Staying 1 week each in Dublin & Amsterdam... but where?
July 21, 2010 11:23 AM Subscribe
Husband & I are going to both Dublin & Amsterdam in September. We're seeking accommodations (either Hotel or Bed & Breakfast) that would allow us to live like locals enjoying a weekend* (see inside) . Ideally, the hotel would be far enough to avoid traffic/congestion/tourists but close enough to be able to take public transportation to attractions.
We had mixed results for our last trip to Europe:
We had a great experience with the place we chose for a visit to Verona, IT. We stayed in Avesa and it was perfect. Mornings and evenings at the Bed & Breakfast were quiet and calm, and we took a bus to the "city center" each day for sightseeing & dining.
We had a not-so-great time in Salzburg: it was a lovely city, but the place we stayed was on a busy street, and the huge rock-faced hill amplified every noise. Too many motorbikes. Lots of drunks shouting & singing, and I'm not talking "doe-a-dear" by melodious youngsters.
In other words, what I mean by locals enjoying a weekend, is when you say to your SO, "Hey, on Saturday, let's go to [nearby big city] to do a little sight-seeing, do some shopping and get dinner." then maybe you get drinks, then you go home to your quiet neighborhood... but we'd be doing this every day, not just on Saturday :-)
We've been really pleased with the offerings from venere.com. Specific venue names not necessary, but would be awesome. At the very least, if you could direct us to a neighborhood (or suggest that we'd prefer the north/south/west/east-side of town) it would help narrow it down. We're late 30's, childless, and cost-conscious but not broke.
ALSO: I've searched here for tourist ideas for both locales, but if there's something that we shouldn't miss, post it! (or you live in DUB or AMS & would like to have a drink hit me up directly.)
We had mixed results for our last trip to Europe:
We had a great experience with the place we chose for a visit to Verona, IT. We stayed in Avesa and it was perfect. Mornings and evenings at the Bed & Breakfast were quiet and calm, and we took a bus to the "city center" each day for sightseeing & dining.
We had a not-so-great time in Salzburg: it was a lovely city, but the place we stayed was on a busy street, and the huge rock-faced hill amplified every noise. Too many motorbikes. Lots of drunks shouting & singing, and I'm not talking "doe-a-dear" by melodious youngsters.
In other words, what I mean by locals enjoying a weekend, is when you say to your SO, "Hey, on Saturday, let's go to [nearby big city] to do a little sight-seeing, do some shopping and get dinner." then maybe you get drinks, then you go home to your quiet neighborhood... but we'd be doing this every day, not just on Saturday :-)
We've been really pleased with the offerings from venere.com. Specific venue names not necessary, but would be awesome. At the very least, if you could direct us to a neighborhood (or suggest that we'd prefer the north/south/west/east-side of town) it would help narrow it down. We're late 30's, childless, and cost-conscious but not broke.
ALSO: I've searched here for tourist ideas for both locales, but if there's something that we shouldn't miss, post it! (or you live in DUB or AMS & would like to have a drink hit me up directly.)
Best answer: You may find what you're looking for just outside Amsterdam, in cities like Zandaam (where a cool new Inntel just opened), Amstelveen (connected to Amstredam by metro and tram), or Haarlem.
Avoid anything within the canal rings (too loud and busy) and the Bijlmer area (ugly and prone to crime).
posted by neushoorn at 11:46 AM on July 21, 2010
Avoid anything within the canal rings (too loud and busy) and the Bijlmer area (ugly and prone to crime).
posted by neushoorn at 11:46 AM on July 21, 2010
Best answer: Howth to the north of Dublin, perhaps Sandycove or Dalkey to the south. Both served by the DART, and a combination of commuter suburb and coastal village, which means they're pretty good for B&Bs. (Also, potential Bono-spotting in Dalkey pubs.)
