Hotel Not Hotel

Stayed at Not Hotel Amsterdam in the Invisible Room — which, don’t worry, is very much visible once you find it! Cozy and warm, a lifesaver in snowy February. The Wi‑Fi moves at a leisurely Dutch pace, and the shared bathroom feels a bit like a social experiment, but everything’s clean and the staff are genuinely kind. Bonus points for the location.. close to cute little restaurants and a supermarket for late‑night snack runs.

This is an interesting hotel with creative rooms. We stayed in a room where the door was hidden within a bookshelf. However 2 issues, the ventilation in the room for the steam was nearly 0. And there is no toilet in the room (we read shower included so we assumed it also included toilet, our mistake to be honest)

The hotel is very close to the center and on a street with restaurants and bars. The tram is a 3 minute walk. Pleasant environment with clean rooms and excellent service from the staff. Alexandre and Tamara were very kind and helped me with everything I needed since it was my first time visiting Amsterdam. Whatever you need these guys and the rest of the staff will do everything to make your stay enjoyable. Thank you Tamara and Alexandre for your hospitality. I will definitely visit you again soon 💯🙏

Decent cheap hotel/hostel to shake off the jet lag. Funky interior decor. It could use some small repairs for certain things, but nothing serious was wrong. they do have a 24-hour attendant and all staff I met are good. It's not a great part of town for tourists, but I felt safe enough. Very close to the tram and a "coffeeshop" next door if that's your thing.

This hotel is an absolute gem. I booked it for my daughters 18th Birthday and it really was the most perfect, memorable place to stay. All of the staff were friendly and accommodating, when I said on arrival it was my daughters birthday we were given a free drink. We stayed in the XL Bookcase room, the bed was so comfy and it was a quiet, relaxing space. Location wise is good, 2 min walk to the trams. It is quirky, interesting, cool, relaxing and it really made our stay in Amsterdam. Would highly recommend, excellent value for money.

I stayed at Hotel Not Hotel earlier this year, and the experience was very pleasant and exactly what we were looking for. The hotel is nicely located, it’s close to many points of interest, restaurants, and coffee shops. The room was nice, somewhat small but cheap enough to make up for it since we didn’t spend much time there. They have a restaurant within the hotel which is very nice, great food and good prices. There’s a coffee shop within 2-3 minutes of the hotel if anyone is interested. The aesthetic of the hotel was very surprising and interesting, it was definitely a very unique experience. Overall, would 100% recommend if you’re looking for an affordable short term stay at a nicely located hotel in Amsterdam.

Warm welcome, ideal location not far from the city center, with a tram stop just next door. Everything was very clean and we had no issues at all! They kindly stored our bags for free before check-in early in the morning and after check-out, and we were also able to enjoy an early check-in for a very reasonable price. Thank you so much — we’ll definitely come back!

During my stay at the Hotel Not Hotel in October, everything went very well from beginning to end. It's well located, the bathrooms are clean, and the staff is super hospitable and friendly. As for the room, it's the right size for a short stay, and it was good for sleeping – a comfortable bed and quiet. I recommend it.

I've been to a lot of places in my 35 years of life but have never stayed at anything like a hostel before, so Hotel Not Hotel was a bit of a new experience for me. This isn't a typical hostel where people share a room, rather then everyone gets a tiny room with a bed and then you share toilettes and showers. We checked into this place on a Tuesday and ended up paying the free for early check in so we wouldn't have to carry our bags around Amsterdam, I think it was maybe 20 euros. Our room was hidden behind a bookcase upstairs which was super cool, and even though it was teeny tiny, the bed was a decent size and both me and my wife slept comfortably. The hotels main rooms are insane here, featuring a bus (which is also a hotel room), thousands of books everywhere, and a whole lot of stuff to occupy you if you don't feel like going outside. Overall, Hotel Not Hotel was a wonderful experience for me and I would absolutely return to this hostel/hotel in the future. On top of being clean, extremely cool, and super interesting to just look at, the staff at Hotel Not Hotel were very friendly throughout our stay. Need a fairly priced bed to sleep on in Amsterdam? Hotel Not Hotel will treat you

The bar was nice, but the hotel had bed bugs and the staff left a lot to be desired in how they handled the situation.

