The Hostelz.com Review
The city of Amsterdam is full of hostels near the Red Light District that provide a bohemian atmosphere for enjoying the herb and partying all night long; fortunately, there is an alternative for those who have come to enjoy the culture, the people and the scenic beauty -- Inner Amsterdam hostel.
The Location
The hostel is in a quiet neighborhood near the Museumplein tram station. It is very near the concert hall and a short walk from the city’s museum district (in particular, the Vincent Van Gogh Museum, which has an extensive collection of works by the Netherlands’ favorite native son, as well as the work of his contemporaries and influences -- you can get a discount ticket from Inner’s reception desk, but admittedly, it's not a big one, but it will enable you to avoid the ticket line on a busy day). The desk can also sell you advance tickets to other attractions. Upon arrival, we bombarded the friendly reception people with a variety of questions, some simple, some not. They answered them all cheerfully and politely.
The hostel is easily accessible from the Amstel Station via the 12 tram, where the international buses stop. The 5 tram takes you to the Suid station, and from there you can get to the airport or to the Arena, where the football team Ajax plays. The 5 or the 2 can take you to the Dam Square area, the Red Light District, the Central Station, or the entertainment district.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The bedrooms are fairly small and get a bit stuffy as the night wears on, but the windows can be opened to air out during the day. The beds are comfy and warm (quite welcome during the cold Amsterdam nights). There are plenty of outlets for laptops and recharging your electronic devices in the bedroom. Small lockers are available in the hallway for your valuables, and will fit your electronics or maybe an average-sized backpack. There are two luggage rooms on the ground floor. The bathrooms are en-suite and average-sized for a hostel -- they may be the cleanest bathrooms you will encounter in a hostel.
Common Spaces
There are three rooms in the common area. One is a bar, but the bar itself was not open during our stay. There are drinks, Heineken beer, candies, and ice cream for sale in the lobby. The other two rooms are what must have been a restaurant when this was a more formal hotel. One of the large rooms has a big-screen television. There are only two outlets for laptops in the common area. There is a strong Wi-Fi signal throughout the hostel; however, it also has blocking software with an archaic view of what is inappropriate, especially in a city like Amsterdam.
The hostel serves a free breakfast every morning in one of the common rooms, starting at 7 a.m. If a traveler is weary of the bread and water breakfasts that many hostels serve, then this will be a welcome meal. It consists of hard-boiled eggs, deli ham and turkey, cheese, four kinds of bread, a strange pretoasted Dutch bread, jam, chocolate spread, granola, cornflakes, and three kinds of juice, as well as coffee and tea.
There are no laundry facilities on-site, but there is a laundromat in the neighborhood. They charge a lot for a self-service washer and dryer, so you may want to consider doing your laundry either before or after you visit Amsterdam. If you want to cook, you are mostly out of luck. There is a prep area, but only two microwaves. They do provide plates and silverware. A clean, well-stocked supermarket, the new Albert Heijn store, is across located at the Museumplein stop.
Summary
If you want to party like it’s 1999, there are plenty of hostels in the Red Light District for you. If you are a bit more grown up and want something quieter, away from the weed and working girls, this is a nice alternative.
The Location
The hostel is in a quiet neighborhood near the Museumplein tram station. It is very near the concert hall and a short walk from the city’s museum district (in particular, the Vincent Van Gogh Museum, which has an extensive collection of works by the Netherlands’ favorite native son, as well as the work of his contemporaries and influences -- you can get a discount ticket from Inner’s reception desk, but admittedly, it's not a big one, but it will enable you to avoid the ticket line on a busy day). The desk can also sell you advance tickets to other attractions. Upon arrival, we bombarded the friendly reception people with a variety of questions, some simple, some not. They answered them all cheerfully and politely.
