Hotel Arena

Lovely hotel, perfect location! Lovely helpful staff. Only thing I would change if we came back is our room, we seemed to be above a goods in area, with shutters below both of our windows. We could hear them quite late into the night and quite early in the morning, as well as metal cages and boxes being clashed around.

Only had lunch in the park cafe. Beer and Caesar salads on a hot day. Impeccable friendly service. I watched the wait staff find water for flowers and for dogs without being asked. A perfect place for lunch. Great salad. Very happy customers. Thank you.

Positive: We loved the relaxed decor which makes for a relaxed atmosphere in the bar/restaurant area. This faces on to the park so, on a nice day, a lovely place to hang out. The hotel is full of character and close to the metro, a few minutes ride to the centre. Negative: no

This hotel is situated in a quaint old hospital with beautiful grounds and near public transit. The courtyard and patio are wonderful places to sit and enjoy the view. The restaurant food is good but expensive. The hotel service is good but not great. However, the quality of the rooms is sub-par. The beds are at best a double and the mattresses are covered with a foam topper that makes you want to roll out of bed. There is only one small window in the room and the paint/decorations are poor.

A hotel full of character and history. Located on the edge of the park with a lovely outside bar. The rooms are all different and very comfortable. We were lucky to be given a room in the bell tower in the eves which was quirky. The cocktails were well made and delicious a hotel I would highlight recommend.

We thoroughly enjoyed our 4 day stay at this hotel. The charm and character of the hotel and the picturesque park adjacent to it were highlights and a great fit for our interest in visiting this great city. We had no issues with our room , the hotel staff, or the onsite restaurant. Any requests we had were fulfilled immediately. We'll definitely stay here again the next time we visit Amsterdam.

My wife and I spent 3 nights at this lovely hotel to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. On one side, it's straight off the road, but on the other, it's set in a fabulous park (Oosterpark). Our room was great, with a double shower and sinks. We had 2 bedrooms with a little nook, with fridge, settee, writing table and really nice coffee maker. The whole hotel was really clean, staff were excellent, and the general ambience of the place was spot on. It was a 25-minute walk into the centre and easy to get to. The area for us was really nice with a mixture of people and types of places to eat and drink. Really loved it and hope to go back.

The hotel in itself is lovely, a great aesthetic and full of nature. This was lovely for arrival. Unfortunately the room wasn’t great. We had asked for twin beds and assured via email we would have these, but had a double. The room felt more like it was built for romantic couples as the bathroom was in the room and had see through glass. This made the stay a bit awkward for siblings sharing the room! We laughed about it but would have preferred not to go for a shower in the dark. A couple of nights in, there was a strong foul smell in the room coming from the bathroom. I reported this but it took a number of hours and a second phone call for it to be seen to. Lastly, when checking the room for anything we had not packed I looked under the bed and there was a lot of dust. We had been itching for a number of days and after looking under the bed I wondered if this was why. It’s unfortunate as the staff, rester-aunt, breakfast, wider hotel and surroundings were lovely! It was just a bit let down by the room challenges.

We stayed at this amazing venue while recently visiting Amsterdam. So rich in history. The interior was gorgeous. 3 of the 4 original grand staircases still grace the halls. The large windows let in plenty of sunlight. Some of the interior has been redone but it maintains a lot of the original architecture. Once an orphanage, then fell into the hands of the Nazi during WWII. Was a sleep in in the 80's and after extensive renovation opened as the hotel in 2002. It does set out of the city center but is a short walk to the Amstel, city center. It sits on the grounds of Oosterpark which is very pretty. Great place to stroll in the evening. The attached restaurant/bar was an ideal place to relax after a busy day out and about. We enjoyed drinks there in the evening. The room was quite unique. It had a small footprint with a curved staircase to the loft where the bed was. Navigating the stairs at night was a skill quickly learned. It was small but lots of charm. The staff couldn't have been nicer. We arrived very early and our room was not available. They allowed us to rest on comfortable couches in a small room off the lobby. They got us a room as soon as possible. We would recommend the hotel to all and would return if we do go back to Amsterdam.

