Hotel Seven Bridges is a surprise I planned for my wife and it did win me thousands of points! Right after my wedding, I came to Europe for two years training. Now having completed the course, I searched around for excitement and unique places that may bring her exhilirating experience. Hotel Seven Bridges is my big finding. I was lucky to get a canal view room (room 7) in January. Since then I waited for two long months until this big excitement came to us. My wife is a fan of western arts. I knew she would cherish everything in Seven Bridges. And yes, she actually loved it more than I had expected.
From the moment we arrived, we got overwhelmed at how cozy and unique the hotel is. There was a charming fragrance from the two bunches of lily flower in the reception room. When we climbed up the 3 hundred years stairs, we saw two other rooms (room 5 and room 6) had been set ready for their guests. Both rooms are extremely nice and have its special lay-out and art collections. The lights were all on and the atmosphere was really cozy. My wife couldn't resist rushing in to take some photos. You could see how delicately the owners of the hotel are caring their properties. We were completely beyond words. When we arrived at our room, we immediately responded with a 'wow"! Everything was spotlessly clean and the canal view was so romantic. We loved the furniture, especially the pair of classic chairs.
The best thing about Seven Bridges is the breakfast. It was the ever best breakfast I tasted in Europe - a huge one, with various breads, juice, coffee, tea, fruits... god! The owner sent the breakfast into our room by himself. That was the most tasteful coffee I had in my trips. We blieved that the host spends lot of time in designing and organizing the breakfast. We actually couldn't finish all the foods. What a pitty! Anyhow, I found that we did not need to eat lunch for this fabulous breakfast.
It was also a great experience to talk with the owner. He is a very kind and respectable man, investing all his energy and brains in providing unique experiences for the Seven Bridges guests. We were happy and honored to learn from him that we were the first Chinese guests.
I have seen some other 'big name' hotels in Amsterdam. In my view, they are just common, and located in the 'noisy' and crowded city center. The best thing about Amsterdam is its canals and the houses along the waters. Those communities are not far from city center as Amsterdam is not big, but very quiet and enjoyable. It was so interesting that we just turned a corner from the main street and suddenly entered the quiet neighbourhood. Seven Bridges is just located in the center of that quiet neighbourhood, with walking distance to all the major sites and a long dinning street just behind it. This also addes a lot of points to its overall impression to us.
Having said all these, I want to clarify that business travellers with a vision to see big big lobbies, large large rooms, bath tube, smiling receptionist girl, elevators... better step away from this lovely hotel. Seven Bridges and Hilton are not on the same track! If Hilton is a rich business man, Seven Bridges is a real artist!
Seven Bridges only belongs to those with a vision to seek the unique experience of arts in Amsterdam!
Finally, I want to say that Amsterdam is a very safe city - just be careful of your handbags. At least we did not experience anything unpleasant walking around 10 o'clock at night around the city. Red light district is probably the safest because there are so many people there!
