I booked the Hotel Roemer for 1 night in order to celebrate my birthday in style (was in Netherlands for work, and wanted to live it up!) Had seen the hotel featured in a British mag as a "must see hotel" in Europe, and the price seemed reasonable.

I loved it all: the location in the charming Vonderpark area, the greeting (although I was a bit surprised by the 'would you like a drink' question as I was doing the check in!), the room, and, of course, the all-inclusive mini-bar and happy hour!! I have never seen this included in a hotel package, and what a treat it was!

About the happy hour: wine, snacks, beer, soda à gogo in a cute intimate environment ALL included!

About the room: Good size, lovely large bed (althogh why seperated by two seperate covers? So hard to cuddle!), fashionable yet understated deco, and A NESPRESSO MACHINE next to the bed. What else?

The bathroom was also lovely: stone sinks that dry quickly, jacuzzi, shower, lovely shampoos/conditioners, and a hairdryer that acutally dries your hair!

Just one small piece of advice: you must put the "do not disturb' sign on the door if you do not want them walking in on you with water, candies, or just to ask if you want any drinks. Nice service, but maybe a wee bit much!

In any case, I very highly recommend this hotel, by FAR the best I know in Amsterdam.

Just don't reserve on Spendia.com, as they take a 40€ comission!

Hotel Roemer was by far the best hotel I have had the pleasure to stay in. My husband and I visited Amsterdam as the last stop on a whirlwind European honeymoon. By the time we landed in Amsterdam, both of us were sick as dogs. Head cold that moved into our chest.... it was miserable. But being sick in that hotel was wayyyy better than even being sick at your own home. The beds were perfect and cozy, there were two flat screen tv's you could watch from the bed. One for the hubby, and one for me! A mini fridge that was stocked with things a normal human would want to eat. There was a coffee (nespresso) machine in our room. There was a rainfall shower, and a jacuzzi tub that had an amazing view of.... a flat screen tv in the bathroom!
I have read quite a few reviews of Hotel Roemer online. A lot of people mentioned the fact that they get their room service food from their other hotel across the street. Hubby and I were so sick, we only left the hotel to get food once. Every other meal was room service. (Side note here... when I get sick, I get PICKY about what I eat! I'm a sensitive creature.) I had not one complaint about the food. They brought us every extra condiment, utensil, and plate we could have possibly needed, and then left us to enjoy our meals.
And the hotels happy hour!!! I don't remember the exact times, but it seemed to run all day long! Free drinks... an entire table just lined with beers and liquor.... you could make your own, or they would make one for you. And they had little party trays of 'finger food' I don't mean pretzels and peanuts. We had bacon wrapped dates (now one of our favorite things!), olives, shrimp.... they really go all out. You could eat/drink the price of the hotel room in one happy hour sitting... and you don't pay an extra dime!
If visiting Amsterdam, make sure you stay there at least one night!

Visitors to Europe in late January will not struggle to find available hotel rooms. Although Amsterdam is mobbed with tourists in the summer (and hellishly expensive as a result), in January, hotels compete for the relatively few visitors willing to brave post-holiday winter weather in the Netherlands. I did some online research and decided to go with the Hotel Roemer's excellent winter special - our room, which in the height of summer season will cost guests around 400 Euros per night, was a total bargain at 109 Euro. You'll be lucky to find anything under 200 Euro/night now, even off-season, but the hotel does post occasional web specials.

In addition to the righteous nightly tariff, I chose this new hotel (less than two years old) because of its excellent location. The hotel is situated on a quiet, attractive side street bordering on Amsterdam's lovely Vondelpark. But within ten minutes' walk, hotel guests can enjoy the park, the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh museum, or reach literally dozens of restaurants, clubs, and shops in the always-bustling Leidseplein area... yet be able to retire to the peace and serenity of a typical Amsterdam residential neighborhood. The ten minute cab ride from the train station will set you back around 13 Euros.

The hotel is built into an existing building and thus blends seamlessly into the neighborhood, which is a mix of lovely private dwellings, apartments, and other boutique hotels. The hotel's small lobby and registration area open onto a cozy bar space which in turn leads to the breakfast seating area. The Roemer offers guests breakfast, but at an eye-popping 20 Euros per person we opted instead to wander out for our morning meal.

Everyone we dealt with at the hotel was cheerful, helpful, and professional, and of course, everyone spoke impeccable English. When my wife showed up a bit early for check-in, the desk clerk offered her a complimentary drink from the bar while our room got its final housekeeping touches - not a big thing, but a graceful, elegant gesture that established the entire tone of our visit.

