I generally don't write public reviews for stays that weren't a positive experience, but I have never been so disappointed following a hotel stay. This was supposed to be a memorable way to start off our stay in Amsterdam to see the tulips, but instead, it cast a pall over our trip to the city.

Prior to booking my one night stay, I read numerous reviews of this property that mentioned the high level of service, friendliness, and general attention to detail that supposedly made this property one of the best in Europe. This was not my experience.

Starting off with our arrival, after we got out of our Uber from the airport, we had to lug our suitcases up the steep set of steps and through the doors into the main lobby. No one offered to help us, and as would be the theme throughout much of our stay, the doorman ignored us. After we flagged down a receptionist, we were sat down at one of the desks, and they hurriedly went over the details of our stay and were asked to sign a few waivers. Our room was not ready at the time (we had arrived a little past 1 PM, so we were early), and in all, we were in and out in under 10 minutes. I noticed that the other groups of guests were offered welcome drinks, which we were not offered.

We returned around 4:30 PM and were given a brief tour of the lobby and then taken up to our room. We were in the door and left to ourselves in the room within 5 minutes or so, which was a bit unexpected. As Hilton Diamond members, we were upgraded to the King Grand Premier room, which had a canal view. The room was on the smaller side and unremarkable, but it was nice to have a view of the canal and the boats that drifted by. They had made a big deal of signing the waivers to enable us to open the windows at check-in, which we did sign, but the windows were not unlocked when we arrived in our room, and we were never able to open the windows during our stay. We had the complimentary chocolates and made coffee using the machines and left our room by 6 PM to walk around and have dinner.

Upon returning to the hotel at around 8:50 PM, we were a bit surprised to find that the team doing the turndown service had not been by yet, so the table still had the dirty dishes. Figuring that it would be less awkward to not be in the room when they did manage to swing by, we went downstairs to sit and waited until about 9:30 PM. Thankfully, when we returned to our room, the dishes had been cleared away. The waters had been replenished, but the teas and coffees were not. Other than the few pieces of cinnamon hard candy that were left and the scent that was sprayed, it didn't seem like much else was done.

When we headed down for breakfast around 9 AM, the breakfast area was busy. We each ordered the Taste of Waldorf (one vegan and one regular) and selected the avocado toast and omelette for our mains. We never got the cold cuts and yogurt that should have been part of the regular Taste of Waldorf, and the food itself was also unremarkable--the presentation of having everything in a tower elevates it a bit, but if you took that away, it was a continental breakfast with average breads, smoked salmon, and fruits. The omelette was overcooked, but my mother liked her avocado toast. Service was efficient, and we were done before 10.

We checked out around 11, and that also took less than 5 minutes. Thankfully, the porter on shift was nice and insisted on carrying down our bags, which we greatly appreciated.

Was the property dirty? No. Did anyone outwardly treat us rudely? Also no. But when all the guests are paying for rooms that started over €1000 for the day we were there, you would expect a high level of service (especially given the reputation of this property) across the board and that all guests would be treated well. In general, I just got the sense that the employees here wanted little to do with us. Despite the lengthy review, I don't think I was able to describe how perplexing this entire experience was. I am not sure why we were treated differently and in such a glaring manner, but it made us very uncomfortable and not welcome throughout our brief stay here.

I have no doubt that the sort of experiences that garnered the glowing reviews of others can still be had at this property for a subset of guests, but if you're concerned about disparate treatment and are affected by that sort of thing, I would consider staying elsewhere.

The most amazing hotel experience we have ever had. So many extras from the bespoke chocolates and tulips in our room to the piano player in the lobby. The Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam had the most boutique feeling with all of the signature Waldorf touches and comforts. Located in the most ideal location, it was the starting and ending point for all of our adventures. Felt like coming home but better. The food service was excellent and the Vault cocktail bar was stunning. We had the chance to take out the hotel bikes and safely cruise around the city and the concierge was so helpful with organizing our adventures and recommendations. This Waldorf Astoria experience has raised the bar for all future hotels. The hotel staff were so gracious and accommodating to us. Every staff encounter exceeded our expectations. We would obviously love to return and relive our memories and experiences!