Check the room first

The reception area is far from welcoming. We had two rooms, the first a double which was so small one of us had to sit on the bed while the other stood up and the second a single, was enormous. We asked for a different room and got one without a hassle. Transportation to Central Station is excellent but a taxi back at night is expensive. Parking was outrageous! Wouldn't stay again.

Good Buzz Doesn't Deliver

As much as I love good design and unique hotel experiences, the Lloyd was a great disappointment. Our room, at almost $200 per night, was cramped and unattractive. Our bathroom, which the staff referred to as a sculpture, was a large, plastic unit with a tiny room housing the toilet and another housing the shower. The plastic material used for our bathroom "sculpture" gave off an extemely unpleasant odor not unlike those of Porta Potties.

Unless you're willing to pay quite a bit for an "artistic" environment, avoid the Lloyd.

We Really Wanted to Like It

Let me start by staying that we really wanted to like the Lloyd. We are experienced travelers with a taste for boutique hotels and modern design. We came to the hotel with great expectations, but have to admit to mild disappointment.

The welcome at the Lloyd is awful. You enter the lobby of this old jail and have go around to approach the desk -- warden's booth is more like it. The single receptionist was harried and terse, and we observed this to be true during the course of our stay, as well. One night we asked the man at the desk if he had a dinner recommendation. His reply: "Not really."

The physical space of the Lloyd is interesting. They've maintained to old tile and fixtures giving the place a retro quality. That would be fine, but our floor was also apparently the storage room. Old chairs, beds and tables littered the hallway.

The Lloyd offers rooms in five quality levels -- one to five stars. We chose a four star at 200 Euro per night. The room we got looked much like the one on the website, but we found it too austere and not at all warm. (Again, we like modern design....) The concrete floors were cold and the open shower was a pain since we couldn't keep the water off the floor. The firniture may have been "designer," but the room itself was void of any design or creature comforts.

The restaurant at the Lloyd looks hip, and the menu is extensive. The 24 hour room service is a plus. The food, however, is awful. The attached "Cultural Embassy" is, as far as I can tell, just a marketing ploy.

The Lloyd is not what we expected for 200 Euro per night. It's coldness comes not only from the design, but primarily from the management. The overall effect is youth hostel, not upscale hotel.

Weird, but not so good.

We stayed with a group of people in this hotel. So i had a look in 5 different rooms. The check-in time is the first problem: very late (15h pm). The second one is the tiny counter to welcome the public: makes you waiting too long. The furniture in the lounge is the worst ever seen in a 2+ star hotel (reminds me my student room with second hand stuff).

Rooms are amazing, but in general because of bad taste. Furniture is sometimes blocking the access to windows etc. Some rooms have an "open toilet" in the middle of the room. That is amazing, but it is bad taste too.

Having a bath in the middle of our room??? we did not ask for it, but we took it to be not too far from our kids. (nobody else of our group liked the room!). So you find yourself with water on the floor, because the bath is unprotected.

IMPORTANT: the electrical installation is very close to the bath and the 220 V outlet next to the lavabo is not the isolated one for rasors, but the "normal" full power one, that acceps hairdryers etc. In most countries this would not be tolerated.

Also important: some stairs are not very well protected and incredibly steep, just waiting for an accident to happen.

Breakfast got bad notes in our group. Most of us just avoided eating here.

I have to admit: there is one good thing: the beds are very comfortable.

This hotel is amazing, that is for sure. But there are other amazing hotels, with better taste, better safety, better personel and far less expensive.

Interesting, great, one sour note

The hotel is definitely not for someone looking for the "standard" fare. Checked in quite early with no problem. Was asked if a "conceptual" room was OK with me. Boy was it conceptual! The room had a lime green fiberglas lavatory/tub/sink unit snaking through it. All the other furniture was stuff I would subsequently see in design stores around town. I found the staff helpful and attitude-free. Only ate breakfast there, at the counter, which was conducive to conversation with strangers and felt friendly. Very convenient to the tram for getting to the centrum but a pricey cab ride back if you stay out late. My big complaint: bad post-visit guest service. Having thought I left something in my room, I sent an e-mail the next day. This message, and a follow up, went unanswered.