This place is sort of tricky to rate. It's really beautiful, (style-wise, it may be my favorite hotel I've stayed in) but it was also lacking in a lot of areas. The good: -Like I said, it's really pretty! -Front desk staff were friendly The not-so-good: -The refrigerator in our room didn't work -The fan in our room made a loud buzzing/vibrating noise (loud enough to wake me up at night) when it was on high. -They advertised having bikes available to rent, but of the 10 they had originally, six had either been stolen, or had been broken and not repaired. The remaining four had already been rented. -Room service made our bed, folded the toilet paper and gave us new towels. I'm pretty sure that was it. We used the drinking glasses in our room, and they left the dirty ones there and didn't replace them. They didn't wipe down the bathroom sink. Didn't clear food wrappers off the nightstand. -The bathroom is entirely glass, (some of it is darkened, but you can still see through it easily) so not a whole lot of privacy there. The hotel is next to a lovely park, but it's a bit far from where the action is. If I visited Amsterdam again, I would definitely want to stay closer to the city center.

This hotel was super unique! This is the best way to describe it. The entrance is through the park, which can make it a bit difficult for a taxi drop off or if you have luggage. It has a wonderful restaurant space and a nice reception area and courtyard within. The outside looks very historical and was actually an orphanage before. The inside has been re-done but maintained some traditional elements. We were staying here as part of our honeymoon and they upgraded us to the loft suite which was upstairs and in a bungalow outside the main building of the hotel. The hotel has no "bell boy" so they have someone from the reception help you if you need assistance with luggage. I am assuming our room was one of the nicest ones (if not the nicest), because we were in a large loft with very high ceilings and great views of the park. We also had a large sitting area/living room and a balcony/patio with seating. The room included a nespresso machine and coffee pods as well as tea bags. The interior was very roomy and decorated in a minimalist airy fashion. My only complaint was that the stairs leading up to the loft were extremely steep. I had never seen such a thing, but it was kind of funny and made for a good laugh. They don't have around the clock housekeeping service, so keep this in mind as well. The location was pretty good even though it wasn't right inside the city center. It was a short walk from a few metro stops and rembrandt square. They have bike rentals at the hotel but the prices are not competitive, so I recommend going to Black's Bikes. Overall, we were pleased with our stay and would recommend the hotel.

Beautiful hotel on Oosterpark, which makes sitting on the terrace having wine and people watching very lovely! Great staff, very friendly and helpful from the front desk check in, to the wait staff and bartenders. Good energy with lots of people coming and going but quiet rooms which is perfect! Loft rooms (at least mine was) which was a nice twist on your typical hotel room! Big windows to open and listen to the birds and winds thru the trees... AC works great and the fridge is readily available for your own purchases to keep inside. Comfy bed, large shower, full length mirror and within walking distance to restaurants and grocery stores. I'm loving it here already!!

Beautiful location. Staff was very friendly & the restaurant in the hotel was excellent. Rooms are quite small and we were woken up by noise every night there. Cleaning time of the room was very inconsistent day to day, so we missed out on having the room clean a few days of our stay because we were still asleep when they came. All of those "imperfect" things aside, we had a nice stay and would not be opposed to staying here again. The park that the hotel is on is gorgeous with lots of cute little places to eat within walking distance.

Went for a coffees which never came after one hour waiting! Shameful service. Fries and cake did arrive after half hour. We did ask when the coffees are coming. Soon! But seems to much of a work...

5 star for this beautiful hotel alongside the Oosterpark, was originally an orphanage years ago...The hotel has beautiful rooms, a restaurant that overlooks the park with a romantic setting....My wife and I loved having drinks at the bar in the evening after touring the city of Amsterdam. The staff was very professional and hospitable during our stay. The rooms were larger than most European hotels, something Americans expect...Overall i would stay here again on my next trip to beautiful Amsterdam...A+

We stayed at Hotel Arena for 3 nights, and were generally satisfied with our stay. The customer service was excellent. Our Deluxe Room was quite snug, and we had issues with where to place our luggage. For an idea, the space on all three sides of the bed was barely enough to place our carry-ons down on the floor. The bed was two twin mattresses pushed together, but they did not stay in place if you happened to roll into the center. The mini-fridge in the upstairs loft did not work. The shower design is odd, with lots of water seeping out into the rest of the bathroom. The shower stall was very moldy towards the drain, although the rest of the bathroom was spotless. The location isn't terribly far from the city center, but I wouldn't call it super convenient either. It's a 10 minute walk to the Alexanderplien tram stop (there's a stop much closer, but that tram line won't take you to the center), followed but a 10-15 minute ride to most attractions. Overall, an OK experience.