For Amsterdam, you could potentially get by fairly well somewhere central but fairly quiet, and there are parts of the Jordaan that fit the bill, or you could look for rentals in the residential area near the Vondelpark. Further out, possibly Amstelveen?
posted by holgate at 12:00 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
For Amsterdam, you could potentially get by fairly well somewhere central but fairly quiet, and there are parts of the Jordaan that fit the bill, or you could look for rentals in the residential area near the Vondelpark. Further out, possibly Amstelveen?
posted by holgate at 12:00 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
Best answer: In Dublin, you might try to stay within walking distance of a Luas stop. Luas is a simple, convenient, modern tram running into the city center. The Green line to the south goes through some nice residential neighborhoods that aren't bad as a walk to/from downtown (St. Stephen's Green) on a nice day, either. Specifically, Ranelagh, where I'm living this summer, is very much residential, but it has a lot of nice restaurants and pubs as well. If you're not near the Luas, the city bus service is decent, though you will likely have longer waits, and you'll need exact change or a multi-day pass.
I've stayed a few nights in Donnybrook Hall [G.maps]. Great room, great breakfast, really great owner, surprisingly good price: great place overall. It's on a fairly quiet street in Donnybrook, also a nice neighborhood with some good food/pubs, and it's about 10-15 minutes walking from Ranelagh. There are frequent buses from the main road in Donnybrook to downtown and back, as well.
As a bonus, it isn't too far to walk from Donnybrook Hall down to the Dodder river, which has nice walking paths. In fact, I can highly recommend walking down to the Dodder and following the path west to The Dropping Well for dinner. You can order dinner from the full restaurant menu (good food, in my opinion) while sitting in the pub, which has a great atmosphere. (To be honest, the walk from the B&B down to the river isn't so great, just a busy street, but the rest is delightful, I promise.)
I have less experience with these, but you might consider staying farther out in Dun Laoghaire, Howth, or Bray, all on the sea. From any of those, the DART train will get you downtown fairly easily. They may all be a bit touristy in themselves (being on the ocean and all), but probably not too bad. Maybe search for "hotel" on Google Maps in each area to see if the concentration is to your liking.
posted by whatnotever at 12:03 PM on July 21, 2010 [2 favorites]
I've stayed a few nights in Donnybrook Hall [G.maps]. Great room, great breakfast, really great owner, surprisingly good price: great place overall. It's on a fairly quiet street in Donnybrook, also a nice neighborhood with some good food/pubs, and it's about 10-15 minutes walking from Ranelagh. There are frequent buses from the main road in Donnybrook to downtown and back, as well.
As a bonus, it isn't too far to walk from Donnybrook Hall down to the Dodder river, which has nice walking paths. In fact, I can highly recommend walking down to the Dodder and following the path west to The Dropping Well for dinner. You can order dinner from the full restaurant menu (good food, in my opinion) while sitting in the pub, which has a great atmosphere. (To be honest, the walk from the B&B down to the river isn't so great, just a busy street, but the rest is delightful, I promise.)
I have less experience with these, but you might consider staying farther out in Dun Laoghaire, Howth, or Bray, all on the sea. From any of those, the DART train will get you downtown fairly easily. They may all be a bit touristy in themselves (being on the ocean and all), but probably not too bad. Maybe search for "hotel" on Google Maps in each area to see if the concentration is to your liking.
posted by whatnotever at 12:03 PM on July 21, 2010 [2 favorites]
Best answer: In Amsterdam, I rented a room from Frederic's Rent-a-Bike. Recommended by Rick Steves! His rooms are all over the area, and they are in residential areas (quiet neighborhoods, but very close to everything including transportation). I was very satisfied. Here's a list of his rooms. Specifically, this is the one I stayed in.
posted by Houstonian at 12:47 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by Houstonian at 12:47 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
I spent a fantastic week in Amsterdam a few years ago living on a houseboat we rented. I found the rental online and it worked out cheaper than a hotel. We had a small boat--think studio apartment--all to ourselves in the Jordaan, rented bikes, went to the market for groceries, the cheese shop for cheese, the wine shop for wine, walked to the bar up the street . . . felt as much like a local as an American could, I suppose. I highly recommend the experience.
posted by donovan at 1:56 PM on July 21, 2010
posted by donovan at 1:56 PM on July 21, 2010
I rented a houseboat in Amsterdam from this website. The boat we had was moored near the Hermitage and Utrechtsestraat, which is a local shopping street with the most amazing cheese store. Eating cheese, bread and drinking Belgian beer on the deck at sunset was fantastic!
