Key Post: Amsterdam

I am heading to Amsterdam next year on one of the discounted Aer Lingus flights. Can anyone recommend a hotel in a good central location at a reasonable price. I have looked up the various web sites but I am looking for a first hand recommendation. Any day trips worth taking?
Thanks

Re: Hotel in Amsterdam

Tintagel,

The Tulip Hotel, just off Dam Square. Great location, yet fairly quiet at night.

Wings

Re: Hotel in Amsterdam

Check out for cheap accommodation in Amsterdam. I am heading there on 30th Nov and booked the Marriott (very central) on priceline for £45 Sterling (72 Euro) a night for two people! Make sure you read all about how to use the site before you bid for the accommodation. If you have any questions just email me on [email protected].

Edited by ClubMan to fix links.

Amsterdam

Hotel Arena on the Mauritskade is clean and good and on the No 9 tram route direct to centre. Far enough from centre to be out of the racket, and close to the Hortus Botanicus (botanical garden) for when you need to just recover from city hectic. They also have a great cafe, but they tend to be booked far in advance. Also only a few minutes walk from the daily market on the Dapperstraat. Hotel de Stadthouder on the Stadhouderskade is close to the Museum area if you're heading for the museums and within walking distance of centre.

Amsterdam

Tintagel,

Check out this site. Really good;



Rgds,
Jane

Amsterdam

Thanks for your tips. I will research all of these. I am a shareholder in Gresham Hotels. As a shareholder I am entitled to 20% discount, however when I contacted them I was told that they had not fixed their prices for early next year yet. Their website is quoting 250 euro per night. Crazy! But just to let others know that it might be worthwhile buying a handful of shares for the discount. They have a hotel in Amsterdam called the Memphis.

:rolleyes

Bus to city centre

Is there a bus that goes from the airport to the centre of Amsterdam passing hotels on the way?

Bus to city centre

The best way to get into the centre of Amsterdam from the airport is by train. It takes about 20 mins to get from the airport to Amsterdam Centraal station, and the trains are quite reqular. This will leave you right in the centre, and there is plenty of hotels nearby.

Best way to get around Amsterdam itself is by tram, though it is reasonably compact, and you should be able to walk to most places.

Re: Bus to city centre

The only thing to look out for is to make sure the hotel has a lift. Staircases in Amstradam are lethal especially if you taste local bevvies and perfumes ......
I stayed in the Tulip in the city centre (there's a few) and it cost 99 euro a night

hotel in amsterdam

I concur witha previous poster, Hotel Arena is fine for a weekend break. Its only 5 minutes by tram into town so to speak,cheap, clean and a lively pub thrown in.Room rates are only about 50 euro.

amsterdam sites

now let me see laughing my ass off.well anne franks house is good sos the market , and the castle.now all those redlights what are they for.

ps. carrot cake anyone?

Amsterdam Hotel

Amstel Botel

This is a floating hotel 200m from the railway station.It is 5 mins from Dam Square.Enjoy.


Hugh

Re: >>Hotel in Amsterdam

Some other posts

zag
Administrator
Online hotel booking sites

All,

I am trying to book a hotel using some of the online sites such as , [broken link removed], http://ie.hotels.com/hotel-htdocs/ie/index.htm (www.hotels.com), www.expedia.com, www.travelocity.com/, etc . . . but keep coming up against the problem that many of the sites just don't cater for including children in the deal.

They will take the request for 2 children and 2 adults and come back with a goodish price, but then when going through with the process there is invariably some text saying that the rates are only good for 2 adults and the hotel will charge extra on departure, or even that the room is only good for 2 adults and the hotel may not be able to accommodate more than that. Given that the request included details of 4 guests this is a bit of a pointless quote.

So, here's the question - does anyone know of any hotel booking websites where you can *definitely* book rooms for more than 2 people ?

I have fired off emails direct to a number of the hotels and am waiting for their responses, but if anyone knows of a good site it would be great.

By the way, I am looking anywhere around Amsterdam - Delft, Leiden, Haarlem, the Hague, if anyone has any suggestions.

Dank u (as they say in the Netherlands),

z

Cligereen
Unregistered User
Try this

Hi Zag,

I have used
www.wotif.com/ to book hotels for the four of us (2A+2Ch). I've used them a few times and never had any problem. If you click on the names of the hotels it will give you details of the hotel and tell you what the max occupancy is. You can specify how many will be in the room (or the number of rooms required if more than one).