Really loved this location which has so many amenities nearby. However I had a bed bug infestation for my stay for a week and halfway thru realized this, they had no rooms so they could only refund my booking with them but they also said they would cover any hotel for the remainder of our stay since they had no rooms but they did not. I had gotten. Over 150 bites while staying there and although Kirsten was helpful I wish she would've kept her word on covering the other hotel. Overall a nice place and cheap to stay.

Rooms were small and shared bathrooms were annoying. The bathrooms were clean but truly a hassle to walk down to the bathroom at 11pm, sharing bathroom with patrons of the bar/restaurant. Noise levels ok. There is no area inside your room to read/type etc... so you must work/live in the shared area upstairs. Not so bad but the tables are not comfortable for computer work. I'd give it 3-stars if the public area was more inviting. Staff is great and helpful but it doesn't make up for the lack of room/comforts.

Very poor excuse for a hotel. This is more of a youth hostel that is worth about $20. There is only 1 bathroom/shower for the entire building. The tiny rooms have no windows or ventilation. Staff was over the top rude I got very little sleep when night manager banged (not knocking) on the door in the middle of the night to initiate an argument to ask us about possible noise on our floor. I was dumbfounded and in a fight or flight situation after 1:15 in the morning. Worst lodging experience of my life.

My partner and I stayed here for a couple nights in the tram room and honestly, it was a lovely and enjoyable stay. The front desk people were hospitable, gave us a quick tour of the room and a quick rundown of the history behind it, showed us where the bathrooms were, and, if we needed anything, to let them know. They gave us a pamphlet of the hotel's top picks for food/drinks (which is immensely helpful for new tourists to the area), told us the bikes we could rent out, and everything, overall, felt professional but not intimidating. The only aspects that weren't my favorite were the communal bathroom and ambience from the Kevin Bacon bar. However, for the price, niche concept, and the descriptions, you know, essentially, what you're signing up for when you book the room. On the bright side though, the bathroom is but a handful of steps away from the tram room and the room is somewhat soundproof (you'll still hear the music at night). If you're thinking about the food/drinks at the bar, definitely consider getting a meal! We got chicken satay as an appetizer, an Australian Kiss cocktail, and a couple of entrees and it's quite conviennent if you can't be bothered going out. We also got dessert (an affogato, yum) and they ended up helping us bring it to our room, which saved us a trip from going back out. Another plus is that you can get breakfast delivered to your room from 8am-10am, all you have to do is let them know when you want it! On this note, everyone is kind and helpful and the food is one of the best that we got in our time here. Overall, we loved our stay. No hotel is perfect, but this one comes close with its cleverness, reassurance that we could come to them about any needs we might have (which is nice for introverts), room choices, and hospitality! I can't speak for all the other rooms, but I know we'll probably book this hotel next time we come!

Room felt a little claustrophobic but that might just be bc I brought a suitcase. Cool exterior tho, and the communal bathrooms were clean

Bio-hazard While packing our room to return home, I flip the mattress to see if anything had fallen below the bed (the mattress filled the entire width of the room). I was horrified to see the condition of the mattress we've been sleeping on for a week. The mattress was urine stained and covered with menstrual and bodily fluids. To say I was horrified would be an understatement. It was the most disgusting experience I've ever had at a hotel. We stayed in the Fading colors room, perhaps a better description of the mattress rather than the room. It is a beautifully quaint building, with with a fascinating layout and a very nice staff. I just can't get over the disgusting state of the mattress. I would advise anybody staying at the hotel to be sure you understand how small the rooms are and more importantly, make sure that you sleeping in a clean environment.

