Bloemstraat 179, 1016 LA Amsterdam Tram 10 (stop: Bloemgracht); 13, 14, 17(stop: Marnixstraat/Rozengracht) Tel (020) 62 44 717 Websitewww.shelter.nl
BUG Review
One of the two Shelter hostels in Amsterdam, this one is down a quiet lane in the western Jordaan district. It is a Christian run establishment, so there is no smoking or alcohol allowed inside, and they offer bible discussions every night (which are not obligatory, but encouraged). The rooms are male or female only, but many travellers gather in the common room/dining room, where they serve a great breakfast of pancakes or egg and ham toasts, and cheap snacks and dinners. There is not much here in the way of facilities or entertainment, unless you count the bible discussion groups. Things are clean and well run, the staff are pleasant and talkative, and it is ideal if you want somewhere safe and quiet. Farther from the centre than many of the others, but with a bike you’re at Centraal Station in 10 minutes.
Price Dorm bed €16-23.50
Price includes breakfast Prices are in euro and are inclusive of all taxes.
Pros:
Great breakfast, brilliant staff and friendly people
Cons:
Large dormitories
Northern Girl
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
Cleanliness
(4)
Facilities
(3)
Atmosphere
(4)
Although this is a Christian hostel, I did not find it too religious. Yes, your given a booklet when you check in and your invited to a bible study, but I didn't feel under pressure about it. I enjoyed my stay here. I met some lovely people - staff and guests, and spent some lovely evenings chatting to people. The hostel was cleaned well. Breakfast was great - hot breakfasts were freshly cooked to order and cold breakfasts were made up as requested. The communal tables encouraged a lot of social interaction. I liked the single sex dorms, although they are quite large. I didn't find them excessively noisy, but with so many people there were people coming in and out at different times. The location is great, very close to the Anne Frank house, close to trams and within walking distance of Centraal Station. The 24 hour check in was also useful - I was allowed to check in at 0830, after arriving from an overnight trip. The security is good with the door locked at night, guests needing to show a card at reception and individual lockers for each bed. Facilities are good, though a laundry would have been helpful (there is one a few minutes walk away). There is a curfew, and as the person said below, it is not a party place. This hostel is not suitable for dedicated clubbers, non stop party animals, hardcore cannabis smokers or couples on a romantic break, but it is perfect for people looking for a clean, safe, central, value for money base to explore Amsterdam. If your a reasonably social person and if you can be tolerant of people with beliefs different to yours, you will be fine here. I recommend it highly. The flipside - the upper age limit. I am now too old to stay there, a sad fact as I loved the Shelter Jordan and I love Amsterdam, and would love to stay again.
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(Review ID: 4624)
Perhaps the last *clean* place in Amsterdam, June 17, 2005
Reviewer:
Maggie Lee
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Imported Review
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
Cleanliness
(4)
Facilities
(4)
Atmosphere
(4)
Super friendly staff, clean place. Oh and the BREAKFAST! Never had better breakfast in any other hostel! It's REAL and you have 2 EGGS AND 1 TOAST along with a HOT DRINK of your choice. There's also the cold breakfast, which consists of cereal and some other stuff. One minor problem: there are 30+ people in the room, fortunately of the same gender. And there are tons of kids on fieldtrip here, sometimes they can be loud in the rooms and imagine 30 angry women constricted in one room with many noisy kids. Earplugs would do the trick. But definitely THE place to go because it's CHEAP, SECURE and has REAL GOOD FOOD. Like a safe haven in Sin City, I tell ya.
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(Review ID: 4625)
Not too bad, April 29, 2005
Reviewer:
SherieDee
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Imported Review
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
Cleanliness
(4)
Facilities
(4)
Atmosphere
(4)
I liked the Shelter. The rooms and beds weren't too bad, with free lockers for your stuff. There may not have been enough showers, but you just had to be sure to get up early, or get one late. The breakfast couldn't be beat, with pancakes, eggs, or something else yummy on the menu each day, with a cold breakfast always an option. The café was open long hours, and the prices were good. The Shelter is kinda away from the downtown area, which we liked, but still within easy walking distance. The staff was pretty friendly, although they should tell you in advance that they lock the front door at about 11 or so and that you have to buzz to get in after -we thought we were locked out for a minute! Overall, though, I enjoyed my stay there.
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(Review ID: 4626)
very nice, very cheap, April 10, 2005
Reviewer:
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Anonymous
saw things this way
Maintenance
(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(5)
Atmosphere
(5)
i enjoyed the shelter jordan a lot. the staff was so sweet, and prices were extremely, and unusually good, breakfast was included, free lockers, free linen, clean bathroom, and though there were a lot of beds per room, i found it surprisingly private and comfortable. the breakfast is good, you have a choice between hot or cold breakfast. hot breakfast one day was ham and eggs, and the next day it was pancakes. and, if you have to leave the hostel at the crack of dawn like i did, you can sign up for takeaway breakfast. i've never seen a hostel do such a thing, and it was very nice. there is no kitchen, but they make up for it by having a cheap and good cafe that's open all the time. the food is vegetarian friendly, if that makes a difference to any of you. if you're looking for a party you won't find it at the hostel, since it's a christian hostel, but they do have a movie night every week, which was kind of a fun thing for them to do. you can party elsewhere in amsterdam, believe me, so no worries there. as for it being a christian hostel, i am of a different religious faith but didn't feel the least bit uncomfortable in the hostel. for whom it may concern, they have bible study every night. i would definitley recommend this hostel to anybody.