posted by Duffington at 4:01 PM on July 21, 2010
posted by Duffington at 4:01 PM on July 21, 2010
Best answer: I live in Dublin and worked for 3 months in Amsterdam so here goes:-
Amsterdam has a fantastic public transport system (bus/tram/metro/trains) so you could stay nearly anywhere and still be only a few minutes from the centre of things. That said, I would recommend staying anywhere along the U shaped canals inside the Nassaukade/Stadhouderskade/Mauritskade which would provide easy access to 'local' (not tourist) shops, bars and restaurants. An apartment near Jordaan's 9-streets is my preferred spot. You do want to visit, but not stay near, The Dam (tourist/red-light/coffee-shop central)
Dublin is bigger, being more spread out, and the transport is uneven. The DART and LUAS provide nicer transport than Dublin Bus' tangle of services. Generally the southside of Dublin has the higher concentration of shopping/businesses/offices/nice suburbs. There is a huge over suppy of hotel rooms at the moment so you might be able to negotiate a good hotel for a lot less cash than before. Ranelagh on the Green LUAS line is a lovely self-contained village that is only a few minutes from downtown so I think it could be a good base for you. You might want to visit, but do not stay near, Temple Bar (drink, drink, culture, drink, drink)
Finally, most people in both cities are friendly and speak English so don't be shy in asking for recommendations from the locals!
posted by rothar at 4:44 PM on July 21, 2010
Amsterdam has a fantastic public transport system (bus/tram/metro/trains) so you could stay nearly anywhere and still be only a few minutes from the centre of things. That said, I would recommend staying anywhere along the U shaped canals inside the Nassaukade/Stadhouderskade/Mauritskade which would provide easy access to 'local' (not tourist) shops, bars and restaurants. An apartment near Jordaan's 9-streets is my preferred spot. You do want to visit, but not stay near, The Dam (tourist/red-light/coffee-shop central)
Dublin is bigger, being more spread out, and the transport is uneven. The DART and LUAS provide nicer transport than Dublin Bus' tangle of services. Generally the southside of Dublin has the higher concentration of shopping/businesses/offices/nice suburbs. There is a huge over suppy of hotel rooms at the moment so you might be able to negotiate a good hotel for a lot less cash than before. Ranelagh on the Green LUAS line is a lovely self-contained village that is only a few minutes from downtown so I think it could be a good base for you. You might want to visit, but do not stay near, Temple Bar (drink, drink, culture, drink, drink)
Finally, most people in both cities are friendly and speak English so don't be shy in asking for recommendations from the locals!
posted by rothar at 4:44 PM on July 21, 2010
Best answer: When in Dublin, I always stay at Harvey's Guesthouse on Upper Gardiner Street. It's a reasonably priced and family-run B&B, and I've stayed there so often that the owners have actually become good friends. It's also close enough to walk to the center of the city, while not being on a noisy busy street itself. I've always been happy staying there.
posted by OolooKitty at 7:06 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by OolooKitty at 7:06 PM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]
In Amsterdam, we loved V Hotel, although the location we stayed in doesn't seem to be open anymore.
posted by dripdripdrop at 5:29 AM on July 22, 2010
posted by dripdripdrop at 5:29 AM on July 22, 2010
Response by poster: yay! so many excellent answers! thanks!
(I'd be grateful to receive more, we don't leave for a few weeks...)
posted by ChefJoAnna at 3:29 PM on July 22, 2010
(I'd be grateful to receive more, we don't leave for a few weeks...)
posted by ChefJoAnna at 3:29 PM on July 22, 2010
Best answer: I'd say either the Jordaan (west of Prinsengracht is less touristy) or De Pijp, which has wonderful inexpensive restaurants, a great park, and very much a local vibe.
posted by judith at 3:31 PM on July 22, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by judith at 3:31 PM on July 22, 2010 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: also, is it bad form to mark all answers as "best" this is my first time posting a question :-)
posted by ChefJoAnna at 3:37 PM on July 22, 2010
posted by ChefJoAnna at 3:37 PM on July 22, 2010
September in Dublin means All-Ireland Finals at Croke Park on Sunday (hurling on the 5th, football on the 19th) which brings in thousands of people, so plan accordingly.
