Thanks to Rick but one mistake

could they have moved you to a larger room?

As Nigel said, I would have requested another room.

Keep in mind that guidebooks can only go so far with hotels recommendations. Before I book any hotel, even if it's recommended in a guidebook, I check online for other reviews, especially on this forum, but also look on Tripadvisor and Google. I look at the photos of the room online. For example, when I pulled up the website for Hotel Hoksbergen and opened the gallery, I noticed that all the photos of the rooms were close-ups. This sometimes indicates that the rooms are very small, so I would make sure to double check that with other reviews.

Stuff like this happens, though, and sometimes you just have to chalk it up to experience and learn from it. Regardless, I would certainly suggest letting the Rick Steves staff know about this. You can send them an update of your experience here: https://www.ricksteves.com/forms/guidebook-feedback-form

I do chalk it up to not doing due diligence and a case of buyer beware. When I told the lone staff member there we were going to leave she thought it was a joke and had only worked for a week. No offers or asks were made. I wish we asked for a bigger room but in the end it wasn’t a good fit
RW

We know how you felt. At one B&B in Ireland, the room was so small we had to make a plan before getting out of the bed. There just wasn't enough room for two people to move about willy-nilly. And the "closet" was only waist high - just enough space to hang shirts. Circumstances were such that it was the only room available anywhere, and it was only for one night. We still laugh about it.

I’m sorry, but from the way you describe it, it seems you didn’t give the hotel the chance to fix the problem. You yourself decided to leave, so unless you booked a fully refundable room rate, the hotel owes you nothing.

I do agree with you that some of Rick Steves hotel recommendations are questionable to say the least. He seems to have a preference for quirky, old and family-run hotels. While that may be okay in other cities, in Amsterdam this means you end up in hotels with ladder like stairs and very small rooms.
Based on the reviews I certainly would never ever even consider this hotel.

I suggest you submit direct feedback to Rick Steves. They're constantly updating guide books. The link for the book you cited is below, click on the "updates and feedback" area to access the feedback form.

https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/amsterdam-guidebook

I usually check what is in the RS guidebook and then check several sites for reviews on hotels he recommends. Having been on numerous Rick Steves tours I have experienced some pretty funky hotels but also some really nice ones. I just did a quick check of Trip Advisor on the hotel mentioned and the majority of reviews are pretty lousy, going several years back....red flag! Guidebooks are for reference only, it really pays to do your homework when traveling abroad and not rely on just one source. Sorry!!

He seems to have a preference for quirky, old and family-run hotels.

Yes, and he says this specifically in his guidebooks. His primary criterion is location - proximity to sights & transportation. Not luxury or amenities. Same goes for restaurants - not the "best" gourmet experiences, but decent family-run places near where you are going to be..

That hotel has a rating of just 7.3 on booking.com, and the Location part of the rating is 9.4, so other categories are obviously lower than 7.3. I often stay in hotels with ratings like that, and the rooms can be tiny, frequently with a views of an air shaft. Booking.com shows the hotel has both "double" rooms and "small double" rooms. Perhaps you were in a "small double" room--though Amsterdam is a very expensive hotel market, and most hotel rooms are probably quite small.