It’s all suite at this new boutique hotel

Linsey McNeill and friends checked in to one of Amsterdam’s newest hotels, the all-suite TwentySeven, and found it hard to leave.

First impressions: Even before we arrived at the hotel for a weekend break, I was contacted several times by its reservations staff to find out if we needed any help with our stay. They recommended bike tours and offered to book one for us, and also suggested that as we were arriving on a Friday, a busy night in Amsterdam, we should make dinner reservations, either at the hotel or elsewhere. It was good advice as the city was heaving.

We had a little difficulty finding the hotel as the entrance, at one corner of Dam Square, is quite discreet and our taxi driver had never heard of it as it had only opened a few months earlier. Standing in the square, it’s only when you look up to top of the building that you see the hotel signage. However, once inside the cosy ground floor lobby we were greeted very warmly by both the doorman and the receptionists. We were early and our room wasn’t ready, but they gave us a room where we could change before lunch and stored our luggage for the afternoon.

When we returned, our butler (oh yes) escorted us from the lobby on the ground floor to a private reception room on the third, where we were served glasses of chilled Moet while we completed the check in process. It felt very swish. Afterwards, butler Jos carried our Champagne glasses to our suite. What a welcome.

Location: It couldn’t be better, sitting as it does on one corner of Dam Square, right in the centre of the city and only a 10-minute straight walk from the train station. Incidentally, if your clients are arriving in the city by train, tell them not to bother taking a taxi to the hotel, the one-way system and heavy traffic mean it’s faster to walk.

Rooms: TwentySeven is an all-suite hotel on the upper floors of a restored building, and you can choose from a junior suite, one bedroom, two bedroom or a penthouse ‘signature’ suite. Ours, a two-bedroom, was spacious and plush, adorned with silk wallpaper and carpets, Italian fabrics, natural stone bathrooms and large beds dressed in French linen. A large living/dining area connected the two double bedrooms, each of which had a roomy en-suite, both of which had large walk-in showers. The bathroom off the master bedroom also had a whirlpool tub large enough for several guests at a time. There was a separate guest toilet off the living room too.

As we were five, the hotel managed to fit a third, single bed in the master bedroom, but there was still plenty of room for all of us.

Mod-cons included an enormous flat-screen TV in the living area, iPad-controlled heating and lighting for every room, sensor-controlled toilet lids, temperature- controlled wine cooler, disco lights in the living area and even ‘ambience’ lighting in the shower. Good to know if you’re selling this for an upscale hen or stag group or noisy family is that the heavy doors are extra thick, and the rooms have three layers of soundproofing.

The gigantic, squishy sofa in the living room was easily big enough for all five of us plus Jos the butler, who was persuaded to sit for a selfie, and there was also a small dining table with seating for four.

Amenities included a coffee and tea maker, iPhone docking stations and Dyson hairdryers. In the bathrooms, we found a choice of two cosmetic brands and, of course, snuggly dressing gowns and slippers.

Wining and dining: Bar TwentySeven, a luxe, intimate space (think velvet chaise longs and golden poofs) with lovely views over Dam Square, prides itself on its impressive whiskey selection and also its extensive cocktail menu, including its own award-winning concoction, the Carinobacardi. I can’t remember what’s in it, but I tried one and I didn’t want a second. Next door is a small, equally plush dining room with banquettes covered in gold fabric and spectacular, ornate lights. We rocked up late for Sunday brunch, having had a medical emergency, but the staff were still happy to whip up some pretty good omelettes and coffee and we spent a good hour just watching the world go by in the square down below.

Highs: The hotel is seriously plush, the facilities amazing and the location second to none, but really it’s the friendliness of the staff, from the reservations chaps to the receptionists to the butlers that make this place really special. For instance, when we asked our butler Jos (left) for an iron and ironing board, he returned with a steamer and pressed my friend’s silk trousers himself. How’s that for service? Also, when we were unable to check out on time because we were waiting for a doctor (summoned by the hotel ) to arrive and tend to my friend who’d developed a sore eye, they gladly extended our check out by an hour or so.

Lows: Well, that cocktail was vile, but apart from that the Hotel TwentySeven more than lived up to expectations. We were accidentally over-charged at the end of our stay, which was a little awkward and it took a while to sort out, but it was a genuine error, I’m sure, so it would be harsh to mark them down on that score.