"As someone who has stayed at many Hilton properties over the years, I wanted to take my time before writing this review because I wanted to be as fair and objective as possible.
We spent a full week at DoubleTree by Hilton Amsterdam Centraal Station, which gave us the opportunity to experience the hotel beyond a quick overnight stay.
The hotel's greatest strengths are its location, the spectacular views, and its people. The location simply couldn't be better. Being right next to Amsterdam Centraal Station made exploring the city incredibly easy, whether by train, tram, ferry, or on foot. The neighborhood is lively, full of cafés and restaurants, and yet the hotel itself still feels comfortable and welcoming.
Our room was spacious, beautifully designed, and spotlessly clean when we arrived. Before check-in, we had requested a few additional amenities, such as extra towels and toiletries, and everything had already been prepared for us. The room had everything we needed, including a comfortable sitting area, dining area, a full bathroom, a separate powder room, slippers, a hairdryer, and an ice bucket with easy access to an ice machine on our floor. The view was absolutely beautiful, and the two air-conditioning units kept the room perfectly cool, even during one of Amsterdam's hottest weeks.
Every member of the staff we encountered was warm, professional, and genuinely kind. Whether it was reception, housekeeping, room service, or the concierge team, everyone greeted us with a smile and made us feel welcome. We'd especially like to thank Dylan from the concierge team, who was exceptionally friendly, professional, and a pleasure to talk to.
We ordered room service twice during our stay. The food was excellent, especially the burrata, Caesar salad, pulled beef ragu and the pizza. During our second order, there was a small mistake with our dietary request, and the delivery took longer than expected. However, once we called, the corrected meal arrived within minutes, and the team apologized both when delivering the replacement and again when collecting the trays later. Mistakes happen, but what impressed us most was how professionally they handled the situation.
One additional area that could be improved was the Wi-Fi. While it worked well for streaming videos, it was noticeably slow when browsing websites or loading pages. We also found ourselves having to reconnect to the hotel's Wi-Fi from time to time. We didn't need to enter our credentials again, but we did have to sign in each time. It wasn't a major inconvenience, but a faster and more seamless connection would have made the stay even better.
There were, however, two aspects of our stay that unfortunately affected our overall experience.
The first was the bed. We understand that mattress comfort is subjective, but for us, the mattress and pillows simply weren't comfortable. My wife developed significant neck and back pain during our stay. The hotel kindly provided the firmest pillows they had available, but unfortunately they still didn't suit her needs. In the end, we visited a Tempur store in Amsterdam and purchased a pillow so she could be more comfortable. It helped considerably with the neck pain, although the mattress itself remained uncomfortable for her.
The second issue was the bathroom. Toward the end of our stay, we discovered a noticeable drainage odor coming from the shower drain. We eventually managed to reduce it by keeping the shower door closed and sealing the bathtub drain, but after each shower the smell returned. We want to be completely fair here—we didn't report this to the hotel because we only identified the source during our final two days and didn't want the inconvenience of changing rooms so close to our departure. We are mentioning it simply because it may be something the hotel would like to investigate.
One smaller observation concerns the towels.
My wife found that they had a noticeable laundry or detergent scent that she personally found unpleasant, even when fresh towels were brought to the room. I personally wasn't bothered by it, so this may simply come down to individual sensitivity. On the other hand, the bed linens were excellent. Even after a full week without housekeeping service, they remained neatly tucked in and comfortable, which we genuinely appreciated.
Overall, we genuinely enjoyed our stay. The location is outstanding, the rooms are spacious and well equipped, the views are spectacular, and the staff consistently deliver the warm, professional hospitality we have come to expect from Hilton. I would happily stay here again without hesitation. My wife feels that if the bedding were improved and the bathroom odor addressed, this would easily become one of our favorite Hilton properties. Those issues are, in our opinion, completely fixable, and resolving them would make an already very good hotel truly exceptional."