Not sure of those locations you mentioned though, I've never looked for them. Worth a try.

Clig.

Tall Chapy
Frequent poster
Family Rooms

Here are a few family/Quad Rooms
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zag
Admin
Re: Family Rooms

Thanks for the links everyone.

I am working through them and through some others I found last night.

I found quite a good site - www.bookings.nl/ - which seems to be the only one I could find that highlighted the special deals that each hotels run. Some discount for weekends, some for weekdays, some for stays of 3 days or more. It also shows the number of each room type available which is pretty useful. It also seems to have sections for almost every teeny-tiny townland in the country.

Some of the links that TC provided above provide even more detail - it's amazing how much effort must be put in by someone out there in keeping all this information up to date. It seems strange that the hotels maintain web presences in so many places and in so many formats.

TC - as a matter of interest how did you come up with these links ? I did a fair bit of searching around yesterday and didn't come across most of those sites. I'm just wondering what approach you took.

For anyone else out there who is thinking of booking hotels online it is well worth checking out - I was thinking of the Victoria Hotel in Amsterdam (among many others), but the overwhelming poor reviews it got was enough to turn me off. By way of contrast - I am now looking at the a-train hotel nearby. It has got nothing but good reviews (apart from one from a person who found out he wasn't allowed smoke stuff there) while in its previous incarnation it got terrible ones.

Cheers,

z

Grizzly
Unregistered User
Schipol.

Try [broken link removed] They often have 3 nights for the price of two etc. By becoming a member you can also earn points etc.

Gresham hotels have a hotel in Amsterdam with bus from airport dropping you at the door.

Tall Chapy
Frequent poster
Family Rooms

Hi Zag

Basically, I checked out Hotelclub first, as I find it a good website & also to get a grasp on you problem.
Which soon became obvious.A good few website asked for the number of children. But they never say how many beds they give you.Some do, but they give you 2 double beds & if you have a teenage 'child' & a younger child of the the opposite sex, this becomes awkward and is not a great way to start a holiday.With one child refusing to sleep in the same bed as the other.
So I started looking for rooms with suites. Then on one website it said family rooms available. So I just put in a search (yahoo)for family rooms netherland might also have includes amsterdam & just picked what I thought where suitable to your needs & posted them

ann
Unregistered User
hotel websites


Have u tried www.octopustravel.com they cater for children and are quite reasonable

Elcato
Very frequent poster
Re: hotel websites

One bit of advice Zag. Make sure there' a lift in the hotel. Stairs are a nightmare in Holland and don't seem to have any safety checks.

garrettod
Very frequent poster
PriorityClub.com

Hi,

Not entirely sure if this is of use or not, but I normally try to use www.priorityclub.com

It's the affiliate network for Holiday Inn, Crown Plaza etc and offers members points towards their airline miles or hotel stays etc

It's got a price promise for the hotel group it represents also, claiming to always offer the cheapest deals.

Regards

G>

Re: >>Hotel in Amsterdam

Some other posts

JJ
Unregistered User
Weekend in Amsterdam

I would like to visit Amsterdam for a weekend at the end of April (Friday to Sunday evening). Can anyone recommend a decent central hotel, travel agent, etc. Any advice would be appreciated.

JJ

ParkLane
Unregistered User
Poffertjes.

Gresham hotels have a hotel near the museum district. Hotel bus leaves from the airport every half hour or so and will drop you at the door also collect you at the door for the return journey.

emefox
Unregistered User
not a hotel but a restaurant recommendation

if you are looking for a different dining experience i would recommend the Utrechtsedwarstafel restaurant.

basically they have no menu. when you book you just tell them anything you particularly don't like to eat (for us shellfish, peppers, mushrooms and tuna) and when you arrive they have cooked you a meal avoiding what you don't want to eat and based on the level of pricing you have chosen. we went for the basic three courses but you can go up to five i think with champagne etc.

the chef serves your food and talks through what he has cooked and then the owner choses a wine to go with your meal and explains why it was selected to go with the food and you get a glass for each course.

the owners were really nice and they only cater for a small number so the atmosphere was lovely. it was a really unusual way to eat and we had a great night.