3.5/5 I like it and I don't like it. The staff are amazing - friendly and very nice. The concept is very cool - 23 unique rooms with a little bit of gimmick to each. You can live behind a bookcase or in a printed house. Or in a tram from back in the days - and that's what my boyfriend and I did. The tram is big and it's small. The bed is very spacious and comfortable, but room in the tram for more than two small carry-on luggage is questionable. There are curtains that we can tack into place to cover the windows for the most part and you will find this very necessary. The tram is placed in the middle of the floor and right outside is the communal bathroom (perfect location), but also right outside is the lounge area which hotel guests can hangout at - but also guests at Kevin Bacon (the Thai restaurant connected to the hotel) can dine at. So you can imagine how weird of a dynamic it is when people are lounging outside your window with glasses of wine and you try to slip into the communal bathroom 2 feet away from them in your pajamas. Tip: avoid eye contact, I don't know what else to say. But I can say that the Thai food and cocktails at Kevin Bacon are pretty good and relatively authentic so it's nice to have convenient access to that while staying at Hotel Not Hotel. The bathroom is very nice, for a hostel. But for a hotel, a personal bathroom would just be extremely nice or at least have one on the top floor and the ground floor. There are four showers - some have toilets, some don't. No toiletries are supplied - you only get a towel and the standard soap dispenser in the shower. There is a mop/brush thing to sweep your shower water towards the drain after because water literally gets everywhere. Then there are a few toilets - some have sinks and some don't. But each toilet and shower has it's own room with a real door so that's nice. The location is great - while it's outside the city center, the tram stop is down the street and can get us into the city center within 15-25 minutes depending on where we go. It's also a 10 minute walk to the Foodhallen which is a cute, stylish and popping luxurious food court area. Hotel Not Hotel is awesome for it's style and fun looking rooms, it's location and staff, but not if you're looking for a comfortable bathroom/living situation - because this component is very similar to a hostel but you are paying $55-$80/night. Oh I will say that according to online bookings, the Secret Bookcase XL has its own bathroom! That would have made the experience here SO much better.

Our experience at Hotel Not Hotel was nothing short of exceptional and memorable. We stayed in the Bookcase XL for a week, which was more than enough for the two of us. WARNING: Beds are EXTREMELY comfortable to the point that you have a hard time leaving them each morning! The housekeeping staff comes in and makes your bed and provides fresh towels daily. The breakfast is lovely and well priced at 10 euros. The dinner is exceptional! Hands down the best Thai food we have ever eaten. Kudos to the chef, King! The bar staff is absolutely amazing. Tua, the bar/restaurant manager, will make you feel as though you are old friends dropping by for dinner and drinks. He truly creates a wonderful atmosphere and experience for all of the guests and was a total joy to be around. The girls in the morning are so sweet and helpful with any questions or requests you may have from tours to recommendations on places to go and see or eat, they've got you covered. This was our first trip to Amsterdam and we will definitely be coming back. When we do, we will ONLY be staying at Hotel Not Hotel!

if you like staying in hostels but just love paying hotel prices, this is the place for you. the common area is super pleasant. Very nice public space to read or hang out with friends. the bar is cute and the food at the attached restaurant is tasty enough and a good price. but this place is definitely NOT a hotel. (as the name would suggest.) 2 things here really bothered me and i will spell them out so potential guests can decide if it's worth it to. 1) they do not supply soap or shampoo when you get a room with an attached shower and toilet; there isn't even hand soap. (public bathroom does have soap but it often runs) BRING YOUR OWN SOAP. also, they are a bit stingy with the towels. we were 2 people and they gave use 1 towel. we were able to get more but it was just like c'mon this place isnt that cheap guys... 2) some of rooms are VERY small. a few so small you cant comfortably unpack to get dressed without using your bed as a shelf. its borderline claustrophobic. there was only one very small almost useless shelf in our room and no counter space in the public bathroom. to shower felt very cramped and i had no place to put anything. so yah if you want to pay for a hotel but stay in a classed up hostel, this is the spot for you. its social, and the staff is wonderful. very welcoming. but its a tight squeeze, and totally lacks the amenities common in any regular hotel experience.

Bottom line: You can find far better accommodations in comparable or similar location for less money. The rooms are tiny, hermetically sealed, hot, mildewy, and offer no privacy. After staying at a lovely hotel on the western side of the city, we took a three day excursion. We returned to the city for three days and were excited to check out what we thought would be a quirky, unique hotel experience. The staff were friendly, but it became quickly apparent that we could not stay at this hotel. We had ordered a large bookcase room so we could have access to a private shower. The heavy bookcase door was propped open when we arrived because it was stifling hot in the room. I made the mistake of picking up a book and let out a puff of dust and mildew. We had been travelling for a few hours and hoped to lie down or at least relax for a bit before we went out. But the heat and dust were not the only problem -- having a shower right next to a bed in a room with no air circulation meant mildew and mold. Within a few minutes, my fellow traveller and I were both sneezing, and experiencing red eyes and scratchy throats. Absolutely uncomfortable in the hot, cramped, and mildewy air, we decided to leave. We were told at the front desk that even with our flexible reservation, no changes made after 7 days prior to arrival could be made. Major red flag if you are staying at hotel that has such a strict cancellation policy. The assistant manager offered to refund us for the nights that they could resell. We left and went back to our original hotel which was far nicer and actually cheaper! Unfortunately, what the assistant manager failed to explain is that they would only refund the amount they sold the new rooms for. In the end, we received less than 40% of what we paid for a room we spent all of 30 minutes in. They probably know they can't resell the room because they are charging way too much for what this "hotel" (not) is worth. When I attempted to negotiate for the amount we pre-paid for breakfast, I was threatened with legal action. Do yourself a favor and avoid this hotel.