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2 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 4627)
cheapest hostel, January 4, 2005
Reviewer:
flyingscot
( flyingscot6@yahoo.com)
from scotland uk
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Imported Review
saw things this way
Maintenance
(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(5)
Atmosphere
(5)
i stayed at the shelter jorden in september of 2004 for 7 days i found the staff was verry friendly and helpfull and the price was verry cheap the rooms were also nice and tidy but most of all was meeting people from all over the world which was nice,i enjoyed my stay so much in this hostel i am returning to stay there in march,so to all the staff there i like to thank them for making my stay verry pleasent,
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(Review ID: 4628)
Quiet, clean place to stay, July 25, 2004
Reviewer:
Zebra8
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Imported Review
saw things this way
Maintenance
(4)
Cleanliness
(4)
Facilities
(4)
Atmosphere
(4)
This is a good place to stay in Amsterdam. At 18.50 Euros, it is certainly one of the cheapest rates in town. It is located in a quiet residential neighborhood outside, 15min walk from all the action.Dorm was clean, bathrooms were fine. Lockers were big, and you can rent a towel for 1 Euro for your entire stay. Breakfast was good and varied daily. Staff was friendly. The cafe was a nice social place. There is only one Internet PC and it was occupied most of the time.Tip: Call for availability.When I tried to reserve online, one of the nights was unavailable. I called the place and they made reservations for me including that night!Unfortunately for me, I had a person sleeping in the next bed who snored awfully loud and I checked out after 2 days and went to another hostel. I also got some mosquito bites from the window being left open. Of course, this is no fault of the hostel and overall, I would recommend this place and return here next time I visit.
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(Review ID: 4629)
Friendly, clean, relatively quiet, June 30, 2004
Reviewer:
astranumen
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Imported Review
saw things this way
Maintenance
(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(5)
Atmosphere
(5)
Clean, relatively quiet, and friendly aren't words used typically to describe Amsterdam hostels. And, as a graduate student (read: slightly older) traveling on a budget, I was worried I wouldn't be able to find a place to sleep in Amsterdam that wasn't too expensive. I was surprised to learn that the Shelter Jordan was actually quite good!The location is terrific--not in the heart of the Red Light district but well within walking distance from it. Instead, it's in a quieter residential area near the Anne Frank house and near a pretty canal area with lots of nice restaurants and shops. It's tucked away in an alley but not too hard to find off the tram stop.We were greeted by a friendly, polite staff who asked us to join them for lunch on the terrace out back. We made friends instantly, and didn't feel pressured at all to talk about Christian topics. The folks who run the place are good, kind, responsible, sensitive people. We loved getting to know all of them.The food was pretty good for a hostel, too! And the coffee in the morning is FANTASTIC. Highly recommended. Our bunks (girls vs. boys) were satisfactory for a hostel, and we made sure to get lockers right next to our beds. It was a bit stuffy but we opened the windows, but overall the dorms were ok (the girls', that is). The boys' dorm was very, very smelly and noisy, however.All in all, if you're not staying more than a couple of nights, the Shelter Jordan is a terrific place to stay if you're on a budget and accustomed to hostel-staying. Relatively quiet, relatively clean, and very, very friendly. We had a great time.
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1 people found this review helpful
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(Review ID: 4630)
Boring, Rude Staff, Boring, did i mention Boring¨, June 25, 2004
Reviewer:
peteredignard
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Imported Review
saw things this way
Maintenance
(3)
Cleanliness
(3)
Facilities
(3)
Atmosphere
(3)
just stayed at the Shelter Jordaan about a week ago.... and i must say it was bit dissapointing. first of all this is a christian hostel, so dont expect a big party, second the staff is a bit rude and no reallly that helpful. and third and foremost, they apperantly employ ex-cons or people off the street to work there so every morning for three days i would find a scruffy looking person sleeping on the couch outside the dorms... oh yeah, girls and boys sleep in diffrent rooms. on diffrent floors. that was extra fun... all in all a bit dissapoint and i would go elsewhere... even though this seems to be one of the cheapest hostels in amsterdam. just expect to get what you pay for...
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(Review ID: 4631)
Not the best, May 17, 2004
Reviewer:
wyepinc
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Imported Review
saw things this way
Maintenance
(3)
Cleanliness
(3)
Facilities
(3)
Atmosphere
(3)
Arrived on Queen's day which was crazy! Trams and bus not running from Centraal station so I had to walk to the hostel. Streets packed like sardines and it took me an hour to reach the hostel. I called ahead to make a reservation and when I turned up, they say they didn't have it. So it's better to book online. So I ended up sleeping in the hall but it wasn't that bad. Nice big lockers. You can buy most toiletries from reception. Left too early for breakfast which starts at 8am. Certain staff quite chatty and helpful. If you don't like crowds, avoid being in Ams on Queen's day!
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(Review ID: 4632)
Great!, August 5, 2003
Reviewer:
Alice
Pros:
n/a
Cons:
n/a
Imported Review
saw things this way
Maintenance
(5)
Cleanliness
(5)
Facilities
(5)
Atmosphere
(5)
I was traveling as part of a group of Guides on a tour of Europe, and this was by far the friendliest hostel we stayed in. After an 'interesting' walk to the Shelter City only to find they had not got our reservation, we were directed to this hostel. There were only 2 beds left, but the rest of the group were given mattresses and made very comfortable by the staff. Everyone was very friendly, espescially the staff, who couldn't do enough for us. The food in the cafe was delicious and cheap and the breakfast was also very good. There was the whole religious thing going on, but it wasn't forced upon you, it was very much if you wanted to go to Bible discussions you could, if not, then never mind.A very friendly hostel, almost nothing went wrong with our stay there!
