REVIEW | WestCord Fashion Hotel, Amsterdam
What a beautiful few days we spent in Amsterdam! WestCord Fashion Hotel was our base for the trip and boy was it a good trip! It was just such a great experience with lovely staff and truly beautiful, fashionable surroundings!
My sister, Louise, (bless her) had no idea that this trip was being planned and her birthday was coming up.. I was actually visiting Amsterdam for business this time around (for blog work of course) and thought to myself 'Why not combined a business trip with a birthday surprise for Lou at the same time?' After all, her birthday was only a couple of days before we departed! She literally had no idea about the trip until her birthday (Tuesday) and by Thursday we were off on our flight (not the original flight I booked as we missed it, but that's another story for another day..)!
First Impressions in the Lobby (9/10)
Upon arriving in the hotel lobby, we were in awe! Of course, I had done my research before-hand and knew a fair bit about the WestCord hotels but it was nothing like being there in person. The lobby area was beautifully decorated with tasteful statues, abstract art and glistening glass chandeliers. This fashion hotel really stands up to it's name with passers-by able to admire the elegantly dressed mannequins which stood by the windows.
The seating area, I found, was also very well put together with a bright pink male mannequin sitting by the window and modern furnishings. We were particularly intrigued by the display shelves – moulds of (very real looking) hands which held fashionable items such as shoes, cosmetics and make-up. Such a different look!
Room (8/10)
After checking in, we were pointed in the direction of our room. WestCord Fashion Hotel has many floors and thankfully, our room was situated on the second floor!
The room was lovely, not too big and not too small and the beds were so comfy! I literally lay down quickly to rest my feet and didn't want to get up again! Such soft duvets and puffy pillows!! As for the bathroom, very modern with a little touch of elegance. We were also given complimentary shampoo, shower gel, body lotion, shower caps, etc!
Close to the mini-bar, I also noticed some pretty macaroons, snacks and bottles of water, a very thoughtful few touches to finish off the room.
Restaurant (10/10)
Each day we woke up to a delicious, wholesome breakfast down in the Fashion's Restaurant on the ground floor. There was such a wide selection of food to choose from to include beans, toast, a selection of bread rolls, hot and cold meats, cheeses, cereals, hash browns and fruits. Similarly, a large selection of hot and cold drinks were available, including water (still and sparkling), fruit/herb infused water, juice, tea, coffee and I'm sure I spotted a cheeky bit of Prosecco on our last morning!
The Wellness Garden (9/10)
The Wellness Garden (on floor -2) is where hotel stayers can go to unwind and relax after a long day or squeeze in a quick spot of exercise. Included in The Wellness Garden is a beautiful indoor pool with pool-side loungers, a fitness room with the last gym equipment, massage rooms offering a range of different massages*, beauty treatment rooms where you can doll yourself up with a makeover or nail treatment* and the sauna*.
I treated Lou to a cheeky back massage which was so relaxing and calming, we both fell asleep!! Our massage therapists were so lovely and sweet and were sure to check in with us to make sure they weren't asserting too much pressure and made a point of paying closer attention to my lower back (I've suffered with back pains for about 10 years now). I would definitely recommend getting either a back or full body massage if you are thinking about staying at this hotel!
*Extra cost
SKYY Bar (9/10)
For our last night, I wanted to do something a little special for my sister and what better way to see in the end of the trip than by spending the evening eating good food, drinking good cocktails and listening to good music?! Well, in terms of the music, we had hoped for slightly more current tunes but the music that was playing really got the crowd going where we were seated! The food in the SKYY Bar was fantastic! We ordered the crispy chicken – crispy coated chicken pieces with a delicious sweet and spicy dipping sauce, fries and cocktails! Coincidentally, the SKYY Bar was able to provide both of our favourite cocktails – Pornstar Martini for me and Strawberry Daquiri for Lou! Both went down a treat and we ordered more than one :P
The décor in the SKYY Bar was beautiful. So dark and chic. Again, gorgeous glass chandeliers and comfy seating areas. We were also pleasantly surprised with the amount of seating there was since we arrived quite late, around 11:00pm but were still able to be seated upstairs (even better than downstairs) and the views of the city from the 10th floor were just fantastic! A great way to end our trip!
Terrace & Outdoor Areas (8/10)
WestCord Fashion Hotel is a non-smoking hotel and has a designated smoking area on the terrace. Usually, hotel smoking areas are so unattractive to me but you can see that effort was made to make the area look nice with comfy sofas and high tables with stools, cute outdoor heaters for those cold nights (we had many of those!) and floor to ceiling windows allowing you to see out onto the gardens. All outdoor areas surrounding the hotel mimicked the inside in a way – clean and tidy and very modern!
Cleanliness (10/10)
Running with the theme of cleanliness, I can't fault this hotel at all. Everywhere we went was tidy and polished. Even down to the staff's presentation. This also encouraged us to keep areas around us clean at all times, including at breakfast, in our rooms and in The SKYY Lounge.
Location (7/10)
WestCord Fashion Hotel is conveniently located for easy access to the airport – I think we arrived within about 15 minutes or so (via Uber) which was perfect as after the morning we had, the last thing we wanted to do was sit in a car for ages on the way to the hotel! If you are us and have iAmsterdam cards (I'll do a review on this soon so keep your eyes peeled!!!), it would be very beneficial for you to take full advantace of it's benefits which include FREE travel on buses and trams! Thanksfully, the bus stop which was about 7-8 minutes walk from the hotel served the No. 1 and No. 17 trams! These two trams took us in to Amsterdam Centraal (Centraal Station) and also go to Dam Market (including the flower market) and Museum Square!
Although there were a few shops and coffee shops a few stops away on the tram/bus, it would have been nice if there were more amenities within close walking distance to the hotel but other than this, we were able to access everywhere fairly easily.
Useful Things to Note about WestCord Fashion Hotel:
This hotel offers a 24 hour reception desk
Room service operates between 7:00am and 11:00pm
There is free Wi-Fi throughout the hotel
Breakfast is served between 7:00am and 10:00am
The SKYY Bar is open between 5:00pm and 1:00am on weekdays and between 5:00pm and 2:00am on weekends
The lobby bar is open between 9:00am – 11:00pm on weekdays and between 10:00am – 11:00pm on weekends
The Wellness Garden (on level -2) is open between 7:00am and 10:00pm on weekdays and between 8:00am and 10:00pm on weekends
Overall (9/10)
Overall, I must say that WestCord Fashion Hotel is probably the best hotel I have stayed in when in Amsterdam! Almost every box was ticked for us from staff friendliness/helpfulness, to hotel facilities, to breakfast/room service options, to nightlife! I would highly recommend this hotel if you don't mind being about 10-20 minutes tram ride from Amsterdam Centraal Station! Special thanks to Manon de Boer, the Booking Office Manager who was fantastic with communicating and assisting with our stay!
For more information about any of the hotel's amazing facilities check out the links below!
Whilst part of our experience at WestCord Fashion Hotel, The Wellness Garden & SKYY Bar were gifted, everything you have read within this post is my own opinion!
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xox
