HI - Stayokay Amsterdam Stadsdoelen Hostel is a large hostel with a institutional feel to it. Some of the staff can be unfriendly, and even talking to them usually involves waiting in line for at least ten minutes. Amsterdam is a popular city with the backpacking crowd, so this place is often packed full, especially in the summer. They are helpful in helping find things to do around the city and provide some discounts on museum admission and other activities.
The Location
The best thing about this hostel is the location! An easy walk from the train station and just a couple of minutes away from the red light district. It overlooks the canals and is a very safe, peaceful area, just outside of the noisy tourist zone -- very close to everything.
Rooms and Bathrooms
The rooms are huge, with lots of beds. The mattresses leave a lot to be desired, and the sheets and blankets have definitely seen better days. The rooms and the hallways are continuously filthy with dust and dirt, and the state of the bathrooms is appalling -- the trash cans are not emptied even when they are overflowing, leading to a problem with cockroaches and other bugs crawling all over them and all over the bathroom. Vomit covering the bathrooms is also standard for this hostel, and none of the staff bothers to do anything about it. They do provide gigantic lockers in the hallways outside of the rooms, which is necessary with all of the creepy people milling about.
Common Spaces
There isn't much community here. The bar downstairs can get busy, but overall it's not a great place to meet people, though they do have cheap beer, TVs, pool table, and friendly bartenders.
Summary
Staying at this hostel feels like staying at a creepy mental institution, not to mention that it smells funky, and is dirty beyond any normal standards, But for the price it might be hard to get anything better in such a central location, especially if you plan on staying away from the hostel as much as possible.
— Exklusive Hostelz.com Übersicht
October 2007
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