Utrechtsedwarsstrt. 107
1017 WD Amsterdam
P: +31 (0) 20 6254189

monk
Frequent poster
Re: Weekend in Amsterdam

I normally stay in the IBIS beside the central train station. Clean spacious rooms and handy if you are going to other parts of the country/neighbouring countries. Plus looks directly onto one of the main thoroughfares.

You shouldn't need to use a travel agent, all can be done online. www.ibishotel.com and Aer Lingus fly direct & I think BMI fly via Heathrow(maybe cheaper).. Once you get there nearly all speak excellent English & very friendly I have found. One of the friendliest cities in Europe. I remember the time my luggage was lost when I arrived there after a multi stop tour and the airline gave me the most complete complementary bag I ever received (I think it was KLM, toiletries, T-shirts etc.etc.etc.), then I got to IBIS, told them & received more complementary stuff from them plus a free meal & drink. Might be due to us having a corporate a/c with them but I was impressed nonetheless!

zag
Administrator
Re: Weekend in Amsterdam

Just back from a mid-week in Amsterdam and stayed in the A-Train Hotel, just across from the IBIS mentioned above - in other words, it's also just across the road from Centraal Station and just around the corner from Dam Square.

www.atrainhotel.com/

The place has just been done up in the last year or so (according to the reviewers on various web sites) and I certainly found it to be spotless. Breakfast is included in all prices quoted. The train theme isn't overdone and at least it is different than the Tulip/Vermeer/Delft/Windmill theme to be found elsewhere.

I can safely recommend it for anyone in terms of location and price.

Certainly some of the hotels I saw nearby looked pretty grubby and the worse for wear.

The only complaint is that it is more of a B&B than a Hotel as it doesn't have anywhere to eat in the evenings, but that's hardly a problem in Amsterdam.

Incidentally (as expected) prices over there were very low compared to here - Mrs Zag stocked up in the airport supermarket expecting it to be pretty expensive, but was pleasantly surprised.

z

Westbound
Unregistered User
Amsterdam

Had a look at the site and the pitcures. Would it be expected that rooms would be that small in most hotels in Amsterdam? Am thinking of the Ibis Stopera. I've never stayed in an Ibis - are they Ok and of a good standard (i.e clean, bathrooms, towels etc..?)

Tony Soprano
Unregistered User
IBIS Hotel

The IBIS hotel at central station is clean. The staff are efficient and helpful. However I disagree with the previous poster in that you could not swing a cat in the rooms - very small.
Mind you why would you want to swing a cat in a hotel room is beyond me!

zag
Administrator
Re: Amsterdam

Most rooms in old style hotels in Amsterdam (centre) would be small, since most houses in Amsterdam are also small.

Rooms in custom built hotels (like IBIS) could well be larger, but I presume you would pay a premium for the size.

IBIS are a pretty large chain, so expect chain quality in terms of service and fittings.

z

p.s. I find that tripadvisor.com is a good site for user reviews. Type 'IBIS Amsterdam' into the search box at the top left and see what reviews it has had.

Some other posts

Cashman
Registered User
Amsterdam - Recommendations?

Hi to All,

Planning a long weekend break in Amsterdam with Mrs Cashman. We have never been there before & would like some recommendations as where to stay & what to see & do.....

Any advice out there....

Thanks

Cashman

Laoise
Amsterdam

Culture:
The Rijksmuseum is undergoing renovations at present - restricted entry - so the Van Gogh is a better bet, opens at 10:00.

Shopping:
starts at Schipol ! -fantastic city
Main shopping street - Kalverstraat, loads of little & big shops
At the North end is "de Bijenkorf"- 5 floors of shopping bliss. Across the square behind the Palais is Magna Plaza Shopping Centre - used to be the old central Post Sorting House - wonderful building
At the south end of Kalverstraat is Kalvertoren Shopping Centre - take the lift to the cafe at the top for spectacular views out over the city. Also Vroom & Dressman (V&D) - less expensive than Bijenkorf

Jewellry:
Little road going eastwards off the Rokin -think it's Lange Brugsteeg - has some jewellery gallery places with incredible work. Gallery Beufort - silver & gold designs at affordable prices, Appenzellers - wonderful design & quality, more expensive but worth a look.

