam weekend, Keukenhof and Rijksmuseum Part 3 – Hilton Amsterdam
For my birthday long weekend, I selected a hotel we’d stayed at several times and quite enjoyed, Hilton Amsterdam. Our visit was just as good as our previous stays.
Location
This is not a city center hotel located steps away from everything. Instead this hotel is seemingly located in a residential area where its surrounding area gives a quiet and tranquil vibe — there is a school along the short walk from the transit stop. It’s just a few stops, by public transit, away from Museumplein, and is easy to get to by public transit.
For this visit, I finally found the most efficient route, being bus route 397. This route from Schiphol into Amsterdam travels along an area with many hotels, and Museumplein. As it travels along dedicated bus or tram lanes, it’s reliable and with plenty of space for luggage a breeze to take.
From the nearest stop, Emmastraat, the Hilton Amsterdam is just a short walk over a canal to get to the front entrance of the hotel.
check-in
Upon entering the hotel there is a large open area, with check-in to the left, and the elevators to the right.
Check-in was quick and we were assigned a standard room that is labelled, King Deluxe room. We were given instructions on where to find breakfast, as well as which restaurants were open during our stay. If I recall correctly, during our visit there was one restaurant available (we didn’t visit) for dinner. Food options throughout the day is available from the Half Moon Cocktail Lounge. We didn’t order anything from in-room dining.
Room
The elevators are approximately in the middle of the hotel, so you’ll turn left or right to head towards your assigned room.
The King Deluxe Room is the standard room available at the hotel. For two people, it’s adequate space.
Our room did not have a view of the canal to the north of the hotel, instead we had a view to the south. Near the horizon is Amsterdam south business centre.
The room had a minibar with items available for purchase, and more useful, a small space for any of our own items, along with a Nespresso machine and a kettle for tea.
The circular table was useful as we picked up items from a local store to have a simple dinner one evening and we didn’t have to crowd around the desk-like space beside the TV.
Here’s a picture of the bathroom. It had enough counter space for us.
Breakfast
On the main floor, down the hallway near the front of the hotel took us to where breakfast was served.
The hotel’s size makes it convenient for tour groups, and on the first morning we arrived somewhat early for breakfast where the area was quite busy! We quickly learned that its crowding was due to a tour group that quickly departed after our arrival to board their tour buses. If you visit, having a later breakfast might be more quiet than having breakfast early.
The buffet is along one wall, with many hot, and cold items available. At the end of the breakfast area was the massive bread, and pastry assortment. Both of us fell in love with the carb heaven display.
Seating at breakfast had a majority of table and chairs, and opposite the buffet were a few nooks that had space for 6-8 people. These nooks gave a feeling of seclusion as the padding helped to deaden the sound and make the space seem quiet, and far away from the hustle of people traveling to the buffet items.
Servers were quick with our beverage requests. We left each morning being extremely full and ready to be active for the rest of the day.
Half Moon Cocktail Lounge
By the time we arrived at the hotel, our jetlag made the comfortable bed very tempting. We fought the urge to sleep in late afternoon and headed to the lounge to have an early dinner, justifying to ourselves that falling asleep before 8pm would be okay as we already had had dinner. 😉
The lounge has a collection of seating arrangements, however the highlight of the space was the view of the canal.
On our first visit to the restaurant I had a burger, and she had a steak. The french fries were excellent, and due to the lounge being quiet, and us not being in a rush, we enjoyed chatting with the staff throughout the meal.
Our second visit was after our time at Keukenhof. Exhausted from walking, we gladly had dinner here as neither of us wanted to move far after having a meal. This time around I had a Pizza (cannot recall what she had), and then the staff arrived with dessert, complete with a massive sparkler to celebrate my birthday.
The sparkler went on for a good thirty seconds!
The apple pie was excellent but, it was the ice cream that was the star of dessert given how flavourful and tasty it was.
Being our third time staying at this hotel, we were happy with our choice, and I look forward to finding an excuse to return in the future.
Explore other parts of this trip:
Part 1 – Air Canada flight Toronto to Zurich
Part 2 – Connection in Zurich, Swiss flight Zurich to Amsterdam
Part 3 – Hilton Amsterdam (this post!)