We stayed 4 nights, oct 9-12th 2005 and had the junior suite on the top floor. The suite, which was more like an apartment than a hotel room, had all hard wood floors, a big beautiful all glass bathroom with separate shower, toilet and bath, slippers and robes. Great flat screen tv, king bed, couch, desk, a perfect view over looking the Dam, down the block from Central Station so you can walk after taking the train from the airport & very nice staff. I would definately stay here again and take the same room. The hotel was very clean, all staff very attentive and worth every penny. Perfect location to boot. Tram stops outside the front door of the lobby.

We flew into Schipol. Train from Schipol into Centraal Station is a breeze. Walked from Centraal Station to Swissotel (straight down Damrak), which took about 10 minutes maximum.

Arrived at hotel at 2pm approx, and were shown to room 386 (I think), which looked into a dark void or alleyway. I was pretty surprised, as we had booked a "superior" room. The room was pretty small, but pleasantly furnished. Before unpacking, I asked if we could be moved to a room with a better view. Two minutes later, we were shown to room 111, which looked right onto Dam Square. It was larger than the first room, with cream and blue decor, and very bright and sunny. I was slightly concerned that the noise from tram stops outside would be annoying, but although you were aware of them trundling around, they didn't affect us at all.

The area around Dam Square is excellent, plenty of places to eat and drink, and we did lots of walking. We bought tickets for the Canalbus, which was a great way to see everything. You could hop on and off wherever you wanted, and the ticket was valid until 12pm the next day too. The price was 16 Euros pp.

We ate out at Gauchos Argentinian Steak House (between Dam Square and RLD), which was excellent.
Second night we ate out at Haesje Claes in Spuistaat, which is a traditional Dutch restaurant. It is surprisingly large, but very olde worlde. Unfortunately, our waitress got our starters and wine order wrong, which had a knock-on effect to our main courses, which were overcooked. We didn't complain, although we would normally, as we were in "happy holiday mode". We were a little disappointed, as we had been specifically recommended this restaurant by a friend.
Third night we ate at Kantjil en de Tijger in Spuistaat, which is an Indonesian restaurant. We had a banquet for two, which comprised of about 12 different dishes with a large bowl of rice. Delicious food and nice clean restaurant. Total bill approx 74 Euros. I would definitely recommend this restaurant.

We were really surprised at how beautiful Amsterdam is. I'm not sure what we were expecting, but Amsterdam exceeded all of our expectations. It has everything you could possibly want for a lovely city break. Lots of lovely buildings, friendly people, gorgeous eateries etc etc etc.

The Red Light District is only a very small area over two canals, and can be avoided if so desired. We had to take a look (obviously), and found it to be a bit tacky and seedy. We were offered drugs, but this wasn't unexpected, so we just kept walking. Keep your hands on your wallet though, I didn't even take my handbag with me, just in case. There were lots of dodgy looking characters in the RLD waiting to take advantage of unsuspecting (or drunk or stoned) tourists. Be streetwise, if someone asks you what time it is, just ignore them - they want you to take your hands out of your pockets, so that they can put their hands in and take away your valuables.

Anyway, in summary, Amsterdam is a beautiful place, well worth a visit. I would definitely return.

Started my europe trip here at the Swiss hotel. The location is unbeatable. The staff was nice and the hotel was clean. The air conditioning does not work that well. It was a bit noisy due to the location on dam square. The rooms were larger than most we staying in europe. The breakfast was a total rip off!! Do not eat there, they charged us 40 euro for two people and the food was average. So my rating is average, not the best hotel, but also not the worst. If I were to do it again I would stay in a quiet hotel in the canal somewhere. Most everything is walking distance. Amsterdam was a blast.

We booked the Swissotel direct online with the hotel (as recommended bya previous Trip Advisor report) for a 4 night weekend stay. My husband and I took his mother for a sightseeing trip to Amsterdam to celebrate her 85th birthday. We wanted a central hotel with good facilities. We obtained a business rate with breakfast and a guaranteed refurbished room, which were both excellent. Although the rooms had no views, they were spacious and comfortable with very acceptable extras such as a large bowl of fruit, bathrobes, tea/coffee making facilities and iron & ironing board. The staff in the hotel could not have been more helpful. For my mother-in-law's convenience due to her age, we took a taxi from the airport each way, which cost 45 euros and both drivers expected a 5 euro tip! A little excessive we thought. Had we been on our own, we would have taken the train to Central Station and walked to the Hotel, which was only about a 10/15 minute walk away. We were central to everything in Amsterdam - tram stop across the road - and the report which complained about the non-nearness of the canals had a different view to ours. There was only a 10 minute walk along Damrak either way to reach the canals and those by Central Station included all the canal boat excursions you could have wished. We had a evening meal in the hotel's adjoining Dam Plaza restaurant which was very good and we also dined in the restaurant of De Roode Leeuw two doors away and the Restaurant Reflet in the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky across the square, both of which were excellent. We did the evening dinner canal cruise which was a little expensive at over 60 euros, but could not be faulted for the atmosphere and experience. The tour company offices for excursions, booked for us by the friendly Hotel staff, were just across Dam Square, which was also very convenient. The Panoramic City tour, which finished at the Diamond factory, was very disappointing and not worth the money but the trip to Volendam and Marken was very good in terms of value and content. We also enjoyed sitting outside in the warm evening temperatures in the bar of the Dam Plaza with the very friendly barmen and people watching all the activities in Dam Square. A most enjoyable experience and we would recommend the Swissotel as a very good hotel to stay at for a weekend break in Amsterdam - just insist on the refurbished rooms!