Not every trip is for leisure, but that shouldn’t mean the pleasures that come with travelling should be forgone.
While traversing all over Europe, I happened upon a hotel “NOT for Tourists” – loudly proclaimed by the hotel’s signage. Strange, but I was intrigued.
Welcome to Hotel Jansen
Amsterdam is one of the world’s most frequented destinations, with a notorious reputation for fun, art, and sustainable cultural pivots. It means the city draws in travellers of all sorts. From business travellers to students, luxury globetrotters, and even families, Amsterdam sees thousands of visitors daily and is thus home to some eclectic accommodations to choose from.
Towards the end of my Eurotrip, I decided to stay longer and chose Amsterdam for a week plus of Remote Working. My Digital Nomad requirements were simple, but I wanted a change of pace from the last, amazing, and buzzy inner city hotel I’d chosen at the start of my Eurtrip in Amsterdam.
For my short-term business stay in Amsterdam, I needed:
- My own room
- A rate that discounts for a stay of more than 3 days
- Secure accommodation and storage facilities
- A view and adequate ventilation
- Kitchen and food storage facilities
- Uncapped Wi-Fi
- No energy blackouts
- Proximity to Public Transport requiring under 15 minutes to get to
- White and fresh bed linen
- Accommodation with character
- The opportunity to connect with locals
It wasn’t a tall order for accommodation in the Netherlands, but finding the ideal hotel took time and legwork, and a trusty source. This is where the amazing IAmsterdam platform comes in!
To onboard yourself best in Amsterdam, I definitely recommend tapping in to the IAmsterdam website and their verified resources for Netherlands business and travel.
Getting There
If you are using any public transport, ensure you have a local sim card or international roaming, and then USE YOUR GOOGLE MAPS!
Here are the Key Public Transport Details to remember if you’re staying at Hotel Jansen:
- BUS: Aalsmeerplein (closest bus stop to hotel)
- BUS: BUS 62 – Amstelstation (the bus line to take that brings you closest to the hotel)
- BUS: Station Lelylaan (The bus station a few feet from the train line you take from the airport)
- TRAIN: SPR Amsterdam Centraal (the train line to take from the airport to the stop closest to your bus line to the hotel)
- TRAIN: Amsterdam Lelylaan (the train station stop closest to the bus station that BUS 62 takes off from towards your hotel)
- TRAM: Nieuw Sloten – 2 (the tram line to take from Amsterdam Central station towards the hotels are)
- TRAM: Amstelveenseweg (the stop to get off on in order to catch BUS 62 towards your hotel)
- BUS: Zeilstraat (The bus stop to catch BUS 62, if you took the tram from central station)
With your device location on, Google Maps is quite adept at providing precise times, codes, and public transport directives to get you to your destination.
Another way to learn about the city transport system and its colour codes and transport offerings, is grabbing a map from the IAmsterdam stores in the city and the Amsterdam Central Station store. It outlines everything you need to know.
No worries about phone batteries leaving you stranded and lost.
Canals frame the narrative of Amsterdam’s history and its present city culture. Travelling here means choosing trams, cycling, trains, busses, and boats too, to navigate the city.
I took:
- a train from the airport
- to a train & bus stop which would allow me to get off the train and then buy a one-way bus ticket or week-long bus pass to the area I’d be staying
- One bus on my route, which dropped me at the nearest bus stop from the hotel
- And then I walked for about 8 minutes to the hotel, with my luggage.
Hotel Jansen’s Schinkel location already clarifies its positioning in the world of Amsterdam hospitality.
Schinkel district is not nestled near any tourist hotspots, nor too conveniently that differently-abled folks could trek from the bus stop to the hotel with repetitive ease – despite the flat terrain.
This hotel wants to be convenient but for a different kind of able-bodied traveller.
*PRO TIP:
A connecting train, bus, bike ride, or tram ride will ALWAYS be necessary to get from the closest bus stop or train station to the hotel, to the “vibey” tourist spots in Amsterdam
…but it’s not too bad of a inner-city travel plan to navigate as long as you’re reading your stop names in the transport.
Who’s Checking In And Why?
The decently priced six-storey hotel, in the Schinkel district, offers safe and cosy temporary accommodations for people who don’t want to take a chance on dicey Airbnbs, hostels, and student halls, or push their budgets with hotel stays.
“A home hotel hybrid, designed to offer you the privacy of your own room when you need it and community when you want it.“
Hotel Jansen (2023)
Veering away from soulless interiors, the inviting 166-roomed Hotel Jansen carves out a unique and welcoming personality into each room – decorated with Dutch sensibilities in mind, and immersing visitors in Amsterdam culture with each floor themed around a neighbourhood in the city.
