hotel emma next

"Superior plus double room: 4 nights: Good: mattress was firm/ very comfortable. Bedding was clean. The Bath was huge very nice/ hot water was plentiful. Big windows nice and light. Toilet was clean. Location was very central and convenient, reflected in the price which was not cheap. When I needed to transfer my booking, despite it being non transferable, they were very accommodating and allowed me to do so. Much appreciated. The breakfast was a 2 minute walk away and was very nice. Not so good: the bathroom mirror light I couldn’t turn off so had to close the door to shut it out at night. The WC had a sliding door as opposed to a door that actually closes, which made me glad I was staying alone because if I wanted toilet privacy I think I would have asked my partner to leave the hotel room. The bath being in the main bedroom meant that to enjoy privacy you had to Bathe with the curtains closed or be on full view! It didn’t get dark till 21:30 so nets would have been nice or maybe a foldable screen! The floor was hard, not carpeted so it felt very industrial. I imagine it was to be trendy but I would have preferred more luxury for the price I paid. A kettle is provided but the drink sachets were minimal; bring your own or use the communal coffee machine downstairs. The bad: the location. Although very convenient, the plaza it was located on had communal benches outside and once the sunset fell, unsavoury characters start to loiter. As a lone female I made sure I was in my room before it got dark because I didn’t wish to cross paths with these people. One guy drinking beer and spitting. Lots of arguing and shouting. Lots of rowdiness. One guy kicked the bin over and the rubbish went everywhere.. he was having a huge tantrum…just not nice and made me feel as though I was in a low rent neighbourhood. I know this isn’t the hotel but it affected the experience, hence why I’ve mentioned it. I paid extra for this room including a city view but this wasn’t the view I had anticipated. The hotel entry card was deactivated 20 minutes before my check out time, so having returned from breakfast (at a nearby location) I had to use the intercom (remote reception at hotel Emma) to request access. This annoyed me intensely. Rotterdam in general: 2 things annoyed me: The taxi ripped me off: Centraal station to Hotel Unplugged (even allowing for roadworks!) it was a 2.2 KM journey that I walked in 10 minutes on my return and he charged me €25.00 outrageous. AVOID at all costs. The other thing was if you visit town market food hall you will only find food that is not of any authentic quality. Sure you can buy nice cheese and stoop waffles but the croquets were dreadful.. that was the entire Dutch offering. Everything else is of foreign descent. A missed opportunity."

"My experience at Hotel Unplugged was not good. I did try to resolve the problems while I was staying. But with no success. Hence the review. The room had a light that could not be turned off. I asked the next day if this could be sorted (I mean it’s clearly a malfunction. As a dark room is a basic!). The member of staff, although well meaning, seemed out of her comfort zone with this problem. I asked could maintenance be informed or could the manager be told - as obviously this was not acceptable. The hotel’s suggested solution was to remove the room key from the holder - so cut the room power and so extinguish the light. Also meaning no air-conditioning and no other light to move around in the night. Not ideal. Not safe. After this initial interaction nothing was done. At no point did anyone think it would be a good idea to get it fixed. So for my whole stay I had a light shining all night! It was bright. This is not only unacceptable but for a hotel that claims to plant a tree every day you don’t have new towels - seems quite environmentally negative. Other than this specific malfunction. The hotel in general is like staying in a student dorm house. Although it is a modern concept, it is housed in an old skin that needs maintenance. The shower was broken. There is no hand held facility although it was obviously there once. As there was only an overhead shower. I asked at reception if there was a shower cap. I was met with incredulity. Even the most basic of hotels has guest amenities at reception. Even if they have to be paid for. This was a king size room for a single person. 5 hangers in total. Not sure how a couple would manage. Also small and limited towels provided. Curtains do not close properly. Decoration needs refreshing. Access to Hotel Unplugged is steep, the front door & room doors are very heavy. (That is not a criticism just a need to know if you have mobility problems). There is a communal ground floor kitchen which is often noisy. As this annex has no staff there is a large touch screen with questions and answers. Many of the questions click through to a blank screen. Cleaners are zealous at check out knocking on the door before checkout time (11am) to hurry you along! And then it really is NOT Unplugged - just automated email after automated email. I am still getting notifications of my upcoming stay. Even though it is over! Could not recommend."

"As mentioned by others, you will need to check in at the nearby (across the road) Hotel Emma. I was early for my check-in, and when I arrived at Hotel Emma, the older gentleman behind the counter, had started to walk away from me, even though he saw me walk in! He gave me the most unpleasant look, as if I had rudly interrupted his day. He was most unpleasant and very dismissive, even though I acknowledge that I was very early for check-in. I politely asked if it was possible to check in early. But I was gruffly informed that check-in is at 2pm. I asked if I could leave my bags, and I was told, yes, that is possible. As I was about to walk out and explore the city, I said thank you and asked for his name. His response was, "None of your business." I then told him my name, in the hope of soliciting a more appropriate response, to which he then "Ziggy Star Dust", to which I said "Oh!" He then told me his name - Mario. All of this initial encounter was very unpleasant, rude, and unnecessary. After my exploration of the city, and after my return to Hotel Emma well after 2pm, I was greeted by another more responsive gentleman who was most helpful. By that stage, Mario, who was nearby, had changed his tune and was jolly. But sadly, that was too late for first impressions! The room I had faced the rear courtyard and was light and bright and very clean. The bathroom had a strange sewer smell the entire time I stayed in the hotel. I was on the "ground floor," which is up 7 or 10 steps off the street. The bed and linen were most comfortable and plentiful. The mirror in the bathroom and main room were hung too high. I am not a short guy, but any short people would struggle to see themselves in the mirror. The room I had, had the hand-held shower nozzle removed for some unknown reason, and I only had the rain head shower. I was unable to turn off the light in the mirror in the bathroom, which if you want darkness at night, you'd need to close the door into the bedroom. There are no sheer curtains or blinds, only the block-out drapes on the windows. Be aware that everyone outside can see right into your room. So, there is a lack of privacy. The communal kitchen area was a pleasant surprise, but there were not enough mugs to make tea/coffee and there were only specialist teas available, nothing plain and simple like an English Breakfast, which was unfortunate. "