Press play to experience life at MEININGER Hotel Amsterdam City West!

Contents:

The Atmosphere | The Staff | The Room | The Location | The Price

Edit 12th June 2017: MEININGER Amsterdam underwent a renovation in 2017 and so I have revisited the property and replaced photos of the common areas to reflect the new interior design. All room photos remain true to the property.

I’m not sure what I prefer.

1. Visiting a new city for the very first time, like I will be doing next week or…
2. Going home to a city with friends, old colleagues and places full of memories

Option number two reflects what Amsterdam is to me, and for the very first time after moving there for a few months last year, I teamed up with MEININGER Hotels to show your their fantastic accommodation and location.

The name should give it away, but in case you hadn’t realised MEININGER Hotel Amsterdam City West is based in the West district of Amsterdam. I’ll talk more about its location below, but if you’d rather see for yourself, just click play on the video above!

MEININGER Hotel Amsterdam

The Atmosphere

MEININGER common areas always offer more than enough space for individuals, groups and families who want to hang out and get to know each other better.

And if you don’t know anyone? Take a bar stool and make an effort to chat with those who come and make an order at the bar, and with the bar staff who were fantastic every night.

My first night in the bar was spent next to a table of guests playing Jenga. Yes – the hotel has their very own Jenga sets to play with!

But if Jenga isn’t your thing, groups of people can be seen every night surrounding the pool table and getting competitive over table-football. The wealth of seating options, bar stools and games meant that the bar was busy every night I was there. It’s the perfect place to begin to get to know new roommates before heading out to explore the city together!

The Guest Kitchen

And I definitely got involved! My awesome roommate Mikki and I took a break from the city of lights one night to chill with espressos at the bar, before heading to the guest kitchen where she cooked me a fantastic Italian pizza dish from the free food boxes available!

If you want to see how cool Mikki is as a chef and in general life – make sure to watch the video at the top of this post!

And as always, the fact that MEININGER offers a guest kitchen gives us travellers the chance to bond over oven pizzas and meals from our various cultures – sharing food and meals amongst each other.

The Staff

Okay, I’m going to be very, very positive here so if you’re a staff member at MEININGER Hotel Amsterdam prepare to blush.

[Tweet “The staff at @meiningerhotels Amsterdam were some of the best staff I’ve met. Ever.”]

Every query, question and outright ridiculous concern I had was met with (what seemed like) a genuine desire to make my stay as easy as possible. And that’s all we want from a life on the road right? The less hassle the better!

There was also one particular bartender who, after noticing that I’d eaten all the bar nuts, offered me a slice of the pizza he had for dinner!

Not only were the staff professional, but they really seemed to understand shared hostel culture – which is often hard to find in large accommodations like this one.

The Room

So much floor space!

That’s all I have to say about it.

Okay, so of course I have more to say because once I get talking about hostels I like I just can’t stop. You guys know this.

But seriously – there is so much available space in the rooms at MEININGER Hotel Amsterdam that you are able to forget that most of your travels are spent stepping over guest luggage and stumbling past your roommates feet sticking out the bottom of their bed.

So now I’ve clearly attested to the beauty of not feeling like you’re sleeping on top of someone else (unless you really get to like your roommates) – let’s talk about comfort.

My single bed, I repeat single bed, at MEININGER was so comfortable I almost disliked the fact that I felt like I should be seeing the city of Amsterdam. On the one day I did sleep in, I did so until 11am. Not even kidding.

I can’t remember the last time I slept past 8am!

I will say that the concept of having a double bed, one set of bunk beds, and one single bed isn’t one I’ve ever come across before but is definitely one I like.

And I’ll be honest – the thought of sharing a room with a couple who might get a little too excited in the double did make me a little uncertain. But actually the bed was occupied by friends each night and is a great option for groups of two or more travelling together. Especially if you’re on a big trip and you’re getting tired of bunk beds.

Room Facilities

The room offered plenty of storage with lockers and coat hangers offered for each guest. The lockers take big padlocks – but if you don’t have one you can buy one from reception.

I would highly suggest carrying one with you or picking one up at MEININGER as combination locks are an essential hostelling item to pack!

And finally… I could have stayed in the shower for hours! I wouldn’t of course, because we are all sustainable travellers here who care about water consumption. But it was so warm and strong!

The sink area was also well lit, with tissues, hand gel and a hairdryer for those days you get caught in the Amsterdam rain!

The Location

For those who might argue that the location of MEININGER Hotel Amsterdam City West is too far from the city centre – you might be pleasantly surprised to know that the hotel is just 8 minutes from Station Centraal by train.

And once you arrive at Sloterdijk Station the hotel is right outside. Just step out the front entrance, turn right and walk for a minute or two and you’re there.

Ultimately the best part about the location of MEININGER Hotel Amsterdam is the transport links. If you’re arriving by plane to Schiphol Airport there is a direct train to Sloterdijk Train Station that takes less than 15 minutes.

Sloterdijk is also a bus station for OUIBUS and Meinfernbus Flixbus – two international bus companies that arrive into Amsterdam from all over Europe! And finally, if you’re road-tripping across the Netherlands in your own car then this is one area of Amsterdam you’ll actually be able to find parking.

The Price

Bed prices in Amsterdam will always fluctuate, but beds in MEININGER Amsterdam can start as low as €15.50 (in a dorm room on a Sunday) whilst the average price for a bed in a six multi-bed room like the one I stayed in is around €25. Which I think is great value for Amsterdam and for the services offered at the hotel.

My advice is to book directly from the MEININGER website, where they also offer the option to save 10% if you book early or last-minute. These types of bookings are non-refundable but can save you around €3 per night.

Extra costs include breakfast (€7.90), bike hire (from €14.50), parking, and late checkout (€10).

So what was my favourite part of my stay with MEININGER last week? I’m not sure I could sum it up. The close location to Amsterdam’s Westerpark and Westergasfabriek (watch the video!) means that summers in MEININGER Hotel Amsterdam will be a pleasure for anyone looking to see more of the city than the red light district.

And of course, the comfort. The combination of great staff and cosy beds means that if you do have a few too many late nights in the red light district – at least you’ll have somewhere comfortable to sleep it off!

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I would like to thank MEININGER Hotels for sponsoring my stay with them, but as always opinions are honest and entirely my own.

MEININGER Hotels is a member of STAY WYSE, the only not-for-profit industry association to represent the entire global youth travel accommodation sector, one of the travel industry’s fastest growing niche markets.