It’s a mark in the hotel’s favour that they support local, particularly with designs by a collective of local artists.
My room was designed with a park in mind – natural light pouring across splashes of green and light wood perfectly harmonious with the room’s black & white wallpaper depicting an Amsterdam park. They could have made their rooms clinical in design and colourway – chosen the safety of bare and traditional nearly all-white hotel rooms familiar around the world.
However, the hotel chose hand-crafted Dutch furniture for my room, for example.
The wooden desk was great to work from, and the all-around room design made me feel at home, while also making efficient use of space (each room is approximately 18m2) and being functional and aesthetically pleasing too.
Rooms come with adequate facilities like:
- En-suite bathroom with a shower, sink, and toilet
- Pantry storage with your own mini fridge, coffee machine and kettle
- wardrobe
- fluffy duvet and pillows
I got solid restful sleep from the hotel bed.
It surprisingly exceeded the expectation I had of a rock hard sliver of a mattress.
At Hotel Jansen they also don’t forget global travellers’ essential needs and home comforts (like a reading light, functioning elevator, plenty plug points, and pay-per-use Laundry Facilities).
This hotel is perfect for those seeking a self-catering offering, as there is a kitchen (named the ‘Club Room’) per floor of the six-storey hotel, with basic cooking equipment, spices, and utensils, as well as homeware to use.
The kitchen space is plentiful and people rotate around the long wooden dining table at its centre. At any given time throughout the day, you could find it empty, packed with socializing and cooking guests, or a smattering of people coming in and out.
With sinks, soap, and cloths to wipe down, travellers have what they need to make their own meals and clean up after themselves too.
What the hotel doesn’t have:
- Fitness Centre or gym
- Electric blankets
- Car parking
- Minibar
- Pet allowance
- Under 18s allowance
- Shuttle service
Hygiene & Safety
I arrived back in Amsterdam late in the night, on the last train from Schiphol International Airport. There’s always a bit of fear in travellers that when you get to your hotel, someone would have forgotten you’re coming in late and they’ll not have prepared for you.
Hotel Jansen Front desk closes at 20:00pm.
Hotel Jansen however, has procedures for late check-in guests, and it’s password protected and safe – allowing travellers to eventually quickly rest their heads, and not having to worry about anything till they next wake up.
The rooms’ windows are properly secured too, as are the key mechanisms to get into the rooms. Crime is already quite low in the area so there’s little to worry about on the safety front – for yourself, your room, and your travel essentials!
Hygiene is a big deal for the hotel considering the varied age groups around, the globe trotters that make their way through Hotel Jansen’s doors daily, their varied habits, the hotel’s commitment to upholding good quality housekeeping, and the respect given and required for guests and the hotel’s team.
It means rooms are cleaned regularly, rubbish bins are emptied regularly and new bags are given out, and guests can expect crisp white linens fresh on their beds weekly.
Clear signage directs guests on the little reminders that help everyone temporarily live in peace in the hotel, from water-saving cards to reminders to clean up in common areas such as the kitchens available for use per floor.
The rooms are 100% non-smoking
The last guest to put that to the test set off the smoke alarms at 11pm, and the hotel had to evacuate – with only the Fire Department able to switch the loud alarm off.
Avoid the bombastic side eye fellow guests will give you, and just smoke outside on the terrace, please!
The hotel’s wins include:
- Offering says between from 1 day to 6 months
- Private bathrooms
- Bicycle parking
- Photo ID and credit card only required for swift check-in
- Quiet enough to get work done from one’s room
- Breakfast, coffee, and lunch available for purchase at the hotel’s cafe, named Café Jansen Schinkel
- Signature menu for casual dining
- Quick grab & go counter
- Open-door lobby culture
- Being 20 minutes from the city centre by bike ride
- Being close to neighbourhood supermarkets, restaurants, and bars offering real local pricing
- Having a social calendar for residents and locals to socialize and have fun
- Providing communal spaces to get some air, views, socialize, watch television, hang out, or gather some information as needed.
VERDICT?
Hotel Jansen is definitely the one verified landing pad I’d recommend for any traveller wanting a cute and comfortable short or longer stay in Amsterdam for work or study opportunities!
It’s affordable. It’s flexible. It’s comfortable…and it’s a real taste of Amsterdam living!
It feels like training wheels for first-time adults in particular, before they venture into renting apartments to share or sharing living spaces with partners.
I’m positive that parents and guardians around the world too, would feel slightly less anxious about sending their people off to Amsterdam for work & study opportunities, once they see Hotel Jansen’s clean, cultural, and convenient hospitality design.
It’s reassuring, and a gem of a find!
By my recommendation: HOTEL JANSEN
Valschermkade 19, 1059 CD Amsterdam, Netherlands
