We stayed at the Golden Tulip in Amsterdam for one night in January of 2008. The occasion was a long lay-over (21 hours) which allowed us to check our bags through to the States, take the train into Amsterdam, cruise the canals, eat a fine dinner at a little restaurant on the Damrok, “De Compagnon,” and spend the night at the Golden Tulip. The Tulip is a deceptively small hotel. Once we passed through the small entry, it seemed to go on forever. The hotel is extremely modern and comfortable, and I enjoyed lounging at the bar next to a fireplace. As we were leaving the following morning, we did have a somewhat unpleasant experience with the hotel management. Our bill showed a charge for “pay television” which we had not used, although we did enter our room number on the room’s television screen in an attempt to discover what movies were available. The television indicated a “free half-hour trial” or some such enticement, but little did we know that entering the room number caused an automatic and irrevocable charge. Unfortunately, at check out time, the hotel staff made me feel uncomfortable, as if I were trying to get away with something, when I asked them to reverse that charge. Their claim that they were unable to credit us for the amount, because the company responsible for the pay television service simply charged them as soon as a room number was entered, seemed somewhat spurious to me. In the interest of good-will, if nothing else, they should have adjusted this charge.
Breakfast was not included in our hotel bill of 189 dollars, and was a hefty 16.5 euros each. That said, it was a great breakfast, as it should have been!
I don’t know if I’ll stay at the Golden Tulip again, given the attitude of the staff at check-out. That kind of an incident has a way of spoiling all the good feelings we had about the hotel up to then.


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