Selection seemed small but compare to the US, prices were cheaper. Not as cheap as Italy, but still…read morebetter! Employees were nice and said hello upon entering. They also went out of their way to show me suggestions for what I was shopping for. Didn't find exactly the wallet I liked, but they were very nice, welcoming, non-judgmental despite being in scruffy vacation outfits.

Great staff!! I wanted a special bag and the service rep even held it for me when I said I would…read morereturn the next day. They gave me flavored sparkling water while I looked around the store as well.

Oh my gosh, what is not to love about this place. I love discovering new places when I'm in…read moreforeign countries, and this is one I kept wanting to go back to the whole time we were in Amsterdam! I swear, it's just a huge department type store, but again, there's just something about the newness of it to me that made it so great. For those of you from the states, to me, it reminded me a bit of a mix between a Target and a major department store. A bit of everything at affordable prices. We stopped in here a few times for a few things we needed on our trip and even once for a snack. I am a huge lover of smoked meats and cheese, so when we saw that we could get their famous smoked sausage on a roll for £2 and an ice cream sundae for £1 we were all about it and quite happy for it. One thing I miss living in the UK are smoked meats and sausages. Proper smoked meats and sausages. This really hit the spot. I was really tempted to buy stuff to bring back for my home in Glasgow, but figured it would be a pain to drag everything back when I could just get stuff once I got home if I wanted. Instead, I bought a really cool green ink pen for uni, some stroop waffles for the boyfriend and some candles for a birthday we were celebrating while in Amsterdam! Definitly a fan of Hema and will shop here again if ever given the chance!

The HEMA is absolutely famous in Holland. In the cities you can find one at every corner of the…read morestreet, and every village has one as well. The Hema is not only a warehouse, its more.. It is a customer-friendly store with an unique profile. HEMA distinguishes itself from other retailers by selling its own brand. Every day, week and/or month you can find new offers on products for daily use, all with its own assortment. HEMA products are convenient, practical, attractive and of good quality. It even got to a point that HEMA became a fashion icon, with Dutch celebrities starting to wear basic t-shirts with nothing but the red HEMA line on it.. While living abroad, the HEMA is definitely absent in the German streets..How can people live without it??!! Im sure the Dutch cant... It will fit perfectly.. with Germany being famous for the Wurst...Well, at the HEMA we sell the famous `Rookworst`!

Is this a Target or Walmart? It seems like a commercial department store. Were still in search of…read moreextra socks and underwear. This store has a full service coffee and pastry shop near the entrance. Four floors were too many for me at this point - feet are killing me from walking. Very nice organized store with an abundance if tourists, but no sale for me today.

Spoiler alert: I am not a local. I'm in the Netherlands for an event and decided to make a trip of…read moreit, so I am spending a lot of time poking around. Instead of (ahem--in addition to) the usual souvenirs, I wanted to pick up some clothing items, so I have been popping into clothing stores here and there. Depending on which location you go to, Hema might be mostly clothing or more of a department store. Either way, you'll find staples at good prices. If disaster has befallen you and your last few clean shirts? Hema has you covered. The disaster happened to be your shampoo or gel exploding? Hema. I really like the dressing room situation--most locations have an attendant to guide you to an open cubicle when you have found what you want to try on and take any items that didn't work out when you're done.

Great Hema winkle in the Station Amsterdam Centraal. It's not small by any means but smaller than a…read morelot of their other locations. But the selection is close to what you'd find down on Kalverstraat or de Kinkerstraat. Most of the staff appears to be laboring away at that food area near the front window. People do line up to buy that stuff. It does look good! So I guess if and when I'm traveling in a hurry and want something prepared, I'll go there. The Hema person working there smiled at me today when I was shopping, looking at the fresh bread selection. I had my face mask on and even though I smiled back, not sure if she saw it. I think she did. Nice place. One of the flagship stores at Centraal station. I'm so glad it's open again!

I guess the best analogy I can make of Hema to any store in the US would be that it is similar to a…read moreTarget. They are all over the city, super convenient and carry items of utility for low prices (well by European standards). After coming from the other side of the Equator (and clearly not well prepared for the brutal Dutch wind), my fingers were about to fall off from frostbite. I came in here desperately seeking warmth and shelter from the snow and wind. Oh yea, I needed gloves too. I found a nice pair of fleece gloves for 7 Euros. Hey, not too bad. They kept me warm the whole time I was in A'stam and now I have them safely stowed away in my luggage, ready for another use and hopefully in back in the land of Hema :-)

AMAZING H&M! As an American I am familiar with H&M, but this location was the BEST. They had sizes,…read morevariety, and several levels of floors to shop. The dressing rooms were challenging, as they were not on every floor, but the cash registers to buy were available on various levels. The building is beautiful, well lit and open with high ceilings on some floors. There's an elevator and some have stairs the higher the floors. The stairs were crazy-steep: we would never see that in an American store! The prices were spot on, my daughter found a sweatshirt for under $3Euros, which is amazing prices for Europe and America. Very happy shopping experience.

Really beautiful new location of H&M that just opened in the former building of Maison de…read moreBonneterie. It's enormous, spanning over 5 floors, and they've done a really beautiful job of preserving the original details and decorations of the Maison de Bonneterie. This is a new flagship store for H&M in Amsterdam, and what makes it really special (aside from the beautiful building itself) is that it's the only H&M in Amsterdam that has every H&M collection in the store including H&M Home. Admittedly some collections are there but don't have much space - I noticed that the H&M+ collection was only about two racks in one corner. It does boast a very large women's shoes selection, and I must say the dressing rooms were really nice. What this location definitely has over other H&M locations is the building - it's very spacious with high ceilings so that even on a busy pre-Christmas shopping day it didn't feel packed and claustrophobic. But I would recommend stopping by to have a look inside just to see the building, it's a beauty!