HOTEL JAKARTA AMSTERDAM: A TROPICAL JUNGLE OASIS IN THE CITY! (HONEST REVIEW WITH PHOTOS)

ARE YOU SEARCHING FOR A TRULY UNIQUE STAY IN AMSTERDAM? SAY NO MORE! WE’VE GOT YOU 👇🏼

This open atrium is the heart of Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam, bursting to life with its own tropical rainforest! *Photograph taken by Jordie.*

Let us introduce Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam – a 4* tropical oasis tucked just outside Amsterdam centre!

We stayed here on a quick March getaway to Amsterdam (toddler in tow) and honestly, this hidden gem turned out to be a highlight of our trip! So much so, I just had to sit down and write a full review.

Whether you’re already eyeing up a stay or this is your first time hearing about Hotel Jakarta, this post will give you the full lowdown from our experience: everything we loved, what to expect and a few very helpful tips before you book.

Ready? Let’s get into it!

Short on time? Here’s some key takeaways:

🥇 Pros: Tropical oasis feel, modern and stylish rooms, breakfast included, exclusive use of swimming pool, gym and sauna.

💡 Worth knowing: Family friendly, book “waterfront” rooms for the best river views.

💰 Pricing: Averages £200 a night (dependant on room type & season). Summer is the most expensive period.

✅ How to book: Reserve the best price NOW with free cancellation on Booking.com.

The Indonesian inspired interior of Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam. This shot is standing in the middle of its feature lobby, surrounded by towering tropical trees, warm timber cladding on the walls and looking straight at the wellness pool area, showing hints of the panoramic river views from the windows inside. — Walking across a timber boardwalk in the central atrium, looking straight into the pool area (exclusively for hotel guests). If you look closely, you can see a hint of the bridge / river views from the main windows. *Photograph by Jordie.*

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ITS DESIGN IS LUSH, TROPICAL & HAS STRONG LINKS (EVEN HISTORICALLY!) TO INDONESIA

Hotel Jakarta’s slogan “Two Worlds Connected” is more than just a catchphrase. The hotel sits on Java Island, a former docklands area along the IJ River AND past departure point for ships sailing to Jakarta, Indonesia. How cool is that?

The hotel lives and breathes this historic connection through its warm Indonesian palette and centre-piece atrium, which is basically a thriving tropical indoor jungle. All then blended beautifully with clean Dutch style.

Check availability for Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam ↗

A perspective of Hotel Jakarta Amsterdams tropical jungle feature atrium, coming straight out from a 3rd floor room. The main wall and ceiling material is warm timber cladding, showing the tops of a few very tall trees and a baby comically army crawling away. — “Come on mum, we’re late for breakfast!”
The immediate atrium view we had stepping out from our room. *Photo by Jordie.*

hotel-jakarta-amsterdam-review — Walking round the length of the hotel on our floor. Photograph by Jordie.

IT’S SLIGHTLY OUT OF AMSTERDAM CENTRE, BUT QUICK & EASY TO GET TO

Worried it’s a bit out of the city? Don’t be! Getting to Hotel Jakarta from Amsterdam Centraal couldn’t be easier, and it’s a pretty quick and seamless journey.

Hop on Tram 26 towards IJburg (tram stop located here), ride for two quick stops and get off at “Kattenburgerstraat”. It takes 4 minutes and costs around £1. You tap-on / tap-off by contactless card.

Not only that, there’s a tram every 5-10 minutes, starting 6am – 12am weekdays, 7am – 12am(ish) on weekends.

Tram 26 at Centraal Station Amsterdam heading fro IJBurg. — Hop on this blue and white Tram 26 (towards IJBurg) at this **Centraal Station tram stop**. Ride it for two stops, getting off at “Kattenburgerstraat”. The whole journey takes 4 minutes.

From there, it’s just a 5-minute walk across the bridge over the river to the hotel. It’s this big black stand-alone building, you can’t miss it!

💡 Prefer to pedal? Hotel Jakarta offers rental bikes for guests, just ask at Reception!

There it is! Hotel Jakarta in all its glory! *Photo by Jordie.*

Planning your Amsterdam trip? Start here:

🗺️ Want the full experience? 3 days in Amsterdam itinerary ↗
🌷 Visiting in spring? See Amsterdam’s tulips ↗
✈️ Easiest way to get from Amsterdam airport to the city ↗

YOU’RE GREETED WITH A COLD PROSECCO (OR A TEDDY)!

You know them days when you curse the actions / question the sanity of your past-self? That was me the morning we flew to Amsterdam. Why she thought a 5.45am flight with a 1 year old child would be a good idea, I’ll never know!

Eventually after a plane, train and tram journey (plus what felt like a 5 year wait at passport control) – we finally arrived sweaty and flustered at Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam. After 5 minutes, all that stress just disappeared!

