The Toren occupies two old canal-houses on the Keizersgracht: a particularly charming location. The staff are very helpful, the breakfast is outstanding (but with an extra charge), and there's a comfortable if dark lounge where drinks and coffee are served all day. Due to these factors, I give it 4/5 stars. If it were not located here, it would get 3/5 stars, at most.
Now since this a premium-priced hotel, with room-rates among the highest in the area, my review compares The Toren with similar hotels that are slightly less expensive (such as 't Hotel and Hotel Fita)--and, as you'll see, I think these others are better value and more pleasant (if less chic).
Part of the charm of hotels in Amsterdam (at least in my view) is that most are fairly small (less than 10 or 15 rooms and they are owned by a single family--and while the service is impeccable (this is the Netherlands), there is a certain warmth and friendliness: you are greeted by someone who will remember your name and want to know how to make your stay more comfortable--their help with museum and tram tickets, bike hire, etc., will be done to be helpful and not to make extra money.
The Toren is run by a family, but it's a very corporate place. It's the only canal-house hotel I've ever seen that has a long registration desk that is manned by two people 24/7. This has advantages (someone's always there) and disadvantages (it's a colder experience). Since I stayed in the Annex, where there are no staff present, there was minimal interaction between me and those who could otherwise offer friendly advice.
They charge far too much for bike hire (15 euros per day; the nearby shops charge half of that); they charge a premium for museum tickets, and that's just not fair.
The decor, in my opinion, is awful: dark purple velvet and black everywhere; red walls; black tile. Furniture in the room is black. Walls painted black. Black bed spread. Coffeemaker is nice: it's black too.There's no "let the light in" and none of the clean lines and exposed wood that one normally finds in 18th-century buildings in the city. At one point I asked a member of staff if they could raise the blinds in the lounge: I was the only one in there and wanted read without candles at 3 p.m. on a sunny day. No, they don't open, it's not part of the decor, I was told. Charitable view: it's aiming for fin-de-siecle luxury. Uncharitable: it's brothel-chic. It's just not functional: I like to shave in the shower, but for some reason even the light in the shower is pale. I could hardly see my reflection in my hand-held mirror. I guess the place would be functional if you didn't want to look at the person you're with--
I stayed in room 404; the size was fine, but one wall featured a long window and glass door; on the other side is a "smoking deck" shared by another room. I did not like hearing my neighbours chatting out there until late at night, on both nights. Especially not at £170 per night. They were not loud at all--but it's just a window between them and my bed--whose mattress was far too soft by the way.
At checkout, I mentioned the loud smoking-deck, and was advised that I ought to have mentioned this earlier, so they could have done something about it. (I didn't like that reply: the correct reply would have been "we are sorry about that.") I said that there was nothing that could have been done--my neighbours were simply using the deck that was available to them. I was then told that she would have asked them to be quiet. I think that would have been unfair--the problem is with the hotel's design, not with guests who like to chat with each other: they too pay £170 per night (I assume). The hotel decided not to charge me for breakfast or a glass of wine (a 30-euro saving: around 7% of the total cost).
Not a hotel for families--these rooms are not for kids; not one that I'd choose over 't Hotel or Hotel Fita--unless I had a canal-facing room (thus more light and no shared deck) and at a competitive price. I am sure the staff forgot about me as soon as I left. But they were helpful while I was there.
The hotel should be brighter, "warmer" (remove the registration table; even some Hiltons are using desks rather than long counters these days), and reconsider that dark decor.
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