Fantastic. We wanted somewhere inexpensive but quirky, since Amsterdam has so much art and quirkiness. Officially a Hostel, but that's only because the bathroom is shared. They do have en-suite rooms available. Each room has a different themed entrance, we stayed behind a bookcase. Would love to stay in the VW Bus room! Extremely clean, quiet, everything we needed. Staff were friendly. They stored our bags at checkout since our flight was later in the day. Bicycle hire available for 16 euros/day. Small bar and restaurant on site. All age groups stay here not just for the young.

I planned almost a year in advance a month long Euro trip. Amsterdam will be one of my last stops, but this is the first hotel I booked because I was so excited for it. I booked 11 months out to ensure I got the room I wanted and during the only 2 nights I would be in Amsterdam. They reached out to me 3 1/2 months before my trip notifying me that they need to cancel my reservation because they are selling the whole hotel out that week to another event. My issue is they gave me several options, see below: 1. Stay with us for the dates outside of the 14th to the 19th, and get rebooked to another hotel for the dates within that period. (this doesn't work for me since I live in the US and I can't just travel internationally again anytime soon) 2. Get rebooked entirely by us to a similar room in another hotel in Amsterdam. (I don't trust them to decide which hotels are adequate or not without my review since there are so many factors that go into choosing a hotel) 3. Change the dates of your stay, entirely free of cost. (I can't do this since I am on a very strict timeline) 4. Cancel your booking with us without any cancellation fee, and get refunded (I chose this option, but it made me extremely mad that they included that they wouldn't charge me the fee. It is not right that they would have charge me my entire hotel stay if I cancelled, but they can cancel without any repercussions). After choosing the 4th option, I reached out to see if they could do anything to make it right since they kept my money for the past 6 months and they told me no since I already decided for them to refund me. Long story short, I bet this hotel is awesome and a lot of fun, just in my experience I dealt with bad business practice and the lack of compassion for now making me pay much more for a hotel for booking 3 months out.

Great Thai food, great service, interesting hotel on nice quiet street. We loved sitting inside by a piece of a Street Car.

This place has had a lot of media coverage due to its hip/ stylish premise but staying here you almost feel as if the hotel is the star and you a simply a sideshow. I don't feel the hotel even caters for most of travellers basic "hotel" needs; communal bathrooms: how do you for instance have a shower? Do you walk through the lounge full of restaunters in a bath robe ? : no I don't think so. The rooms are simply plywood 'boxes' in this art installation of a hotel. You can hear every squeak and sound from your neighbours let alone the commotion coming from the bar and restaurant. This hotel is also way way out of the Center - yes you can get a tram or bus but you feel like you are away from the 'action' of all Amsterdam's attractions. I recommend travellers to come to the bar and have a look around but there are definitely much better places to stay that puts the traveller as the number one concern and not the hotel as an art experiment.!

Great concept for the up-and-coming neighbourhood 'Baarsjes', but also for Amsterdam. Cool design, with many cultural influences, perfectly reflecting the melting pot Amsterdam is. As the name suggests Hotel Not Hotel can please the hotel and hostel lovers alike. The bar offers you the possibility to mingle and chat with not only the guests of the hotel, but also the locals. They offer lunch and 'hapjes'. Have yourself some Hendrick's Gin and Tonic to relax after a long day, or get more adventurous with some Ron Abuelo imported from Panama! I have only been to the Hotel Not Hotel a couple of times so far, but I see myself becoming a regular. I cannot wait to see how it develops further. Last thing I have to say for now: Chapeau!

