Hotel Review: Renaissance Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

Background:

I just spent a 3 day weekend in Amsterdam with my friends to visit our other friends studying abroad here in Europe. Prices for hotels and Airbnb’s in the city were outrageous, like 300-400 euros a night for a hotel in a comparable class. Since it was April, tulip season is in bloom in the Netherlands, so that could be a possible reason to the high prices. The brand new Renaissance at the airport was less than half the price of city hotels so I was sold!

Location + Shuttle:

The Renaissance Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is not directly accessible from airport. Unlike the Sheraton which is walking distance and literally in front of the exit, you must take a shuttle to the Renaissance as it is about 5 miles.

The shuttle is a bit lackster, with service only every 40 minutes. Twice we missed the shuttle by a few seconds and ended up waiting for 40 minutes. Not fun, and a bit hard if using this hotel as a base to explore the city.

The worst part is that sometimes the shuttles fill up. We made friends with some Swedes staying at the hotel with us, and the shuttle was full and we squeezed in the back row so no one would get left out and have to wait 40 minutes!

Talking to them, they said that at 10am the shuttle was full and 2 people couldn’t board so they had to wait 40 minutes! If I had a flight to catch, I’d be pissed.

Also, the shuttle only runs from 6am-11:40pm, so my friend who landed at 11:45pm had to Uber to the hotel which cost 15 euros.

That being said, the shuttle itself was very nice, with USB chargers at each seat (what?!).

After the shuttle, a simple 15-20 minute train from airport takes you to Amsterdam Central Station (5.5 euros each way).

Obviously nothing is really walking distance from the hotel. There is a bus stop a few steps away but expect zero nightlife nearby.

Service:

Service was pretty spotty, but as it is a hotel that’s only been open a few months I gave them a break.

1. The safe was locked when we checked in? But once we called down someone quickly came up and unlocked it for us.
2. Requested towels on app, didn’t get any response for over 5 hours. Had to call down.
3. We didn’t receive housekeeping on our last night. Which was odd as I’ve never really experienced that before. We left our room at 10am and didn’t get back until 11pm and were too tired so we just slept.

They did give me 1PM check out when I requested it, so I appreciated that!

The Room at the Renaissance Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

It was nice to find a hotel in Europe with 2 Double/Queen Beds! I booked the room type “Deluxe Twin- 2 Double” which would be the equivalent of 2 Queen Beds in the United States.

Our room was gorgeous! It was located on the corner with many windows.

The beds were put together at first so it looked like a ginormous king sized bed lol. After moving them apart, I realized that the beds were a bit weird as the mattress topper didn’t fit the mattress? It was minor, nothing serious maybe a 4inch gap on the length of the bed. Pillows and sheets were comfortable and standard for a four star caliber hotel.

There was a Nespresso Machine in the room and a hot water kettle with instant coffee. No tea though sadly. Also, a mini fridge was provided which was useful. An iron + ironing board was also provided. And USB chargers!

The bathroom was adequate, with a very nice and large rain shower! A towel warming rack was a nice touch as well. The only complaint would be how hot the bathroom would get. There’s really no ventilation in there, and the window was not able to be opened.

Cleanliness was pretty good for the room as a whole. Overall, solid brand new room with no major issues really! 

Amenities:

The fitness center was well equipped, and the hotel offered a restaurant named Signature and a bar called Bloom. I didn’t get to check out the dining options but they looked nice. The bar had a lot of people one night as Ford had a convention at the hotel.

Bike rentals were also available: 12 euros for three hours or 17.5 for the whole day!

The Verdict:

The Renaissance Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is not a bad airport hotel, honestly probably one of the best airport hotels I’ve stayed at. I’d definitely advise them to improve their service imperfections.

Happy travels,

Ty

Have any questions? Comment below or email me at takeofftotravel@gmail.com. You can also view all my other posts here! Thanks for stopping by!