Well, above everything i read before my boyfriend and i stayed there, i must say that i never stayed in a hotel in Amsterdam, my boyfriend's family owns a house on the same canal and it's pretty much the same but RESTORED, which is something that this hotel should do soon! We stayed there to go to a funeral & there was not much left to be booked in the city centre. We got in really late and it took me a while to fall sleep, it was not dirty, but it felt like sleeping in my grandparents bed... It's alright that they keep the old furniture but the mattress should be changed, it was way too soft, my back still hurts! It's not luxury old, it's just old. It was an experience!

First, bear in mind this is a 3-star hotel - NOT a five-star hotel. And it is in the historic quarter of a very historic city, not downtown of an American metropolis. People looking for a modern, spacious, 5-star hotel should stay elsewhere and be prepared to spend the money for it. But for anyone looking for something unique and charming, the canal house is a sure bet. My wife and I recently stayed a few nights there on a tour of Europe, and it was by far our favorite hotel of the trip. The staff was incredibly friendly, the room was spacious, and the common rooms are simply gorgeous. The location is within convenient walking distance of everything from Central Station to the Rijksmuseum, yet removed from the seedy areas near the red-light district. The shower does leave something to be desired, but my wife was actually thrilled to discover a good sized bathtub in a european hotel. For the best experience, I highly recommend paying extra for the canal view. Simply magical!

This place is definitely a mixed bag and I was very disappointed after all the rave reviews. We stayed for three nights on our first trip to Amsterdam in November 2004 and had requested a room with a city view--what we got was an attic room with rooftop views. When we were there a local church bell kept us awake all night long...I know that sounds really cool, european and romantic, but it was every 15 minutes and really loud even with the windows closed.

There was a pretty nice room that we peeked into at the end of our hall that was larger and nicely appointed with many windows.

Shower Bath tub in our room was a tub only. It had a typical European showerhead-on-a-hose which was fine, but it did not have a tub enclosure so that you could not do a "stand up" shower--my wife found this to be a real pain for shampooing her hair and one tended to get really cold when wet.

Furnishings could be described as "old world antique" if you wanted to be overly generous. In reality the furnishings were old, tattered and shabby.

One couple from our group had a street/canal front room, which was much larger and nicer. Some street noise, but not bad, and had a canal view across the street.

We were told by some employees that the owners are not local and have not put a dime into the place since they bought it several years ago and it shows it.

Management / front office staff seemed cold and indifferent.

On the plus side: Location is really very good. Work staff is friendly. Breakfast room, garden view and breakfast foods are A++. The off-lobby bar is old world cool and a great place to hang out and have a drink.

All-in-all we would not stay at Canal House again. Amsterdam was interesting, but not high on my list to return to. The Anne Frank house is not to be missed and very close to Canal House if you decide to stay here.

I've stayed here maybe 5 or 6 times and I love it. No two rooms are the same. The breakfast room is wonderful, the bar is somewhere you actually might want to have a drink in, and the location great.