A star for the beautiful view. Other than that, great place to go if you want to wait 30+ minutes for some mediocre coffee.

My review is much like the others. It's hard to rate. The hotel itself is beautiful (I usually stay at 2-3 star hotels because, honestly, I'm just there to sleep on a clean bed). The bed was clean. But the room was very small.. like a treehouse loft. Not much in the way of amenities and not much room to even lay out your suitcase, let alone two suitcases. Walking up and down the narrow staircase to go to the bathroom at night was pain, but at least it had a bathroom (glass walls.. you can see your better-half pooping while you sit on the couch... seriously). No fridge in our room. I give kudos to the staff. We had traveled over 28 hours from Sacramento and were exhausted when we arrived around 10:00am (poor planning on our part). We were so tired we felt sick. We stayed in the bar area and hoped for a room to become available. After about two hours, they came to inform us a room was ready. We crashed hard, but after a while, the room became stuffy and opening the windows did little good. From what I remember, there was no air conditioning. If there was, it didn't work. After resting, we ventured to the City Center, which was only a short ride on the light-rail. Staying closer to the Center would have been nice, but it wasn't bad. We usually drive a rental car when we travel. I DO NOT recommend anyone driving a rental in Amsterdam. Sure, it can be done. I don't recommend it (if anyone has driven in Rome, you know what I mean.. bikes, scooter and pedestrians do NOT give a s#it. As if they are suicidal, but that's not a reflection on the Hotel Arena). We walked through the park (Oostpark?), which was nice. You can't avoid the park. The hotel is literally inside of the park, which is an issue if you have lots of luggage and are getting dropped off by a taxi or shuttle bus. The bar area was very nice and comfortable. Staff wasn't very attentive, but I think it's a cultural thing with them. they never came around to ask if we needed anything. However, when we did ask, they were responsive. It was our first trip to Amsterdam. The whole premise for the trip was to see Simply Red in Concert.. which, by the way, was fantastic. So to wrap things up... Hotel Arena is nice. It looks fancier than it actually is. I'm sure there were better rooms than the one we stayed in, but the price was fair. Do not expect to be waited on hand-over foot and expect service to be slower than you would expect if you were in a hotel in the USA. You're not in Kansas anymore. Get used to the slower pace Europeans tend to embrace and talk with the locals. We had a great time over-all. Would we stay at the Arena again? Likely not, but it was nice/historical-looking, clean (but cramped), and had several restaurants and transportation services nearby. Three solid stars.

Beautiful building (originally a 17th century orphanage) situated right on a lovely park. Rooms are tastefully appointed (if a bit small) and our bed was very comfortable. Nice restaurant/lounge area with huge outdoor patio and heaters. All of the staff were very friendly and accommodating. Trendy East Amsterdam location, but city center is an easy 20 minute stroll or quick ride by tram or Uber.

This place is so loud. Walls are paper thin, you will hear everything single conversation in rooms around yours. Guests were slamming doors and partying until 3am so just know what you get yourself into.

