What I liked

• Beautiful building and grand decor
  
• River side location
  
• Impressive upgrade as a Platinum Ambassador
  
• Gorgeous swimming pool
  
• Excellent service
  
• Lovely room with river view
  

What Could be improved

• It’s not cheap!
  

The Best Activities in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is a global city. It has a rich history, dating back to the 12th century. It’s famous for its nightlife, canals and architecture. You’ll have a great time when you visit. Below are some of my favourite activities, while you’re here.

Amsterdam is famous for its canals. Book a boat tour for €20, with free cancellation. The tour lasts for 1 hour, and there’s a bar on board. What a great deal! The tour is rated 5* from 4,555 reviews.

Amsterdam is also famous for its cycling culture. A guided bike tour only costs €37.50. Book here and get free cancellation. The tour lasts for 3 hours and is rated 5* from 2,009 reviews. You’ll have a local guide to take you to all the best sights.

The highest rated food tour in Amsterdam is rated 5* from 1,109 reviews. Book here for €99 and get free cancellation. You’ll sample food at 6 separate locations. You’ll eat Apple pie, bitterballen, smoked sausage, pickled herring, Indonesian cuisine, award winning cheeses, coffee, tea, beer, wine, jenever and much more!

One of my favourite things in Amsterdam is a romantic boat tour with champagne! Book here for €118. It comes with free cancellation. The trip lasts for 1.5 hours and is rated 5* from 84 reviews.

The boat trip is private. Just you and your partner. You’ll get champagne and snacks to enjoy, during your trip. You’ll have an expert guide, as you glide through Amsterdam. I recommend to book the tour, so you can see the sunset.

The Booking

I used a free night voucher to book the Intercontinental Amsterdam for two nights. The voucher enabled me to book two nights, and only pay for one. The cash rate was €800/night. So I paid €800 for two nights. The voucher saved me €800.

I got the free night voucher, as I’m a member of Intercontinental Ambassador. I pay $200 per year. It comes with the following benefits at Intercontinental Hotels:

• 1 free night voucher per year
  
• Guaranteed 4pm checkout
  
• Guarantee room upgrade
  
• $20 restaurant voucher per stay
  
• Platinum Status with IHG
  

For $200/year, this is a great deal. The IHG Platinum status is very valuable. You get benefits at all 6,000 IHG hotels worldwide. Intercontinental, Kimpton, Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza etc. You can Sign up on this page.

Another great trick to stay here, is to use IHG points. You can book a room for 75,000 points. You can buy IHG points from the IHG website. It costs €348 to buy 75,000 points. A 57% discount on the cash rate.

The Location

The Intercontinental Amsterdam occupies a wonderful river side location. The back of the hotel, has wonderful water views.

It’s about 10 minutes walk from the centre of Amsterdam. This ideal in my view. Easy access to the tourist locations, but also a bit of quiet.

It's a 10 minute walk to the Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam. Which is one of the other best hotels in the city. It's about 25 minutes by taxi to the airport. An Uber will cost you €40. The Van Gogh Museum is 2km away.

The Hotel

The Intercontinental Amsterdam is luxury 5* hotel in every sense of the word. The décor is fabulous. The swimming pool is wonderful. And the service is terrific.

The hotel has the following features

• Stunning river side location
  
• Beautiful historical building
  
• Amazing pool and spa on the ground floor. Overlooking the river
  
• Prime city centre location
  

The hotel itself is a majestic historical building. The building was built in 1867 and retains all of the grand splendour.

The architecture and design are stunning. You see it as you walk around the hotel.

There’s a grand staircase that takes you down to the ground floor lobby. The swimming pool has a sculpture that reminds me of David of Michelangelo. The outside of the building is absolutely magnificent.

The Intercontinental Amsterdam is right on the river. The rooms at the back of the hotel all face the river and have terrific views. My room had an excellent water view.

The Elite benefits

I'm an Intercontinental Ambassador and got treated really well. It’s one of the best results I’ve had at an Intercontinental Hotel. I got the following benefits

• €15 dining credit
  
• 4pm checkout
  
• Upgrade to a bigger room with water view
  
• Drinks vouchers
  

The drinks vouchers were an especially good result. The bar is on the ground floor, with beautiful river view.

We received 4 drinks vouchers. For each member of my family. We were able to order any drink off the bar menu, including cocktails and champagne.

I had champagne. My wife and kids had mocktails. We ordered a 5th drink (champagne for me) and the bartender didn't charge for that. Completely unexpected and much appreciated!

We got around €70 of value from these vouchers, which is an excellent return.

The Room

I booked two rooms at the Intercontinental Amsterdam. My family of four were staying. I stayed in one room. My wife stayed with my two kids in the other room.

I would have liked to share my room with someone. But my wife said she needed both kids. Or she would be scared!

Our rooms were upgraded to a room on a higher floor, with water view. This is a benefit of being an Intercontinental Ambassador member.

The room was fantastic. I was on the 3rd floor (out of 4). The room was large and had the following features:

• Large double bed
• Two large windows with water view
• High quality tea selection and coffee machine
• Large desk
• Large bathroom with shower and bath

We absolutely loved our rooms. They were large and could have been made into junior suites.

My room had two large windows with a stunning view of the water. The windows opened fully, but it felt rather dangerous. So I left them closed! The photo below shows the view from my room.

The Swimming Pool and Spa

The swimming pool was my favourite part of the hotel. The area was stunning.

There was a swimming pool, steam room, jacuzzi and hydro pool. It was located on the ground floor. One side of the pool had floor to ceiling windows, looking on to the river. It was a stunning setting.

There was also a grand sculpture at one end of the swimming pool. Take a look at the photo in the slideshow. It reminded me of David by Michelangelo, in Florence.

The swimming pool was heated to a perfect temperature. I stayed at the hotel for two nights, and use the pool 3 times!

There was also a small gym area to use.

They also offered tea, coffee, water and apples in the pool area. This was a really nice feature. I was happy to chill there for a few hours with my family.

Conclusion

I absolutely loved the Intercontinental Amsterdam. Probably my favourite city Intercontinental in the world. And I've been to a few. I can't recommend the hotel highly enough.

The building is grand and splendid. The hotel has stunning river side location. My room was large and had a great view. The swimming pool was beautiful.

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I recently stayed at the Intercontinental Paris Le Grand. Review here. The hotel has an amazing location, and the building is majestic. Full of old world Parisian charm! I was a little disappointed with room however. The shower was bad and there was no coffee machine.

I also reviewed the Park Hyatt Siem Reap. A stunning colonial hotel near Angkor Wat. Review here. The location was terrific, the breakfast was excellent and the I got a great deal!

I have also reviewed Singapore Airlines First Class. It’s every bit as good as you expect. I flew in a 50 foot apartment in the sky. With separate bed and armchair. I had two separate TV screens, a wardrobe and comfortable pyjamas. Flying will never be the same again!