The hostel is easily accessible from the Amstel Station via the 12 tram, where the international buses stop. The 5 tram takes you to the Suid station, and from there you can get to the airport or to the Arena, where the football team Ajax plays. The 5 or the 2 can take you to the Dam Square area, the Red Light District, the Central Station, or the entertainment district.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The bedrooms are fairly small and get a bit stuffy as the night wears on, but the windows can be opened to air out during the day. The beds are comfy and warm (quite welcome during the cold Amsterdam nights). There are plenty of outlets for laptops and recharging your electronic devices in the bedroom. Small lockers are available in the hallway for your valuables, and will fit your electronics or maybe an average-sized backpack. There are two luggage rooms on the ground floor. The bathrooms are en-suite and average-sized for a hostel -- they may be the cleanest bathrooms you will encounter in a hostel.
Common Spaces
There are three rooms in the common area. One is a bar, but the bar itself was not open during our stay. There are drinks, Heineken beer, candies, and ice cream for sale in the lobby. The other two rooms are what must have been a restaurant when this was a more formal hotel. One of the large rooms has a big-screen television. There are only two outlets for laptops in the common area. There is a strong Wi-Fi signal throughout the hostel; however, it also has blocking software with an archaic view of what is inappropriate, especially in a city like Amsterdam.
The hostel serves a free breakfast every morning in one of the common rooms, starting at 7 a.m. If a traveler is weary of the bread and water breakfasts that many hostels serve, then this will be a welcome meal. It consists of hard-boiled eggs, deli ham and turkey, cheese, four kinds of bread, a strange pretoasted Dutch bread, jam, chocolate spread, granola, cornflakes, and three kinds of juice, as well as coffee and tea.
There are no laundry facilities on-site, but there is a laundromat in the neighborhood. They charge a lot for a self-service washer and dryer, so you may want to consider doing your laundry either before or after you visit Amsterdam. If you want to cook, you are mostly out of luck. There is a prep area, but only two microwaves. They do provide plates and silverware. A clean, well-stocked supermarket, the new Albert Heijn store, is across located at the Museumplein stop.
Summary
If you want to party like it’s 1999, there are plenty of hostels in the Red Light District for you. If you are a bit more grown up and want something quieter, away from the weed and working girls, this is a nice alternative.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
October 2011
Their Description
Inner Amsterdam Details
|
|
(To add or correct information for this listing, please use the Listing Update Form.)
Map Location/ContactHow is Inner Amsterdam rated on other websites?
Inner Amsterdam Reviews on Other WebsitesHostelz.com Guest Reviews
Great Place to Stay! This was a great place to stay, very clean and comfortable. As previously stated, though, the number of keys per room is quite small, so you may have to knock on the door in the middle of the night to get into your room. There was one instance where the people in room had taken the key with them, and I was locked out of the room entirely. The staff reluctantly allowed me to use the master key. So, other than the key situation, it was an excellent place to stay. — Casey C , USA (2007-08-01) Could be a lot better. Two great drawbacks to this hostel. There was only one key for our room, which had six people in it, so every time someone came home late, that person would have to knock on the door and wake everybody up to get in. Imagine how popular that makes you. And the room was so packed with beds that there was absolutely no room to put your bags anywhere. Third, the bar was kinda boring, but when you're in Amsterdam, that's not such a problem. There was one person though, from the staff, who gave us free beer one night -- we will never forget her! — Mort , Denmark (2007-07-18) One of the best hostels I've ever been in. It is located ten to fifteen minutes walking from the city center (very reasonable distance). The room I stayed in was very, very clean, They changed the sheets every day, every bed has a lamp right next to it, the bathroom and shower were located in the room itself (which is a very good plus!), and were really clean and of a high standard. There are several internet points (which were quite expensive to use -- 1 euro for thirty minutes I think) that usually works fine (sometimes some of the internet points doesn't work but that's understandable -- it tends to happen when so many people use it). The breakfast was a continental breakfast and was very good. There is a pub downstairs but I didn't love it and didn't go over there. It was like a meat market, I couldn't breathe in there, the music wasn't that great. If you want to know people, the pub might be a good place to be in. The receptionists were all kind and nice. My opinion about the place is good. You will enjoy your stay over there. — Guy (2006-09-06)