The Hotel Arena is really difficult to give a fair rating. There are parts of me that just want to love the place while other parts of me just gets furious at the lack of thought that has gone into simple details. Let's however start with some of the good things. The location is right on the edge of the city center and it can easily be reached by metro and tram. It is next to the in my view underrated Oosterpark. Walking up to the hotel it really feels like a place with some class and a clear design ambition. Staff were also friendly so no complaints there and check-in was efficient. When walking towards room the splendid staircase that has been kept intact is what catches my attention - it really looks excellent and it almost makes me wanna skip the elevator and walk the stairs with my bag. When I got up to room the first slight annoyance is discovered - there is step up to the door. In my view totally unnecessary and it makes it difficult to drag my bag into the room. When I open the door and see the room all is almost forgotten. I just love it - the room has two floors and very large windows which really let the light in. The upstairs, which a narrow white wooden stair case leads to, has a desk, two chairs, a TV as well as the minibar and the water kettle (and coffee/tea). It is like a loft looking down on the bed. The downstairs had a large bed and the bathroom (as well as an additional TV). I loved the selection of furniture and especially the lamps. The hotel also offers free wifi everywhere. This just makes the small things that have been forgotten or ignored all the more disturbing since it would have been so easy to make it great. The bathroom is actually the room with most issues - it also looks nice with almost all of it in glass and black. The first issue I noticed was that there was no place for the toilet paper (no holder and not possible to place on toilet) instead placed at sink which is so far away from toilet that it is impossible to reach. Who thought of this? Second issue - shower: no doors to shower so half of the bathroom is wet when showering. Further it is not easy to figure out which direction is hot or cold. The sink is also not great, the angle the water hits it makes water splash up so whenever putting on more than drizzle when risks getting soaked. Further annoyance - it is great to have the two floors but one should be able to switch of lights upstairs from downstairs (and upstairs TV). The choice to have the water kettle upstairs can also be questioned as one have to go downstairs for water. Last annoying thing in room - it is great that they put in an ironing board but less great that they only have electricity by the bed where it is not possible to place the ironing board. The breakfast was also a mix of good and bad. The food was pretty good, felt fresh and most of it above average quality and also some non-standard things (greatly appreciated by a frequent hotel guest) offered (chicken sausages and pancakes). There are however some issues here as well - cutlery appears to be a scarce resource as it is only placed at the tables and that would be fine if they would make sure to place new there all the time but most of the time one had to ask for it and then wait forever for it (in the evening I attended a cocktail event with some food and then they were even more extreme - served some steak, granted not huge size but refused to provide knives even when asked for it). Coffee was also an issue - first of all almost undrinkable and second the coffee machine was extremely slow (around 1-2 minutes per cup) and only one coffee machine so it does not take a genius to figure out that the line was long (fortunately the coffee was so bad I only stood in line once). Was also extremely surprised to find out that the hotel does not have a fitness center. The overall impression of the hotel is difficult as some things were good but there were too many issues and stupid things to give a rating better than three. It may be that the things that annoy me about it does not bother you and then it will truly be a fabulous place.

I'm not sure whether to give 2 or 3 stars - we had a very mixed experience here. The good: overall very cool design and very helpful reception staff. Bed was extremely comfortable and hotel had all the usual 4 star accoutrements. Cute terrace bar with decent cocktails. The bad: the bathroom had completely transparent glass walls. Totally see through. You could see EVERYTHING from the entrance/lower room. Luckily my friend and I had a split level room, but we still had to tell each other when we were not allowed to come down the stairs! Other negatives (though much less significant!): room cleaning was a bit haphazard (used glasses not changed, only some toiletries replenished), location not the best, and the bar/restaurant was quite chaotic - half of the rather small menu was unavailable and food/drinks took quite a while to arrive. Due to the bathroom I don't think I'd stay here again - at least not if I was sharing the room!

Poor service. I left my charger in the hotel when i checked out, when I called them they claimed to not have it. Took 20 mins to check it! Bad service all around.

Stayed here at the weekend with my girlfriend for my birthday. Got a amazing price for 3 nights stay. It's about a 10 minute walk from the centre so not far at all and it's worth the walk. The hotel is beautiful and very clean. The food and drink costs a bit but it's worth a visit to the bar because it's really nice at night.

I'm sure that at one time, this hotel was good. Based on the photos of the renovation, I'm sure that it will be good again. But when we were there, it was not. First, our room was dirty and dated. It wasn't the fault of the housekeeping staff -- I'm sure they did the best they could; the issue was with things like a dingy sofa that you wouldn't want to sit on, or the floor that needed to be pulled up and replaced, or the shower floor that you don't want to use unless you wear sandals. Secondly, the hotel was being renovated so the entrance was dark and scary, and the noise of the machinery was constant. It wouldn't be so bad if they were upfront about this at the time of booking; instead, we didn't find out until we arrived. The only thing they did to make up for it was a free drink coupon. Not good. Even the photos of the hotel on the website and their Instagram page seem too good to be true -- because they were. The only reason to stay here is if you had a conference or some business to do at the University nearby; otherwise, just pick a place closer to the city center. The people at the front desk were fine -- when they were there. Many times, we walked by and the area was empty and dark, and you had to search for someone to help you. The best part of the hotel was the restaurant and courtyard bar: the food was good, the staff was friendly, and it was a nice area to hang out in. It was a sanctuary in a place that's seen better days.

Staff is cold and not very responsive except for the two young women in the morning that were friendly. Lighting in the rooms needs to be improved. Daily room cleaning is below standards. Do not let them give you a room on the third floor as the elevator only goes to 2. Overpriced for what you get. I would not stay here again.