Two days ago I reserved a room for one night at this cool looking hotel. I only had one night in Amsterdam so was very careful to book a hotel close enough to the center that as soon as we got in we could drop off our bags and do a long, 4 hour bike ride. Instead this is what happened, we came in to drop our bags off later in the morning, we were told the hotel accidentally over booked our room but they would let us have a room to put our items and at 3 a cab would take us to a nearby hotel. So instead of going out for bike ride, we just dropped our stuff and walked around the nice area. Delaying our bike ride until after we got to new hotel. I asked and was assured it would be within a 5 minute distance from the area we were in. Instead, we were taken to a run down area by a cab driver she hired, 33 minutes by walking 10-15 minutes by driving in the opposite direction from the city to a HOSTEL not hotel, that was run down, with bad internet. It was even a further bike ride through not as safe streets as the nice bike path areas where this hotel is located. We could rent bikes, but for more money and it would take twice as long to get anywhere. Our plan of riding into the countryside was ruined. The internet is horrible so we can't get any work done, but we are only here for one night so we are exhausted. When I called, the manager argued with me about the place we picked, saying it is only a few minutes from the center by tram. It is actually 33 minutes from the center by tram. At this point, it's 4:00PM, and we are exhausted. As I'm on the phone with her a random man came into my hostel room and just started vacuuming without knocking. I can't do any work because the wifi is crap. She offers to find us another place, but at this point we've been waiting all day for some place, we are just tired, cranky, hungry and not wanting to go on another journey. A great way to celebrate my 40th Birthday. So we are just going to stay here where we are stuck, since we can't bear moving again. She did not offer to refund any portion, or any other compensation for this huge inconsideration. The youth hostel is Wow Hostel by the way. Normally, in circumstances where the hotel has put you out after you prepaid, they would put you in someplace just as nice or nicer in light of the inconvenience of having to move hotels, instead of a youth hostel. I am coming again, since I didn't get to do my bike ride, but in the future I will not stay at Hotel not Hotel, no matter how cool looking the rooms are and I will recommend to my friends that visit the area also not to go. Sure, a hip looking hotel is nice but who cares when the service is horrible.

This is probably my favorite hotel I've ever stayed in. The rooms are awesome and comfy, the staff is super friendly and will help you with anything you need, and you will never be bored in here. I stayed here about a month ago and just got around to writing a review now. This hotel was one of the best parts of our experience of Amsterdam. They have games upstairs, a super fun and delicious bar/restaurant, very secure and comfortable rooms, and clean bathrooms/showers. If I could give this place more than 5 stars I totally would.

I went there with a bunch of girlfriends for a bachelorette party and it was awesome! The place is amazingly beautiful and the staff is super nice! They let our friends who weren't staying for the night, use the guest bathrooms. The beds were amazing!

I stayed at this hotel/hostel for 4 nights in May 2015. I stayed in the Free Crisis Zone room with a friend. The room was incredibly cramped. I was unable to leave my carry-on size luggage out, it had to be stored under the bed. There is daily housekeeping where they make the bed, but on my 2nd night, I returned after the day out to my room unlocked and the door wasn't fully closed. I told the front desk person and he did not apologize or anything. He said he would speak to housekeeping. Thankfully, nothing was stolen from my room, but the fact that the room was left unlocked for the entire day left me livid.

One of the most asinine designs for a hotel one could possibly imagine. The picture below shows what you might think is an entrance but when you arrive, the door is locked and you slowly find out that you must walk around a whole block to get to the 'real 'entrance. The public space is large and "cozy" but that is because the rooms are so small and lousy. We had to open a large bookshelf to find a room the size of a closet, with no shelves or dressers and no a/c. Leave the window open its cooler but you hear all the noise from the bar below.One small chair shared the room with the bed. The wasted space here is extraordinary--it is made to look like it's a big home/mall and rooms are tucked away. The only possible group I could see staying here is a frat house with 20 people that sit up and drink and talk and then "crash"nearby and have a few laughs trying to find the rooms. If you want an uncomfortable night at a rate that rivals 3&4 star places, then this is the place for you. It seems that more was spent on the design of the establishments PR cards than on , say, a light bulb in a lamp outside your "hidden"room. This plays tries to be so "cool"and is so hostel like, it really should be a 40 a night crash place.