Dorm style room accommodations and smaller rooms available.
In 25 years of travel, this is the worst hotel in which we’ve ever stayed. It was dirty, cramped, and in disarray. There is no elevator, our room was the size of a hamster cage, and the phone, one window, and one of the two naked bulb lamps were broken. The carpet was threadbare and stained, the sheets had holes, and our room overlooked an abandoned building, complete with debris, broken glass, and rotting vegetation. We fled after one horrendous night and felt like escaped POWs, except the Geneva Convention requires that POWs have more rights!
Don’t be fooled by the three-star rating or the "family hotel" hype. The only family this place evokes is the Adams Family. If the only room in the city is at Hotel Barbacan, you should fight the junkies for a park bench!
The Good:
It’s cheap, clean, quiet and safe. I liked staying there because it’s just outside of the busy city center. It’s a little too far away to walk everyplace but the trams are easy to learn. The staff at the hotel is above excellent. It seems to be family run so they really want to make their guests feel comfortable in Amsterdam. They even translated a few things from Dutch to English for me.
The Bad:
The Barbacan is one step up from a hostel. When you book a room there, you get just that: JUST A ROOM. The Double Room has just enough room for an intimate couple to stay, but not nearly enough room for two dudes to stay. I was lucky enough to pay for a private bath, but the toilet rarely worked with out lifting the tank cover. We invited a few friends to hang out for an hour before hitting the town and the desk clerk quickly ran up and told us that there are no visitors allowed. Also, the cab drivers really don’t know where the place is. We had to constantly tell the driver, “it’s by the Zoo”
In all I’m not disatisfied with my stay at the hotel, I just wished I knew how small the room was before I booked it. If I ever go to back Amsterdam by myself I would stay at the Barbacan again.
Don’t believe a word about of the review.
I have been about 12 times to the Hotel Barbacan.
And its very clean nice staff.
If you are comming to Amsterdam you have to stay in the Barbacan.
Check the reviews on http://www.tripadvisor.com
And you will see the rating is 4 stars.
Best regards
John Walters