Working at De Balie in Amsterdam

This is my evening-workplace in Amsterdam. I’m trying to make up my mind on whether the Okura is a scam, or pretty cool.

I picked it because I got sick of cheap hotels in Amsterdam, and I wanted a place with wi-fi. and though the last place I stayed at did have for-pay wi-fi, it was also so crummy I wanted to try something else. And so this place was recommended by Mr. Curry (although he does mention that he got a deal from the PR manager, who probably saw an idea in Mr. Curry advertising the place for him).

In any event, now that I’m there, I find that same wi-fi from the same damn provider, only this time it’s EUR29/day instead of EUR12/day at the other place. Oh, but then the room is only EUR215/day compared to EUR50/day at the other place (Hotel Maas). Oh, and Hotel Maas was located on the 2 line, which goes to the Greenpeace office.

So for the 29 EUR I save on not using the wi-fi at the hotel, I can easily pay for food, beer, free wi-fi, and a cab home from De Balie instead.

Add to that the EUR 12 pool/sauna/gym charge and the EUR 26 breakfast charge, and the Okura feels a bit like a scam. But then, it definitely is very nice, and I sleep well there. Ah, whatever!

PS! Only now that I’m writing this do I realize that the hotel I meant to try out was Lloyd Hotel, which actually looks really cool, and makes Okura look pretty dated in comparison, and is located near the central station where my 2 tram stops. Gonna try that next time.

UPDATE: The cab driver that took me home from De Balie told me about Okura that “only Chinese stay there, it’s way overpriced.” That would explain why this sign is only in English and what I take to be chinese.