My wife and I had a Hyatt free night to use from a recent credit card signup, so we decided to use it at the Andaz. After having some poor experiences at other luxury hotels, we were a bit apprehensive walking into our first Andaz -- worried that we weren't "luxury" enough for such an upscale hotel.
When we arrived in Amsterdam, we purchased a tram/bus pass, which was an excellent way to get around. The Andaz was a bit far away from the trams and main tourist attractions, but we didn't have much difficulty finding the tram that connected Amsterdam Central Station to Prinsengracht. Because the Andaz was a bit off the beaten path, it had a quieter and more exclusive feel than other hotels in the area.
At the check-in counter, all of our fears about overly-pretentious service were alleviated. The staff person who checked us in was super polite and down-to-earth. She even offered us a discount card for local attractions! She offered us a choice of a garden or canal view room -- but we would have had to wait an hour or so for the latter, so we gladly took the garden view.
Our room was excellent and really expressed "Amsterdam". The sink resembled delft pottery, there was custom wallpaper with Amsterdam history in the bathroom, the symbols of Amsterdam appeared throughout the decor and on the vanity, and the shower matched the weather outside. :) The wallpaper above the bed displayed a giant fish stitched to a goblet using Amsterdam's coat of arms. Strange? Yeah, but we loved it.
The evening happy hour was a nice perk, especially given the lack of an executive lounge, and we enjoyed the free wine and company of the lounge attendant, who was anxious to share and compare travel stories with us. It would have been nice if there were some better snacks beyond dry crackers, but we left the lounge feeling happy and ready to enjoy the night.
When we returned, I was anxious to try out the shower, and was a bit disappointed to find that it sprayed in all different directions due to calcium build-up in the shower head. However, after using the pencil in the room to quickly clean out each sprayer, the shower functioned as designed and it was quite heavenly. The bed was super comfortable, and we fell asleep with visions of Amsterdam dancing in our heads.
Check-out was just as pleasant as check-in, and we left feeling like we had an excellent, memorable stay. Overall, we wouldn't hesitate to stay again at this or another Andaz hotel.