We just got back from a week in the Netherlands. Here are a few reviews of various places.
Hotel Esterea in Amsterdam is where we stayed for the entire time. Loved this hotel! It sits right on a canal and our room was in the back. We slept with the French door open every night and had absolutely no noise whatsoever. The bed was very comfortable, and the room was spacious enough for my daughter and I to spread out a bit, and I loved the little sitting area next to the French door. There was a filled candy dish in the room, as there were all over the hotel. We had champagne and a box of chocolates for our arrival, which was very nice. The breakfast buffet was included in our rate and was quite extensive. You do need to reserve your breakfast time the day before though. In the lobby they have two different kinds of water available at all hours, as well as a tray of cookies and more desserts in the late afternoon. There is a coffee machine in that area as well. The bar area opens at 5pm and has great drinks as well as cocktails, and a small menu of small bites. The ones we had were good, but I wish there were at least one or two healthier options. All in all, we adored this hotel and would absolutely stay there again. The local was very central and we walked everywhere, never needing a tram.
The first night in Amsterdam we ate at Fulu Mandarin and it was very good. We had one of their "dish" menus which included a starter of spring rolls and fried won tons with a sweet chili sauce, then beans, beef tenderloin and duck with white rice. The presentation was so good too! Dessert was a sort of raspberry sorbet, but that description does not do it justice. We shared a few bites, but were too full. We had leftovers and took them back to the hotel and had them for lunch the next day.
We also did high tea at Gartine's. From their website, this is what we had, "Quiche with ingredients from our garden, sandwich with a savory topping, choux pastry filled with smoked salmon tartare, piece of cake, cupcake with home-made jam and double cream and a pot of tea". The quiche was cauliflower and very light. The desserts were lemon merengue pie, a chocolate cake with a very light peanut butter topping and fresh cream, a chai cheesecake, and a coconut cheesecake with pineapple topping. They were all very good, but even with tiny slices the two of us could not finish it all. We tried! The tea we chose was Eden Rose and very good. I loved how they had beautiful blue and white china all not matching, which matched;)