It is exactly what it says it is

Chic - painted white and very minimalist. Modern reception lounge

Basic - nothing more than you need. Some rooms apparently don't have bathrooms. Our room did have a bathroom but no door (not overly ideal!)

The key thing about this hotel is it's location, it is so central. It is just a stones throw from the train station, you can easily wheel your suitcase there if you know where you are going. It is very close to a nice shopping and cafe area and some fantastic restaurants are nearby. We went to Christophe's (highly recommend it) it is the best meal we have had to date.

Breakfast is basic, but more than adequate, fresh coffee seems to be available all day via the machine, as is water. Internet is also available in the same area.

This hotel has very clever use of space. The rooms up the top are lovely, but beware, as with all buildings in Amsterdam, very steep stairs!!

WOW! This is an amazing hotel in every way:

Picture this: You walk from Central Station to the hotel within 10 minutes which is ideally situated along the canal Herengracht.

As soon as you enter the hotel everything is made easy for you: a quick check in and the friendly staff shows you around in their lovely hotel!
They booked us fabulous restaurants and gave us very usefull recommendations for shows, bars and shopping.
You feel very well appriciated in this hotel and the chic&basic staff knows really the best places in town!

We stayed for 4 days and we never got bored: First day we rented the bikes from the hotel. On the last day we even made a tour by the chic&basic boat along the canal!! AMAZING it is!

We can certainly recommend this hotel to everybody! I would like to thank all the chic&basic staff for the wonderfull time we have had!

J&R

This was the most expensive hotel we stayed in our Netherlands and Belgium trip but then again most of the hotels in amsterdam were very expensive on those dates. We paid 140 euros per night without breakfast and I really wasnt that happy about the place. No refrigerator in the bedroom, bedroom was small, walls were too thin, you can hear everything, above, beside and around you and the worse thing is that I smelled smoking in the other room. When I asked the front desk he said that they have smoke alarms and it would sound if someone smoked in their rooms. We stayed in room 312 and our french neighbors were huffing and puffing through the wee hours of the morning. We hate smokers and that really pissed us big time. As a warning, if you have kids, dont leave them with the remote because there is a porn channel. That might be good for adults :) The room is modern with contemporary hip design. It reminds me of the paramount hotel in NY with its all white simplistic clean line look. Now for the good, Jessica who helped us on our arrival was fabulous, she provides great service and gave a wonderful restaurant recommendation, MUDERS which means mother. This place is not your fancy place but your local comfort food place, oh so yummy. You need reservations to get in and you need to be careful when you look for this place because there are no big signs. we walked past this place 5x, can you believe that? They have free internet connection in the lobby.

If they truly get strict with the smoking and if the rates is less than 100 euros, I will recommend this place and even come back

Chic & Basic is situated in an unassuming corner that faces the canal, quiet and serene, away from the hustle and bustle of the main roads BUT, all required to get to the main area like Dam Square with just a little 5-10 minutes walk out, and viola, we are at the heart of the city!

True to its claimed, it's truly chic and basic. The staffs are VERY helpful people, not forgetting friendly. And yes, accommodative as much as they could.

The ambience at the reception and cute lobby has a typical urban chic feel, with a stylish pantry at the end and internet usage.

Our room was reasoably spacious tho' it's up on the 2nd top floor (if one doesnt mind climbing because the steps are rather steep). Very cosy because linens, towels and toilet is clean. Everything in the room is kept simple 'white' but cosy enough to be comfortable. It also has a nice small flat screen TV!

What differentiate Chic & Basic from the rest is their VERY cute soaps and shower gels... READ what it says. Frankly, I was just so attempted to steal a few back for souvenirs! And it always makes me smile reading it.