Contemporary look hotel

We stayed at Lloyd Hotel in October 2005. Staff were very helpful. My husband loved the hotel but I thought it looked ok. When entering the hotel it reminds of a visit for a hospital checkup it seemed cold, not cosy, it reminded me of also a batchelor pad no plush furnishings, if you like very contemporary you'll like this, to my horror there was not a full length mirror, I therfore had to run out to check my outfit on the lift mirror, also the bathroom mirror was quite high, I had to stand on a chair to do my makeup. We had a door in our room to enter an adjoining room. You could hear your neighbours coughing. My complaints are small ones but when your paying that price, I just expected a bit more of everyday items like drawers and a wardrope etc. The food was nice not amazing but nice. Also one last comment the shower was weird. To describe it, it was open plan, not good for privacy and not good for their wooden floor, which was already showing signs of damage. One last comment the staff spoke very good english and were very helpful.

Urban explorations

I arrived about 12.30am from meetings in Rotterdam and found the reception staff welcoming. So tired that night that I didn't take into too many details of my room except that the bathroom was open plan - novel, and gives you room to move around - but the next morning I could not believe the height of the bedroom ceiling! I lay for fifteen minutes as I was a figure in a chapel, gathering my thoughts. Which as

a journalist you need to do in a calm space. The fast and slow restaurants - one is 24 hours - is ideal, depending on what you need, and while the ambience of the slow one is not plush (and different to the

rather more sexy Arena Hotel's restaurant/bar spaces), it has atmosphere and the desire to please with excellent food. I asked to look at a number of rooms, and was amazed at the variety. Assuming the place is not booked out, you could surely choose your favourite on arrival. I love the choice of designers, and MVRDV have brought

amazing light and life into what was once a migrant's hotel and then a prison before it became artists' live/work studio. The Cultural Embassy facility there will arrange all kinds of things for you if you want, and

there is an art library. For a writer, artist, musician, designer, travelling around, it's a good place to stay; for anyone else, it certainly beats boxy

anonymous/corporate hotel bedrooms that are standard fare, even in Amsterdam. The large rooms have the spaciousness of Hotel New York in Rotterdam, and you feel that you are located in the middle of a transformed part of the city, which is inspiring. I like to explore the becoming of cities, and the Lloyd suits my sensibility.

Saved our lives!

We were stuck in a bad situation on New Year's eve (see review of hotel waterfront) and the Amsterdam tourist office sent us to the Lloyd. Although a bit far out of the centre (10 mins in a taxi) it was worth it for the quality. Both myself and my friends had nice rooms. Mine was a bit smaller but beautifully decorated, and my friend's room was bigger, but the floor was unfinished. The views were lovely from both rooms. The hotel staff were very helpful and gave us advice on transport and other matters. I would stay here again.

Decent stay at the Lloyd Hotel

We stayed in one of the shared bathroom units of the Lloyd Hotel last weekend. It was perfect for us since we just needed a place to stay for one night but it would probably be uncomfortable for people staying for more than one night. First of all the room was very small with hardly any place to put your luggage. The shared toilet and shower was alittle bit weird because there was no way to lock the door from the inside so you had to constantly be on edge while doing your business. There is no wash basin or mirror in the hotel room, only in the shower room. If you are arriving by train to Amsterdam, there is a bus (no.32) that gets you from the Centraal Station to the area of the Lloyd Hotel but if we didn't find a really nice lady to help us find the hotel, we would've been wandering around since there are no clear signs as to where the hotel is located. Otherwise, there is a streetcar (No. 10) that is located directly behind the hotel that takes you into the city center, to the Leidseplein (takes about 10-15 minutes). I also think the price for the room was alittle too expensive considering the location and the scarce amenities. Positive things: the comforter and pillows were really plush and comfortable, they give you nice complimentary soap and shampoo, there is a 24 hour restaurant downstairs, the location is quiet and shows you a different side of Amsterdam.

Dreadful

We stayed at this hotel the first weekend it opened so expected some teething problems. However this hotel has nothing to offer. It looks like a hospital, it has rooms like a hospital and the staff treat you like you are an extra in 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'. The check in was painful, there was no room service menu, the location is in the middle of a building site. There are no wardrobes or chests of drawers. The toilet is in the middle of the room for those that like having absolutely no privacy. The only redeeming factor is the food which is good. The menu is incomprehensible however and the restaurant is full of extras

from an 80's pop video.