Amsterdam, NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky

I stayed at the executive room(new building) of Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky in Dec. 2005. It's situated on Dam Square, and the other side of Dam is The Loyal Palace. Very close to the department stores and museums. It's about 20 minutes by car from Schiphol Airport, and on request there is a shuttlebus from and to the airport. (It's about 8 US dollars for one way, and it takes about 30-40minutes.) It's also close to The Central Station(about 7 minutes on foot). Its location is very nice. There are also many restaurants near the hotel, and the famous '' De Roode Leeuw'' is about 3 miuntes from the hotel.

The hotel started in 1866 as a cafe, and now a 5-star hotel. A Dutch friend of mine from Amsterdam told me that he always dreamed about staying there since he was a child, and recommend me to stay there. I stayed in a new building so I didn't feel the hotel was very old. The accomodation was not so gorgeous, but my room was large enough and very comfortable. But it was Christmas season and their rooms were almost fully booked, and I couldn't get the room faced Dam Square, so the view from my room was not very good. (I could only see the next building just about 3 meters away from the window.) But there is a cafe lounge faced Dam Square, so you can enjoy the view there. I recommend the breakfast at ''Winter Garden'' of the hotel. I learned that they opened this ''Winter Garden'' in 1879, and it's a national cultural asset of Holland. This place is gorgeous, bright, and the food was very good.