5 minutes after stepping through Hotel Jakarta’s doors, I had a cold complimentary prosecco in hand and our son had a new teddy! A delightful start to our **3 days in Amsterdam**!

The staff were SO lovely, immediately greeting us with a cold, bubbling welcome glass of prosecco each and, a adorable little “Hotel Jakarta” teddy bear for our son. That’s how I knew we’d picked the right hotel – and we hadn’t even got to the room yet!!

ALL ROOMS HAVE “RIVER VIEWS”, BUT THERE IS A BETTER SIDE

Let’s talk rooms! For context, they have about 200 premium rooms available, some being more luxe suites.

All the rooms are all very similar in design. The main differences are the size, bathroom facilities (shower / bath or just shower) and whether you wanted a balcony.

The room we had was a “Superior Room with Bath, Shower & Balcony”. The interior was all timber clad, concrete resin floor and hints of Indonesian wood carvings and textiles, making it feel modern yet cosy.

Interior of a Superior Room at Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam. Room has warm timber cladding on all walls and ceiling with light concrete resin floor, with a comfortable double bed in the forefront. — I quickly took a photo of our immaculate Superior Room before we set our 1 year old free! *Photograph taken by Jordie.*

THE BATH & SHOWER AREA IS “OPEN”

Just a heads up. While the toilet has its own private cubicle, the bath and shower are part of a more “open plan” setup.

There’s a full-height sliding timber wall that can separate the bathroom space from the bedroom when needed, but you do need to walk through that area to get to the loo.

Totally fine for couples, but something to keep in mind if you’re not a couple. 🤣

The modern open bathroom setup in a typical Superior Room at Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam. Shown is a timber clad wall on the left where the freestanding white bath is, directly in front is a large sink and mirror and a large walk-in shower is on the right. — I really liked this modern “open bathroom” set up! *Photo by Jordie.*

Book your stay at Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam! 🌴🌺⚱️

IMPORTANT: THERE’S A MUCH BETTER SIDE FOR RIVER VIEWS

This is an honest article, so let’s get our one negative gripe out the way first, shall we? Turns out, your promised “river view” is really dictated by the side of the building your room is on.

Our room was on the hotels North-facing side (facing away from the city), and unfortunately, there’s a big grey-ish building that runs right alongside a big stretch between the hotel and the river.

It blocks a lot of the view from the balcony. Have a look:

The not so great river view that we had from our Superior Room at Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam — The slightly disappointing “river views” from our Superior Room balcony. Turns out, this isn’t the best side of the hotel for views!

Had to do a quick Google Maps birds-eye view to show you what I mean. The size of that building!

HERE’S HOW TO GUARANTEE THE BEST VIEW

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Foraging for answers, I realise NOW I needed to book the “Waterfront Superior Room with Bath, Shower & Balcony” to be on the city-facing side with the best river views (see map above).

So if having the best view possible is important for you, book a room with “Waterfront” specifically in the name. That, or a suite!

THE WELLNESS AREA IS SMALL BUT MIGHTY, WITH PANORAMIC RIVER VIEWS!

I’m pretty sure it was a photo of Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam‘s tropical indoor swimming pool, exclusively used by hotel guests, that sealed the deal for me.

The pool is part of the hotel’s “Wellcome Wellness” area, which also includes a (tiny!) gym with river views, a sauna upstairs and a handful of massage rooms.

Modern indoor pool area at Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam, the ceiling is light timber cladding giving an Indonesian feel. Sun beds are lined up side by side on the left facing the panoramic window. — This was early afternoon on a weekday, we basically had the place to ourselves for a good hour! *Photograph by Jordie.*

Quieter off-peak hours are during the day. You’ll basically get this tranquil pool area to yourself. The sun-loungers lined up along the window have panoramic river and city views, and get flooded by the sun (if it’s out). Close your eyes, you could really be on a tropical escape here!

The busiest times are early evening, before dinner. There’s only 10 sun-loungers and the space around the pool isn’t massive, so it doesn’t accommodate many people. It soon fills up!

Modern indoor pool area at Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam, showing perspective of full height internal glass dividing pool area from feature atrium. You can see the atrium's large palm tree collection from this view, giving it a tropical feel. — I loved this perspective as well, looking back through the windows into the tropical atrium. It really feels like your in a jungle!

💡 Top Tip – The pool area can get very crowded in the evenings. If you wanted it to yourself, or at least a lot quieter, come around midday. Avoid early evenings, before dinner, if you can.

Book your stay at Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam! 🌴🌺⚱️

What’s not to like? Everything – EVERYTHING! – was perfect. Staff 10, design 10, room 10, bar 10, restaurant 10, spa 10, decor 10, ambiance 10, location 10
AARON, POLAND, RECENT BOOKING.COM REVIEW

THE SPA IS SMALL, BUT THE MASSAGES ARE GREAT

Hotel Jakarta’s “WellCome Wellness” spa offers a small space upstairs with massages inspired by Indonesian traditions. I booked in for the River Rock massage (a hot stone treatment) and it was so nice, I didn’t want it to end.

