My husband and I stayed at Canal House for five days in the spring of this year.

The hotel was one of the highlights of our stay in Amsterdam. The ambience was perfect - very charming, personable staff, and well-appointed decor.

We stayed in a small upstairs room overlooking the rooftoops of the city. The room was quaint, clean, and nicely decorated. The bathroom was larger than we expected with a bathtub. We bought some tulips at the flower market and were pleased to find a glass pitcher in the room to use as a vase, which brightened up the space. The room was very quiet and timeless. The only sounds we heard were the melody of the local church bells serenading us to sleep and adding to the charm.

Breakfast was a wonderful affair we looked forward to each morning. The breakfast room is beautiful, bright and relaxed, and the buffet selection is one of the best I've seen in a European hotel of this class. The waitstaff were very pleasant and efficient.

The bar is small, but cozy, with a lovely selection of local guidebooks -- not a place to spend the evening, but perfect for a drink before heading out, or to meet fellow travelers. We took a glass of wine each evening in the bar before going to dinner. The hotel posts a list of recommended area restaurants and the staff booked all of our reservations. We were not disappointed with any we tried and particularly recommend the Indonesian restaurant -- our favorite dinner during our stay!

The staff was very helpful. We wanted to take a day excursion to the countryside and the hotel staff member on duty spent a lot of time helping us decide where to go and suggesting places to see. She also allowed us to borrow one of the hotel's many guidebooks for our trip.

The location could not have been better. It is on a canal in a very quiet, but beautiful location and easily within walking distance or a short tram ride to all the museums and sites. There are canal bus stops nearby as well - one across the canal at the square and the other by the Anna Frank House. We wandered around the neighborhood on foot and really enjoyed seeing a quieter side of the city.

We absolutely loved our stay! This is not a hotel for those who want luxurious, modern or American-style amenities. As one reviewer commented, the bathtub does not have a shower curtain -- but that is because this is a European style hotel and, after all, is in Europe. You will not find large modern rooms, televisions, coffee pots and mini-bars, or be in the heart of Amsterdam night life. But, that is precisely what we liked about it - peaceful and historic ambience. My husband's only complaint was that the crowd was older (we are in our late 20's), but I preferred the less rowdy company.

Canal House has old-world charm, character and a peaceful ambience, in a quiet but convenient location and is reasonable for what it offers. If that is what you are looking for, I recommend it without hesitation.

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.