The Greenhouse Effect

Not really a dive bar more of a quaint stylish safe spot to hang out in the red light district with cool, hot bartenders and inexpensive food and drink. A nice calm ambiance amidst city chaos. Lovely

My bf found this place for him and his buddies the first time they visited Amsterdam, because it was centrally located, affordable, has a bar (which doubles as the hotel reception desk), allows smoking, and has a coffeeshop next door.
But he told me it was kind of grody to begin with, and I guess it didn’t get any better with 3 guys staying there… so we didn’t consider this place when we decided to visit Amsterdam a few months later as a couple. :P
We did visit the bar for a drink though, and it was pretty chill and laid back except when some guys came in and started arguing with the bartender and freaked me out because I thought they might get into a fight. But the bartender stood his ground and kicked the troublemakers out, and then all was well again. :)
There was also puke on the ground outside next door, but that wasn’t surprising for a weekend night when there were bars and stuff and tons of stoned guys nearby.
Recent circumstances allowed a spontaneous extra day layover in Amsterdam a few weeks ago, and we decided to choose this place because there wasn’t anything else available within our price range that was centrally located. We lucked out with a double en-​suite for 110 euros.
The reservation was quite easy and fast, all via the internet. The only bad thing was that the email response from the hotel included all my bf’s credit card details, which I didn’t think was secure. They should have x’d out the numbers or something.
The lady at the reception (which was actually located behind the bar) was very friendly and spoke perfect English. I was pleasantly surprised at our room, which was dubbed Turkish Delight and had a cute themed décor to match. It could have gone the other way and been really cheesy, but I think the decorations came out well.
The room was bright and airy with lots of natural light. Not much of a view from the window, but we weren’t in the room that long anyway. The walls were painted a bright, cheery blue, and the fabrics were rich and embroidered. We actually had 2 tvs in our room (a flat-​screen tv and regular one), and there was a kettle to make tea.
The toilet and shower were teeny-​tiny, but at least we had our own private one. The mirror above the sink was a bit high – which was fine for us – but I wonder if a shorter person might have struggled a bit to use it. No biggie though, because there was a full-​length mirror in the bedroom that was perfect for me to apply my makeup and check myself out. ;)
The breakfast buffet was served in the back room behind the bar, and although there weren’t any hot cooked foods, I thought it was quite ample and delicious with cereals and milk, bread, meat, cheese, coffee, tea, juice, yogurt, various spreads, fresh fruit and veggies, etc.
My bf had told me that this place was really noisy with tons of people in the streets, but that might have been because he first visited over new years. When we were there on a Sunday-​Monday, it was fairly quiet and peaceful without any disturbance.
I really like this place and thought it was a cool place to stay when visiting Amsterdam. Be aware though, there isn’t an elevator, so you have to carry your own luggage up a narrow flight of stairs.

I cannot believe that this business hasn’t been created yet, the Greenhouse Effect is one of my all time favorite spots in my all time favorite city.
First of all, it’s very central (5 minute walk from Central Station & the Red Light District), for Amsterdam the prices are very reasonable (5 euro small bottle of wine), cheap beer and awesome bartenders. It’s very dive bar-​like, a bit dark, a lot of smokers which is cool because the Greenhouse effect coffee shop is literally next door. On the other side of the bar there is a hotel/​hostel which I myself haven’t tried out yet and across the street there’s a pretty awesome pizza place. I highly recommend this place if you’re up for a casual evening of cheap beer, good music and a drag or two :)