After our global gallivanting back in February, we had one last hoorah before taking the next few months into summer to (financially) recover – a two-night trip to Amsterdam to attend a concert. Proximity to the train station and ability to work throughout (yes, I do have a job, and leave is not unlimited) were the most critical aspects of the stay, and so we took up a suggestion to try out the Kimpton de Witt, right in downtown Amsterdam only a few minutes’ walk from the train station.
For this stay, we booked a King Premium room on an IHG Destined rate, which theoretically (read on) comes with early check-in, late check-out, room upgrade – all subject to availability – as well as a $100 room credit.
We had no need for early check-in, as we were arriving late to begin with, but we did immediately enquire about late check-out on arrival. I’ll be pretty direct – our arrival interaction at reception was functional, but not overly engaging. We were informed of the perks of the rate but told that late check-out would need to be asked for the night prior to check-out – and then, almost right after, that room upgrade wasn’t available. OK, one perk down, but hopefully more to go, right?
Our room was pleasant; fresh and pretty funky, in a triangular shape with the bed to one side and a desk and TV on the other. The blurred Mona Lisa (or whoever that might be) over the bed was slightly off-putting, but to each their own.
We also received a welcome note from the hotel along with a small box of chocolate and a bottle of sparkling water.
The room was located on the top floor, almost opposite the elevator, with a view over the neighbouring streets – unfortunately, as you can see, the weather didn’t play really ball during our entire stay.
One slightly unfortunate design aspect would probably have to be the bathroom door, consisting of rippled glass, meaning anyone using the facilities at night is likely to light up the bedroom by using the bathroom light.
In a sustainability attempt, the shower gel and shampoo, as with an increasing number of hotels, is now in large wall-mounted bottles. I’m not sure what was the deal with these particular bottles, but the pump never ‘reset’ by itself, and you’d have to stand there pulling the pump back up to use again – incredibly annoying at the time but easily forgotten until the next time (until eventually, as you can tell, it just became a point of minor frustration).
Another sustainability attempt that I felt was perhaps not the brightest idea was not replacing the towels unless they were specifically left on the floor – there actually isn’t really any generous hanging space in the bathroom, and so towels never really dried during the day despite best wishes. I think in this case, if the towels are obviously soaked (and unlikely to dry), a replenishment would be a good idea and a welcome pro-active move.
Breakfast was also included in our rate, and this is one area I will pay compliment to – the staff here, in particular ‘Hugh’, who seemed to constantly be manning the entrance, were mostly a joy; chatty, engaging and proactive. The breakfast itself was also a real treat, with a wide selection of hot and cold items, juices, breads and of course, coffee available from the staff.
We also peeked a quick look in at the gym (no fitness activities before, and certainly not the day after, the concert), which was well-equipped and spotless.
There’s a ‘co-working space’ according to the hotel, but for me personally (and probably quite a few others), this wasn’t really what I probably had in mind. It’s an awkward space behind the reception extending back and in between the café and the entrance to the bar and eatery. It’s a busy (and quite loud) thoroughfare to and from the eateries, lift, and reception and I knew I’d really need late check-out if I was to be able to get much work done peacefully. You could argue any hotels' reception area is a co-working space taking this as an example.
It was also the scene of the evening social hour, which I enjoyed on the first evening – a sort-of more leisurely cocktail hour with a choice of beer and wine.
After our concert on the second night, we returned back, as instructed, to ask about late check-out. Honestly, this was just…not a good interaction, and I say that as someone who sometimes would rather bear a grudge than make a scene, but we asked, and with almost total condescension, were met with an instant ‘not possible’. I let the receptionist know I was getting a little fed up of the perks being unavailable, and that it seemed there was no point in booking a more expensive IHG Destined rate vs. any cheap rate online, but was met by a constant, condescending brick wall of ‘Well I have a Diamond waiting that needs your room’.
No problem solving, no ‘do you know we have a business centre if you need to work quietly’ or anything – just a steady repetition of ‘Well, there’s a Diamond…’. In the end, very uncharacteristically, I asked for the contact of a manager. Even then, I realised afterwards, I was given what was realistically just a group e-mail address.
In the end, this was actually a big plus point for booking through a travel advisor, because we contacted ours immediately – who made the appropriate fuss via official channels, and we headed off to sleep, ready to be up early to pack and be out on-time.
At reception next morning (in the absence of any contact from the hotel themselves, we proceeded to pack and be at check-out bang on-time), we were met by a guest relations manager, who – to their credit – informed us that the hotel would refund one night of the stay as compensation, along with offering sincere apologies and offering to keep our room credit active, which we hadn’t managed to use. Much appreciated, but it seemed like such a shame on both sides for the property to have to give up revenue, and ultimately, for me to have wound up arriving to check-out with such a poor perception of the property that was by now very difficult to shake off.
He advised us that the night staff would receive better training and listened to my two points that a) the night staff’s level of training is absolutely not the guests’ problem and b) it is very hard for guests to justify not just booking the cheapest possible rate online when perks rates, like this, can’t be honoured to nearly any extent (I mean – even the room credit, while a kind gesture, was difficult to use as the eatery was closed for lunch, and the café had a private event on over lunchtime the day of check-out) .
Of course, truthfully, while I appreciated the gesture, it also felt very much the by-product of travel advisor involvement and unlikely to have ever been resolved to such a degree for the average, self-booking guest. My e-mail sent to the property the previous night, in particular, was never cited as the reason for the outreach – rather our travel advisor's apparent missives.
Ultimately we ended up haunting the reception area and ‘co-working’ space most of the day, trying to do work and take calls.
Overall, this was a difficult stay – the purpose of an IHG Destined rate, based on this stay, felt like not much other than a marketing tactic, and while I appreciated the response I got from the property post check-out, it was a shame that it got to this point and truthfully, would put me off both Kimpton and any IHG ‘perks’ rates for a long time, unless either was the deal of a lifetime and I matched my expectations very significantly downward just in case.