Speaking of housekeeping, let me quote from my wife's notes: "The housekeeping staff is as friendly as everyone else at the Roemer, but they haven't quite figured out how to work inobtrusively. If you want privacy, be sure to use your 'privacy' door hanger because housekeeping seems to visit the room several times per day. During a three day stay, they walked in on me twice without warning. Everytime we left the room, we returned to a made (or turned-down) bed and fresh towels. Sometimes they even left little snacks for us. I guess this is a 'pro' too, but I wish they'd been more invisible."

My take on this whole thing is that it's an awfully pleasant dilemma: the rooms are impeccably maintained, even after slobs like me take multiple showers, naps, and generally trash the place... not intentionally, just by virtue of living in the room. Hey, if someone is willing to come in and straighten up after me, I'm all for it. And at those times when I don't want visitors, I'm fine to hang out the "Leave Me Alone" sign.

Beyond that single point of contention, however, my wife and I were unanimous in our praise for the Hotel Roemer. Our room was beautiful. European hotel rooms tend to be smaller than North American counterparts, and ours was no exception - but the room's small footprint was offset by attractive furnishings and high-end amenities.

To begin with, our room's minimal square footage was augmented by a large covered balcony, from which we could peer into hotel's rear courtyard, as well as the backyards and windows of several surrounding structures - an intriguing glimpse into urban life in a wealthy Dutch neighborhood. Inside, the room's high ceilings added a feeling of spaciousness and serenity.

While our king-sized bed occupied most of the available floor space, the remaining area was well-organized. Two wardrobes flanked one entire wall - one held the mini-bar and safe, the other had ample room for clothing. There was a desk between them with something that seems to be a true luxury in European hotels - multiple electrical outlets configured for European, British, and American plugs -- a very nice, very convenient feature. A small, flat panel TV was mounted on the wall above the desk - one of three such TVs in the room.

On the desk, the hotel provided a Nespresso espresso machine for in-room coffee, and an electric teapot. Full-on, floor to ceiling blackout draperies made for a restful night's sleep.

The king size bed was very comfortable, with huge pillows and crisp linens. The side tables were quirky -- they're stacked cinderblocks. They're actually quite attractive, but some may find them a little weird. On one of them, there's a JDL iPod dock with speakers. This was a nice little amenity which allowed my wife to keep her iPod charged and for us to listen to music without headphones. A second flat panel TV adorned a wall near the bed.

The bathroom was pure luxury, with exquisite attention to detail. As is common in many European hotels, the Roemer featured spanking new, modern fixtures. A shallow, rectangular sink was integrated into the black marble countertop. A deep jacuzzi tub provided a relaxing soak for my wife, while I appreciated the oversized marble shower with rainfall showerhead. Above the bath counter, the third flat panel TV, presumably to watch while in the jacuzzi. The bath featured other nice touches, such as a lighted make-up mirror and digital scale.

Hotel Roemer charges a relatively reasonable 12.50 Euro per day for internet access. They also offer free access via two laptops in their lobby, which is a nice alternative if you only need access briefly. Other hotels charged as much as 12 Euros an hour for lobby internet access

Minor complaints:
Hotel Roemer is a new hotel, and despite the wonderful attention to detail and the top notch service, they've got a few kinks to address.

- The flat screen TVs, while undeniably cool, are also hopelessly confusing. Three TVs in the room, one remote. We used the TV over the bed to watch CNN a couple of times, but we never had any need for the other two-- a good thing, since we couldn't figure out how to turn either of them on.

- The bathroom plumblng fixtures are very attractive, but among the least intuitive I've ever used. A laminated card on the vanity would have saved my wife from inadvertently soaking herself on the first two mornings.

- Mixed reviews on housekeeping staff... let's agree that they can work on being more unobtrusive.

- Although all the hotel's rooms are non-smoking, the lobby is not. It's a beautiful lobby with a fireplace, comfortable seating, and a full bar - but it absolutely reeks of stale smoke, and as a result was not a place we were inclined to linger - a shame, really.

We stayed 2 nights at the Roemer over Easter and we found it really very nice. We had a room downstairs, Room 11. At first, we found it a little strange to be going downstairs, but it was a really spacious room (compared with most European hotel rooms) with a nice bathroom & jacuzzi tub, it felt like having your own apartment really and it was really quiet. The staff was friendly and helpful. They have a nice made to order breakfast, snacks and drinks in the evening near a cozy fireplace in the common area. It also had a great location just on the edge of the Museumplein on a quiet street. We totally recommend it, we'd definately stay there again.