→ Here’s the Wellcome Wellness spa treatment menu

You can book online with that link, or head down to the spa area reception from the hotel lobby. It really is tiny (we wondered if we were in the right place!!) so this is what the entrance looks like:

The "Wellcome Wellness" reception in Hotel Jakarta. You can just about see the small gym space past the desk. You walk through here (past the desk) to get to the pool. — The “Wellcome Wellness” reception in Hotel Jakarta. You can just about see the small gym space past the desk. You walk through here (past the desk) to get to the pool. *Photo by Jordie.*

HEADS UP – THE SAUNA IS A NAKED SAUNA!

As mentioned there is a sauna room upstairs, but its encouraged to adhere to Dutch traditions and go in naked! (There’s actually sign on the door). I’ll leave that one up to you!! 🤣

Open lobby of Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam, looking up from lower level seeing towering palm trees and multiple floors of full height windows, letting daylight flood in. — *Photograph by Jordie.*

CAFÉ JAKARTA, THE BREAKFAST SPOT AND DELICIOUS INDONESIAN-STYLE DINNERS

BREAKFAST IS INCLUDED IN YOUR ROOM RATE, WITH COOKED AND CONTINENTAL OPTIONS!

An overall photograph of the included breakfast at Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam, held in their Café Jakarta restaurant space everyday. — A quick overall pic! Pastries, teas, juices up here and all cooked breakfast bits are further down at the bottom there. *Photograph by Jordie.*

Breakfast is included in the room rate, open 7-10.30am daily, and is held is in hotels Café Jakarta space. Come early and you’ll get a lovely indoor “by the window” or outdoor terrace spot by the river.

You’ll find cooked breakfast bits and fruit / yoghurts / pancakes on the left and a collection of pastries and tea, coffees and juices up on the right.

A selection of pastries in the included breakfast at Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam, held in their Café Jakarta restaurant space everyday. — The pastry / bread selection. *Photo by Jordie.*

The "help yourself" cooked breakfast area in the included breakfast at Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam, held in their Café Jakarta restaurant space everyday. — And cooked breakfast. *Photo by Jordie.*

For us the breakfast was great, and set us up nicely for a full day of exploring Amsterdam! It’s full self-service, from food to drinks. You just go up and help yourself!

A fun little quirk is you get to make your OWN tea bag up, can honestly say I’ve done that before!

At Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam, you make your own tea bags and choose your own tea leaves at breakfast! — Choosing your own tea leaves and creating your own tea bag was certainly a cool new experience! *Photo by Jordie.*

Book your stay at Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam! 🌴🌺⚱️

YOU CAN EAT DINNER AT THE HOTEL TOO

There’s a cute on-site bakery for daytime snacks and Café Jakarta, the hotels signature restaurant, dishes up mostly Indonesian-inspired meals. It’s ideal if you can’t be bothered to go back out into Amsterdam city again.

You can order dinner from Café Jakarta and get it sent to your room at a small additional cost! We took full advantage of this one night when our toddler was fast asleep. Dinner in bed, yes please!

FANCY A COCKTAIL WITH A SUNSET VIEW?

Perched at the “nose” of Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam, Skybar Malabar is the hotels famed rooftop bar. THIS is where you’ll see the best river view the hotel has to offer:

It sits right where the IJ river meets back as one, and – as you can see – perfect for watching sunsets!

The vibe is sleek but laid-back, with Indonesian-inspired and classic Western cocktails, plush seating and floor-to-ceiling glass windows for serious wow factor!

THE WRAP UP: HOTEL JAKARTA AMSTERDAM

So! With all that being said, we would absolutely recommend a stay at Hotel Jakarta Amsterdam. It truly was like retreating to a tropical oasis everyday, much needed after exploring Amsterdam’s bustling city all day!

To make the VERY most of your stay, absolutely book a room labelled “Waterfront” to get the best river view, that’s the only thing we felt was missing from our stay to make it perfect.

Pricing really varies seasonally too. We stayed in March which was off-peak. I understand that in Summer prices do really shoot up, best to compare months before you book to see what you’re most comfortable with!

I truly hope this blog has been helpful. If it has, we’d love to hear from you. Simply drop us an e-mail at hello@theflainstravel.com!

A photo of Jordie, the author of this specific blog post and owner of the wesbite.

This blog post was written by Jordie Flain!

Founder of TheFlainsTravel.com

A travel-obsessed Sagittarius creating honest, easy-to-follow guides. Powered by tea, chocolate and a slightly concerning amount of tomato ketchup.

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