Amsterdam South is an area of the city we had never stayed in before over the eight months or so of hotel stays we’ve accumulated in trips to Amsterdam over the past 24 years. I chose Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South for a ‘Chase 4th Night Free’ stay in February 2023 primarily due to the hotel having an IHG Club lounge. This was our first time trying out my IHG One Rewards Milestone award selection for Club Lounge access after achieving 40 nights in 2022.

We arrived at Amsterdam Schiphol from Venice, Italy with a cheap easyJet nonstop. We made our way to the airport shopping center train ticket kiosks and purchased two tickets for €4.30 each to Amsterdam Zuid (South).

Upon exiting the Amsterdam Zuid metro and train station we found ourselves surrounded by modern skyscrapers.

a large building with a tall building in the background — “Architecture is a dangerous mix of power and importance.’

a tall building with multiple windows — Amsterdam Zuid station view of residential skyscrapers.

a group of buildings in a city — Amsterdam Zuid station

a blue sign on a building — Amsterdam Zuid station.

a city with tall buildings — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South is located behind left tower.

Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South is about a five-minute walk from the Amsterdam Zuid metro station.

a building with many windows — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South back side from lobby entrance.

a building with a sign on the front — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South main entrance.

a sign in front of a building — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South main entrance.

a building with bikes in front of it — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South hotel canal side.

Check-in

Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South is an 11-floor hotel with 207 rooms. I was told our room, 206, was located on the Floor 2 Club Lounge level. I had hoped for a higher floor and would have loved a balcony room, but our second-floor room facing the large public square turned out to be convenient to walk down the hall for drinks and snacks at the lounge during the day. Given our stay was in February there was not much noise outside on the square at night.

a reception desk in a hotel — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South reception desk.

Room 206 Club Lounge and Fitness Room Floor

a bed with white sheets and a picture on the wall — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South Room 206.

a bedroom with a bed and a chair — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South Room 206.

a room with a desk and a television — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South Room 206.

a man taking a selfie in a hotel room — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South Room 206.

a shower with a roll of toilet paper and a roll of toilet paper — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South Room 206.

a bathroom with a sink and towels — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South Room 206.

a bathroom with a black counter top and white tile walls — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South Room 206.

We had managed to stay on top of washing our clothes after the previous nine nights in Italy using the room towel heater racks to dry our clothes.

The first order of business was to check out the Club Lounge.

Club Lounge at Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South

I saw fewer than a dozen guests in the Club Lounge during our entire four-day stay and mostly only during the breakfast hours. We probably spent an hour each day in the afternoon or evening hanging out in the lounge alone drinking Heineken and watching TV. This was the same February week as the major 7.8 earthquake in Türkiye with ongoing rescue operations dominating the European news cycle.

a room with a table and chairs — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South Club Lounge.

a room with a television and chairs — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South Club Lounge.

a couch and chair in a room — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South Club Lounge.

a chess board and lamps on a table — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South Club Lounge.

A lounge bathroom is located down the window corridor on the right side of the food counter.

a room with a black table and chairs — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South Club Lounge.

The only time I saw an attendant in the lounge was during breakfast hours.

a buffet with food on it — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South Club Lounge breakfast.

a table with food on it — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South Club Lounge breakfast.

a coffee machine with a shelf full of white cups — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South Club Lounge breakfast.

a counter with food and utensils on it — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South Club Lounge breakfast.

Denied Manhattan Lounge Bar for Breakfast

a sign next to a sign — Manhattan Lounge Bar at Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South.

After breakfast the first morning in the lounge I went to reception to ask if I could use my IHG Diamond benefit for breakfast in the hotel restaurant instead. The response was I had chosen points for my welcome amenity so I could not have breakfast in the restaurant. To be clear, I was never asked about what I wanted as a Diamond member welcome amenity and I had not chosen points. On my next stay, I will be sure to say at check-in I prefer breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South Fitness Center

a room with exercise equipment and a television — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South fitness center on Floor 2.

a gym with weights and weights — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South fitness center on Floor 2.

a group of treadmills in a room — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South fitness center on Floor 2.

a exercise machine and a refrigerator in a room — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South fitness center on Floor 2.

a room with green walls and a green mat with balls and kettlebells — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South fitness center on Floor 2.

The View from the Top of Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South

I rode the elevator to the top floor to check out the view.

a glass floor in a room — Clear floor to lobby on Floor 2.

a ceiling with many square pictures on it — Open space view to the top of the hotel from Floor 2.

a group of buildings with a river in the background — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South top floor view looking east.

a building with many windows and a parking lot — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South top floor view looking south.

a group of buildings with a roof — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South top floor view looking north toward city center.

a hallway with white and black blinds — Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South top floor view looking down.

In conclusion

I honestly do not remember if we visited the lounge to find any evening food in the lounge other than the chips and chocolate candies in jars around all day, but my memory tends to get hazy on trips to Amsterdam. There might have been cheese trays and crackers, but since I am not much of a cheese fan that would not have been memorable to me. I remember we cleared out all the Heineken beer in the lounge mini-frig one night.

We received a bag of licorice in our room on the day of arrival. Kelley sent me on a mission to buy more at the Albert Cuyp Market stalls one day. That was a real challenge given there were a couple hundred stalls stretching several city blocks. I regret not buying some thick wool socks I saw there priced at €9.00. I highly recommend visiting Albert Cuyp Market.

I enjoyed our 4-night stay at Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South. We purchased 7-day GVB transport tickets at Amsterdam Zuid station on our first trip into Amsterdam city center for €41.00 each to cover our time at Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South and another 4-night stay at Kimpton DeWitt. The Metro seemed faster to city center than many of our previous stays taking street trams from hotels in Amsterdam West or even Hilton Amsterdam.

a sign with a price list — Amsterdam GBV Transport Cards.

a sign with a qr code and a blue and white sign — Amsterdam GBV Travel App

Our Cost for Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South

I booked a 4-night stay in November 2022 for our February 2023 trip when the IHG Chase 4th Night Free rate was 81,000 points or $405 at my cost buying IHG points during 100% bonus points promotions. In the months since my hotel booking, I realize what a deal I found for Crowne Plaza Amsterdam South. Rates are seldom under 27,000 points per night, even with 4th night free.