The Elephant Hostel — Hotel in Amsterdam

Firstly, the location is in a good spot, however, despite this hostel being new and to high standard on aesthetics, the walls sounded hollow and everything was amplified by the slightest movement which didn’t help, for instance when bed curtain rails slid, elbows bashing the wall as you turn in your sleep and door locks were utterly a nightmare for me as I had issue upon arrival and a member of staff (Julia) seemed friendly to help but didn’t give clear indication as to how to solve quickly enough and left me in limbo (I went to the loo/ never saw her again.. and without easy access to the room or so’s I could go do other things I gave up and resigned to resting after someone let me in. Thankfully despite the loud gatherings of groups sharing the larger 16 bed room helping me to get in initially I thought best to wait after (to no avail), upon realising I wouldn’t again then be able to get back in simply on my own and for security.

Which brings me onto the lockers: Big and spacious but also loud and unnecessary beeping!! And even they had problems locking or unlocking first or next random time. So I was quite at odds to be frank. I’d much rather my security and ease of access over new fresh aesthetics but I didn’t and the room alleyways were very narrow for people to comfortably pass and use lockers that weren’t near bed sides. Lastly, because of my inability to meet with staff a third time about the door that night upon arrival to sort the original card key issue, I went to sleep (of the few hours I managed) and got up to take a shower. The showers were ample but again, everything a bit cramped for my liking. So I left the cubicle expecting to be able to go right back in after my shower to collect my things when I first attempted to get changed fully in my room. I couldn’t get back in still with the key card I had so was forced (after knocking on the door for one of potentially 15 other people to let me back in-like the night before. (This wasn’t unreasonable hours in the morning 8am and other people were even up and sharing the bathroom at that time but fair as fair, chose not to open).. so I had to scuttle down with just my small towel around my waist and left my dirty laundry (expensive travel light - briefs upstairs and forgot about them as had other more pressing dilemmas!) if you weren’t bored getting to the gist of this then thanks for reading my tale of ill fortune during my stay here. I hope you don’t suffer this! I would like to ideally pick them up and receive my money back for the frankly awful stay as shall be passing by tomorrow (Sunday) but I don’t expect they will read this or apologise and get back to me as they hadn’t last night or felt not so much even from the guy who I flagged whilst nearly starkers out the shower. This was long after Julia promised 10 mins later to have solved it and got back to me. So please if you are reading #TheElephantHostel And to all: please consider carefully before opting this place -not in/ in a larger room - higher up the building, or not feeling at ease with poor room service, lack of security within or rather more safety. Otherwise it’s clean as a whistle (because it’s new). Thanks for reading. P.S. if Elephant H, do read this and respond in fair time then I’ll accept a fair apology and give you guys some credit. But please consider this in seriousness and improve your business operations for future visitors. There, enough said, not brief and me have no...

Summary: Great hostel in a really enjoyable area near the zoo that's walking distance from the centre yet quiet and calm and with just a scattering of cafes and bars (most pretty good) on the doorstep. Tram 14 stops almost outside.

More detail:

Reception/lounge: It's in a gorgeous 19th century room with high ceilings, murals on linen 'wallpaper' and carved wooden beamwork. The non-alcohol bar stays open all night (residents only) with comfy sofa seating and tables with power point access. There's no kitchen so you can't cook or make your own tea/coffee but a basic espresso costs only Euro1.80 and if you ask they'll give you a mug of boiling water to make your own tea or instant. Pizza (10 euros) is also available 24 hours, handy for late night munchies.

The dorms: The wooden box capsule beds felt a little bit coffin-like at first try but once I got used to it there's enough space inside not to feel overly claustrophobic. A bit more space for changing would be nice and I felt sorry for the people in the two beds beside the lockers as there could be movement right beside them at any time. However, the beds come with heavy curtains that keep out the light and the lady in one of those dorms said she still preferred being here to staying at the nearby Bee Hostel where space was even more limited.

Lockers: The lockers (free) are decent sized and easily held all my luggage but wouldn't hold a very big suit case. For shorter hostellers the upper lockers were a bit of a fiddle to see inside. The same key card operates the locker, the dorm door and the front door of the hostel. A great idea but don't mistakenly leave the key in the locker (which locks automatically when closed) or in the dorm when you go to the toilet (easily done).

Bathrooms: The toilets were a bit cramped and with just two sinks for the whole top floor (30ish beds) there was occasionally a bit of a jam for teeth cleaning etc but nothing major. The showers are also a bit small but well designed such that there's a shielded area to leave towel and a few clothes without them getting wet. A small towel is provided. You'll need your own soap and shampoo in the showers though there's a basic soap dispenser by the sinks.

Other: The staff that I encountered were very obliging, sometimes almost surreally friendly, and multilingual. There's a small laundry in the basement if you ask. It costs 5euros for a load. You'll probably need to pay for the drier too if staying in the dorms as there's nowhere to hang stuff (a small hanger in the capsule is just big enough for the provided towel and a couple of socks) You can borrow an ironing board on request There's also a very small gym but I didn't ask about how to gain access to that You get a ticket for a free drink (tea, coffee or lemonade) on arrival - can use it at any time. The lemonade seemed by far the best deal and was pretty good - various sub-options As with other places in Amsterdam, Saturday nights are very expensive. Staying midweek is...

PLEASE DONT BE FOOLED BY THE RATING of this hostel! I’m going to present the most realistic photos because it’s really too much. I am a girl from Asia and had a terrible experience when I first came to the Netherlands. I don’t want others to be deceived like I was.

This was my first time trying to stay in a hostel. The price was really cheap, so I didn’t expect too much, but I certainly didn’t expect it to be this bad. I checked its ratings on different websites and saw that there were no negative reviews. The location was also good, so I chose to stay here.

I arrived at this hostel at three o’clock this afternoon. The lobby was beautiful, the decoration was lovely, and the service staff were friendly. However, once I entered the room (a 15-person female dormitory), I was appalled. The floor was covered in garbage. I took a photo and complained to the staff. He said someone might have accidentally dropped it and that with so many people staying in the room, it was bound to get messy. But this was not ordinary trash; there was dust that had accumulated for a long time. It looked like the room had never been cleaned.

I left immediately before I even checked the bathroom. There was no way I could stay overnight in such filth. It felt like a lie. Although the price was cheap, they shouldn’t deceive people like this. I don’t want fellow backpackers like me to be misled again. Beautiful decoration means nothing if cleanliness is lacking.

Although they eventually offered to refund me, I still want to leave a bad review to warn others. I have to find another place to stay immediately. They wasted my time and ruined my mood, impacting my beautiful day. However, their Google reviews are overwhelmingly positive (they even have a sign in the lobby offering free drinks for writing reviews). I’m not sure if this is a tactic they use to deceive people.

I hope everyone will leave honest comments and prevent others from having such a...