I booked just a one night stay in the 5-star luxury hotel De L’Europe, for Mr A and I to visit Amsterdam to see a special exhibition in the Van Gogh Museum.  I found it on the Leading Hotels of the World website and got a ‘Leaders Club Member’ special rate of €910 for a Junior Suite with river view, including tax and breakfast.  Cheaper rooms and cheaper hotels were available, but I was attracted by the very central canal-side location of De L’Europe, the look of its rooms and the fact it had a two Michelin star restaurant, Bord’Eau, which I’ve reviewed in a separate post.

We took a clean and comfortable train from AMS Schiphol airport to Centraal station, and then a taxi to the hotel (though it’s less than 20 minutes walk away).  The taxi cost €14 and I felt we’d been ripped off by taking a circuitous route, but it’s possible the driver was trying to avoid traffic jams. The same thing happened when we went out for dinner later: €25 one way, then €7 on the way back. Be aware!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a warm welcome at reception and were then taken up to our 2nd floor room by the Concierge, who appeared to also be ‘our butler’.  The ‘Leaders Club’ offers a room upgrade if available, but we didn’t get upgraded.  No problem: our Junior Suite was a lovely room. It was a good size with a large super king bed (two singles zipped together) with a soft mattress topper and luxurious soft bed linen; a couple of armchairs, a 1970s style writing desk and some occasional tables – all in the bedroom (ie this wasn’t a suite with a separate living area); a bright and spacious aquamarine tiled bathroom with double sinks, walk-in rain shower and a freestanding bathtub, with luxury Blaise Mautin toiletries.  The bathroom could be accessed from two sides and there was also a separate toilet cubicle.  The carpeted bedroom was pretty stylishly decorated with a black wallpaper with white motif decoration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The USP of this room was the extended balcony, accessible from both bedroom and bathroom, which overlooked the Amstel River and some of its canals, facing East to bring in the beautiful morning sunshine (we had great sunny weather during our stay).  Of course soft white bathrobes and extra padded soft slippers are provided, so you don’t display too much to the many canal cruises passing below!

Our Leaders Club deal included breakfast, which was taken in the ground floor brasserie overlooking the canal. If it’s not included in your room rate it costs €40 each.  There was a good choice of fruits, cereals, cheeses, charcuterie and pastries available buffet-style, as well as a la carte hot food. Because we were planning a big lunch I only had OJ, cappuccino and a croissant, which were all good quality.

We had a couple of issues which needed reporting to the hotel: all of our coffee pods for the room espresso machine were decaf, and there was a water flow issue with the toilet. Both were dealt with in moments, which was just one example of the very high service standards at De L’Europe. Reception, Housekeeping and Concierge staff were all very good and very friendly, and btw all Dutch, and like most of their fellow countrymen, all fluent in English.

This was indeed quite an expensive overnight stay, but De L’Europe had everything I was hoping for. The beauty and convenience of its location cannot be over-emphasised, our room was wonderfully well equipped and luxurious, and the staff we met were really lovely. 10/10