Books:
In Kalverstraat - de Slegte - old & antique books

Others:
Also in Kalverstr - little Church of the Papagij (parrot) - wonderful quiet little place in the middle of the shopping street.
And Bethanien platz - between esprit & WH Smith in Spui - another oasis of calm in the shopping streets

Food:
cheap & cheerful - the V&D restaurant "La Place" - runs from Kalverstr through to Rokin. A help yourself place, open till 20:00.
Evening - lots of little Asian places in the Zeedijk - some nt so great but there's a good Japan/fusion place across from the Chinese Temple and in Nieuw Markt there's a Thai place called Chat Pharoay (or something like that) which is pretty good.
Cafe de Jaaren (niewe Doolenstr) - you can sit outside just at the canal edge - lovely in the evening

Markets:
Dappermarkt on tramline 9 or the longer Albert Cuyp Markt near to the Museum area - look for "de Engel" - converted church , now great bistro place to sit & eat & drink in the markt - jazz at weekends

Walking:
Anywhere east or west of central area at dusk when the canal bridges are lit up - redlight district around the Oude Kirk to be avoided or not depending on inclination.
Tramline 9 will take you to Hortus Botanicus if you need some peace & quiet or further out to Park Frankendael - which is also being renovated right now so not so quiet.

Avoid :
Damrak, Damstraat, Leidsestraat & Leidseplein - tourist priced areas & quality

And loads more ......................
have a good holiday
Laoise


Grizzly
When its spring again I'll bring again Tulips from....

Visit the Heineken museum. About €7 entry. Gets you about 4 or 5 free drinks, lots of interactive displays. A couple of streets behind the museum is an all day market.

heinbloed
Heineken

The market behind the Heineken museum is the Albert Cuyp Market.And if you must see the coffeshops than choose the ones with a low ID number -all must show their ID number on the door.The lower the number the older/more reputeable the shop.

legend99
Amsterdam

The H museum is not a collection of free beer....last time I went it was 3 drinks I think and 5 euro in...local pubs are 2 euro per half glass so you saved 33 cent per half glass!
But typical Irish...meet 3 girls who were going in over and over again to the museam to get the 3 drinks as they figured they were saving 33 cents by a potential 20 half pints before they fell over.......and we wonder why we have a bad rep. abroad!

and remember a drink over there reverts to a half pint...not a pint. You ask in a pub for a Heineken you will get a half glass!!!

And if in Amsterdam you genuinely should walk around the red light district...if as much for how different the culture in one small set of streets is from anywhere else you will go to!!! What extra shows you go to there is your business!

Some other posts

MissRibena
Frequent poster
Is Amsterdam safe?

Hi everyone

I'm thinking of taking up the AerLingus cheap flight offer and heading off to Amsterdam for a day or two. I'll probably go alone but as I've never been, haven't bought a guidebook yet etc., thought I'd check here for tips etc. I'm sure it's much the same as other cities; fine during the day and keep your wits about your at night but is there anything in particular I should be wary of?

Also, I was thinking of flying in on a Sat morning and back out late Sunday evening. Is this practical - should I stay two nights? Will it take ages to get in and out of Schiphol and the city centre? I regularly do this in London, but then I know where I'm going and I speak the language.

Thanks
Rebecca

EvilDoctorK
Re: Is Amsterdam safe?

Getting from Schiphol Airport to Downtown is a breeze ... regular trains (every couple of minutes) run from underneath the airport to Amsterdam Central station with a journey time of around 15 minutes.

Schiphol Airport is fairly fast to get through (though it can be a pretty long walk to the train from the gates Aer Lingus usally use) ... If you are going with only hand luggage there really is no reason why you could not be in downtown Amsterdam under an hour after you land.

I wouldn't have thought of Amsterdam as anymore unsafe than other cities .. usual big city advice applies .. all the moreso in some of the "seedier" areas.

The only thing I would say is that 1 night / 2 days isn't really that much time .. there's a lot of stuff to see/do in Amsterdam consider spending a bit more time there (or going back!). As regards the language issue you won't have a problem English is extremely widely spoken.

soy
amsterdam

there is a excellent train service to-from the airport. vending machines sell tickets. There are also ticket desks to buy tickets. Everyone can speak english so no problems with that. You can get a transport map at the tourist office at the main train station.
(In fact, getting to/from Dublin airport is more difficult than in amsterdam)

Middle of town is pretty walkable and again there is a excellent public transport network. You can get a weekend pass for the trams.

As for safety, daytime is fine and is no worse than any other european capital at night. Lots of tourists wandering around so there is a risk of pickpockets. The only other thing is the probability that you will be offered drugs. (guys walking past you will mutter 'charlie' or 'e' - but just ignore them and there is no problem).

