We just loved this place. Suite 406 is large, quiet, tastefully appointed, and located in the "annex" a few doors from the main hotel. At first I was concerned about not being in the hotel proper, but this was no problem. There is an espresso maker in the room with complimentary coffee and tea...try finding that elsewhere in Europe. Everything was sqeaky-clean. Bed was extremely comfortable. There is a small rooftop patio (no view) for smokers or those in need of fresh air, The photos on their website are accurate, especially the 360 degree "tours" of the rooms.

The bathroom has a real "wow" factor, very large and modern with a jacuzzi large enough for two to share. My only quibble is that one has to descend a steep and curved staircase to get to the bathroom so you must be VERY careful especially at night and you'll be fine. Do not book this suite if you have trouble with stairs. Bath linens were very high quality.

Location is quite good on a very lovely canal, very close to Anne Frank's house and the Westerkirk. We walked everywhere (train station, Rembrandt's house, Rijk's Museum, Van Gogh museum, etc. with no problems.

The surprisingly young staff is gracious, professional and very helpful with suggestions for dining, sightseeing etc. The bar is elegant and friendly. Barman Thomas is a model of Dutch courtesy and effciency. Breakfast is reasonable and well done with pastries, cold cuts, cheeses, even sausage and eggs.

My family of four stayed here in August for three nights and we really were not impressed. Toren is part of the Canal House hotel and shares the bar/breakfast room. Aside from those two very elegant rooms, the hotel is pretty much a 1 - 2 star flop house. Our room, which had an extra bed added, was extrremely small and did not allow for any space to put our luggage. Even with three in the room it would have been too small. There was no A/C and the bathroom was really quite grungy. The hotel is close to Ann Frank House and within easy walking distance of the Dam and the museum district, but these are not good enough reasons to stay here. From what I saw, the Canal House was not much better. The staff was indifferent, at best, and truly not interested in us.

On a related note, I have to say how dejected we were with Amsterdam in general. Having been there some ten years ago were were really looking forward to exposing our children to what used to be a vibrant, beautiful city. Sadly, it is nothing of the sort anymore. Drugs (pot and magic mushrooms) are king now, with prostitution running a close second. At one time it was a chore to find the famed "brown cafes" that sell marijuana. Now these "coffeehouses" are on virtually every street corner, and so too are the legions of stoned "drug tourists" that go with them.

Moreover, it seemed that the entire city was under construction - even the museums which were very disappointing since so many exhibits were closed. I hate to say this, but we were even disappointed by Ann Frank House - sacred ground indeed, but badly in need of work. I could go on, but suffice it say that Amsterdam is off our travel map for a while.

We came to this hotel via the tourist information office in Amsterdam, after a disastrous experience at the Hotel Aadam Wilhelmina in the same city (see the 'Mice Love It', under Wilhelmina on TripAdvisor). It was like visiting a different planet. Staff were extremely welcoming and courteous, the surroundings comfortable and relaxing, and the room everything we desired (including a great view of the canal). The hotel was also well situated. It was certainly expensive -- but considering that it rescued our holiday, it was money well spent and we'd happily return there again.

After extensive research as well checking the hotel's website I asked our travel agent to book this hotel for us. Upon arrival we were showed around the main building, shown the lovely breakfast room / bar; then came the shocks: "By the way your room is not in this building, it is in our annex; also breakfast is not included either." The annex happened to be about 10 houses down the road, a real run-down, dirty old place with our either canal or garden view promised room turned out to look over some toilet block between the 3rd and 4th floor. The room was so small that our luggage almost didn't fit, there weren't enough coat hangers, there was a kicked in hole on the bathroom door, numerous light globes were missing and so on. As we were charged 170.00 Euros for this, we felt totally ripped off and could stand one night only, before we moved to a better, nicer and a lot cheaper hotel just next door. It is possible that the main building is OK, but the secondary building wouldn't be good enough for a student dormitory.