The “must do” thing in Amsterdam is of course a visit to Ann Franks’ House. It was an eye-opener for me as her hiding place room was about the same size as the appalling bedroom we were allocated at the expensive but disappointing La Boheme Hotel. And our room was less accessible than hers, with five dangerous flights of steep, narrow stairs that required me to take my life into my hands at every ascent and descent. But the more frightening aspect was that this staircase was also the “evacuation route” from our fifth floor room in case of fire - there was no other way down, no fire exit or escape ladder….and if there had been a fire on any of the lower floors we would have been trapped. That terrifying thought meant it was not easy to sleep in this awful but ludicrously expensive room. Ann Frank’s room measured 13ft by 6ft. The usable space of our bedroom (which cost almost £1000 for three nights!) was not much more, as it measured 8ft x 11 ft, but, with a sharply sloping wall on one side, some of the space was lost. The tiny, narrow bathroom was also made difficult to use by that sloping wall. We could not believe that this was what we had been allocated after booking for our visit to Amsterdam. We accepted a premium price for location and expected an appropriate hotel and room for the money, but this was simply a rip-off. The precarious climb to the fifth floor was almost impossible for this 71 year old and my wife - and fortunately kind male members of staff came to the rescue by carrying our suitcase up on arrival and down on departure. Actually the staff at the hotel were all lovely, and understanding of our complaints, especially Jasmine, Luca and Dan. But they couldn’t solve anything. Sure, I read in advance of booking that there was no lift, but I naturally assumed that, like other hotels I have stayed at without lifts, there would be a safe, usable staircase. And a fire escape. The phone in the room didn’t work either so there would be no way for us to be alerted to an emergency or for us to alert staff. The bedroom’s limited space meant that the bed was right against a wall, so getting in and out of that side required climbing across the bed - which is not easy for senior citizens. There was no wardrobe, cupboard, dressing table, desk or drawers. Just a rail with six coat hangers and a shelf. And just one very shabby old chair. In the absence of furniture, sitting comfortably on the bed was impossible because of the sloping wall behind it (which I twice banged my head on when going to the bathroom during the night). The safe lock didn’t work so we had to leave valuables in a locked suitcase. The facility was probably worth a cost of about 25%, at most, of what we paid. It was simply a massive disappointment, a total rip-off, but most seriously of all, downright dangerous with those stairs and no fire escape. Without doubt, our worst hotel experience ever (and that is after travelling to numerous countries around the world on business and for leisure over the last 50 years). …