I am currently staying here. I type this during another sleepless night due to the temperature of our room. We've asked to have the air conditioner turned up and someone came to look at the cooling unit and pried open a vent that previously wasn't. We had one night of respite from the 25C heat, but after a room cleaning, it's cloned back up. The gentleman who pried open the vent said he'd return with a fan in 10 mins, but we never saw him again. Our shower in the newly remodeled bath floods the bathroom when you use it. Not enough slope to the drain. Do not stay here! The food is overpriced in their connected restaurant. You can get just as good in the many cafes surrounding the park for a lot less. What started as a magical start to a dream trip for our 15rh anniversary has turned into a nightmare. There are many, many fantastic places to stay in Amsterdam, don't choose this place!

This one is tough to rate. The hotel itself is an old building (orphanage I think) but quite well preserved and quite spacious . While not in the centre of the city it is just a few stations away with the tram which you can catch nearby. The room we stayed was two floored with a nice view to the river. Having two floors gives quite a flexibility when one's asleep and the other awake, but on the downside the bathroom is located downstairs. Others have mentioned the bathroom's peculiarity,and it's true. It's almost completely transparent even with the lights out, but I in the end did not really mind that. What makes this place special is the front yard at the entrance , where you can have your breakfast or a late night drink. It is quite wonderful and the photos on the web don't really do it justice. Breakfast is quite good , with a fair selection of cereals, meat, cheese , coffee, toasts and sweets. Negatives : the room could be cleaner when we first arrived and despite our repeated reminders never really felt thoroughly cleaned especially the upper floor which felt dusty. For the price paid (100 euros/night) such thing is simply unacceptable. I would not stay there again but I will always remember the beautiful terrace.

We were very excited to stay here. When we arrived, the place was clean and looked like it had lots of history. The room is nice, just like the pictures, and has stairs that lead to a loft where the bed is... that's where the bad part comes in. Heat rises, and the hotels A/C WILL NOT BLOW COLD AIR when adjusted. It goes by the outside temperature (so we are told). So, if it's cold outside, the ROOM IS PIPING HOT. Opening the windows won't help, the hot air stays trapped in the loft. We have opened the windows to ventilate the best we can but we have found the traffic to be VERY LOUD AND PROHIBITIVE TO SLEEP. We are jet lagged and we were relying on this valuable rest to give us the energy we needed to enjoy the city. Instead, we have been sweating bullets in a very loud, VERY HOT, very bright loft (the shades must be opened.) MAINTENANCE came up to discuss and told us what we can request a room that is not a loft but we are NOT ALLOWED TO SLEEP WITH THE WINDOWS OPENED. If they can't get us a new room WITH NO LOFT, we will be forced to PACK UP AND LEAVE. VERY DISAPPOINTED

I ate here with a few friends. All of us were extremely disappointed with our food. It had all the signs of microwave-reheated cheap frozen food. I sent back my lamb curry 3 times for not being hot, and each time it came back with steam rising off the surface, but still only lukewarm in the middle. Eventually I approached one of the kitchen staff as he was crossing through the dining area, and told him that I was disappointed. "Why?" he asked. "Because the food isn't fresh," I said. "How do you know?!" he replied angrily. Thankfully, our waitress was extremely nice, friendly, and accommodating. She seemed to understand that we weren't eating in a real restaurant. In summary, I don't know whether the Arena hotel is any good, but the restaurant is terrible. There are enough good eats in Amsterdam to feed your belly well. Don't subject yourself to Arena's attempt at food.

Enough of Shoddy Hotels The Hotel Arena provided us with a clean, simple but well designed room. The bed was good, the bath was deep, the TV programmed to English and tons of hot water all day. The breakfast was well cooked with a good variety of food. The bar was fun (but not cheap enough for my liking) and the club looked popular. They provided an extra quilt for us within 30 mins of asking. Good quick response to the email I had to send about late checking-in. I think that it is worth the few extra £££'s, when you compare it to some other 2/3* hotels in Amsterdam. It is in an excellent, safe, quiet location which is 20 mins walk from centraal station or a 5 min tram ride.

Club Arena This is one of my favourites clubs. I come here very often. The people are nice and relaxed, and their ages are from 21 - 41 years, I think. A variety of ages. The music is trance and 80 / 90's. There is also a large cafe. You can start your evening here with dinner and drinks, and finish it in the club or in the hotel, which is tree steps from the club. (I'm from Holland myself)