If you are just sticking to the city centre then 2 days will be fine. No need for a guidebook, for two days you will get enough info from Lonely Planet website and free tourist maps at city hotels. Could also try vitualtourist.com

sinead76
Registered User
amsterdam

amsterdam is a beautiful city. Watch out for all the bikes, they're everywhere! I would go around amsterdam on my own but don't think i'd risk the red light district alone

zag
Administrator
Re: amsterdam

On first impressions Amsterdam can look quite seedy. Some people are afraid of the approaches to Centraal Station because of all the hangers-on in the area, but then you notice the thousands of dutch people going to and fro and not getting attacked or anything.

It really is a safe city (unless you go to some very strange areas), and in reality as long as you don't mind *seeing* the occasional shopfront selling porn and the occasional cafe with leaves in the window there shouldn't be a problem.

If you can see into a cafe from the outside then the chances are that it is perfectly safe to enter without inhaling anything outlawed in other juristictions.

I'm pretty sure that it is illegal there to solicit (for anything) on the street, so you won't be kept busy fending off people offering to show or sell you their wares . . .

I haven't been all over Amsterdam, but I have been there a few times and the only downtown place that seemed a bit iffy was called Rembrandtsplein (Rembrandt Place) and that was because it reminded me of Temple Bar on a bad day.

z

Grizzly
Pea and sausage soup.

Schipol. Lovely airport. Get KLM bus outside to hotel. Try "The Gresham". Bus stops outside door. Hotel about 5 to 10 minutes walk from city centre. Never felt at all threatened there.

Amanda C
Amsterdam

Can anyone recommend a nice hotel, nice but not too expensive.

Amanda C

Laoise
Amsterdam

Leave plenty of time for Schipol airport - there's more to see and do in Schipol's various Shopping Malls than in Grafton Street at Christmas !! You can get anything from sushi to loose diamonds. Schipol to Centraal Station takes about 20 mins - and get away from Centraal & Damrak as fast as possible - totally touristy !
Otherwise, be careful of trams on the roads and don't walk on the bicycle lanes !
V&D dept store in Kalverstraat has a good food place where you can sit at a window and watch the crowds in the Kalver straat or Rokin. Also the Kalver Toren shopping centre in Kalver Straat has a cafe at the top where you can get some spectacular city top views for the price of a coffee.
You can walk everywhere - Amsterdam centre is not big, just concentrated ! But you'll still kick yourself for having to leave again so soon on Sunday !
Laoise

Enaja,
Hotels in Amsterdam


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Re: >>Amsterdam

For every one who is interested in modern urban developement the "Eastern Harbour District " is a must.Humane developement in the Dutch style. Nothing like the docklands of London.Guided tours are available via the tourist board but a bicycle tour is also very much enlightening.Town planning as it should be,nothing to complain about.A bit further outside " Blijburg " is planned to become something like "tourist's" Spain ,guarded sand beaches,little beach cafes ect..And flats are available for a fraction of Irish prices either to be rented or bought.Roof apartments with real gardens.District heating with combined heat and power plants that are hardly visible.Trams,night buses and an entire infrastructure.Yacht harbours, houseboats , garages , kindergardens,schools,shops,pubs ect..Nothing like our sleepy suburban sprawls of semi detached houses.
heinbloed

Re: >>Amsterdam

I take it that hotels in Amsterdam have increased in price greatly in the last few years? I'm finding it very hard to find a 3* for less than 120 euro per room per night, not including breakfast. And that's off the discount websites! Even the chains (IBIS, Best Western etc.) seem to be very expensive compared to other places.
Can anyone advise on a clean hotel, reasonably central for less than 100 euro per night?

Cheers!

Accomodation in Amsterdam?

We are thinking of going to Amsterdam in Feb for a weekend.Has anyone went and stayed in hotel or b&b that you'd recommend?I've done a bit of googling on it but the hotel prices seem a bit stiff.Even the b&b's seem pricey or maybe i'm just a cheapskate Ha Ha.Anyway i'd love to hear of any reccomendations.Thanks

Re: Accomodation in Amsterdam?

Look up www.accorhotels.com, search for Amsterdam.

I see two Ibis hotels at 95 and 99 per night, not too stiff for Amsterdam.