It reminds me that out of term-time, Trinity College Dublin offers rooms. Not bargain-basement, and somewhat spartan, but ridiculously central and a lovely oasis of calm (unless your room faces out onto College Green). It's more "reliving student days" than "locals enjoying a weekend", but it places most of central Dublin within walking range, and there's something quite special when you step into the main quadrangle and the noise of the city fades away.
posted by holgate at 4:25 PM on July 22, 2010
It reminds me that out of term-time, Trinity College Dublin offers rooms. Not bargain-basement, and somewhat spartan, but ridiculously central and a lovely oasis of calm (unless your room faces out onto College Green). It's more "reliving student days" than "locals enjoying a weekend", but it places most of central Dublin within walking range, and there's something quite special when you step into the main quadrangle and the noise of the city fades away.
posted by holgate at 4:25 PM on July 22, 2010
Response by poster: For what it's worth, here's where we stayed:
Dublin: we stayed in two places, both were lovely and I would highly recommend:
Donnybrook Hall http://www.donnybrookhall.com/location.htm
Our room was out of the range of Internet access, which was an inconvenience, but we were invited to use the lounge whenever we wanted. The hosts were gracious and the breakfasts were great. Quick bus ride to the City Center cost under €2. Very comfortable room, plenty of privacy. Terry sells you discounted tours & hop-on/off bus passes at his cost. He's got great advice for tourists. They were booked up solid, and that's the only reason we had to find a second place to stay in Ireland for the last 2 nights. (thank you whatnotever!!!)
Flyover B&B http://www.flyoveronline.com/
It's a busier neighborhood, but still quiet at night. walking distance to a decent shopping center with plenty of food options and a grocery store. Really close to the airport, but not in a bad/noisy way. Any bus that passes in front of the hotel takes you to the City Center for under €2. Wonderful breakfast, lovely bedroom, spacious bathroom, and wonderfully accommodating hosts.
Amsterdam: We liked the idea of staying in De Pijp, as judith suggested, and she was spot-on with the vibe we wanted with this neighborhood suggestion. We stayed in what was billed as a Bed & Breakfast, but was decidedly not what an average person would deem as such. We were charged €90/night, which was a relatively good price, and seemed to be in a desirable area, but the place was awful. I am intentionally obfuscating her name here, but AVOID B!bi'S and be very skeptical about staying anywhere on Quellijnstraat since she seems to manage a few of these pseudo B&Bs. This was just some woman named Debbie's apartment, which is being rented out by B!bi. You are merely staying in Debbie's mysteriously vacant apartment! Debbie's clothes, mail, food, bathroom supplies and everything are still here. There are many discrepancies from what she promised. At no time did B!bi not mention that we would be sharing the apartment's bathroom or the kitchen with other people - complete strangers, and there were no interior locks. Also, I selected this place because B!bi offered use of the museum cards, which we never received. The food for breakfast is all just half-used jars of jelly and old frozen bread. The other couple (who ALSO didn't know they were going to be sharing the apartment) ate all the eggs and milk before we got there. The place is ...not clean. Also, there was a cat locked in one of the rooms! If we knew we were sharing with strangers we would NEVER have selected this place, but once we arrived, we were stuck, since there was a huge conference in town. We complained to the tourist board, but they basically said, "Sorry, sux 2B U!" and didn't seem to be too concerned about it. I wish i could offer advice for avoiding this kind of situation but everything seemed to check out before we left.
posted by ChefJoAnna at 11:59 AM on October 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
Dublin: we stayed in two places, both were lovely and I would highly recommend:
Donnybrook Hall http://www.donnybrookhall.com/location.htm
Our room was out of the range of Internet access, which was an inconvenience, but we were invited to use the lounge whenever we wanted. The hosts were gracious and the breakfasts were great. Quick bus ride to the City Center cost under €2. Very comfortable room, plenty of privacy. Terry sells you discounted tours & hop-on/off bus passes at his cost. He's got great advice for tourists. They were booked up solid, and that's the only reason we had to find a second place to stay in Ireland for the last 2 nights. (thank you whatnotever!!!)
Flyover B&B http://www.flyoveronline.com/
It's a busier neighborhood, but still quiet at night. walking distance to a decent shopping center with plenty of food options and a grocery store. Really close to the airport, but not in a bad/noisy way. Any bus that passes in front of the hotel takes you to the City Center for under €2. Wonderful breakfast, lovely bedroom, spacious bathroom, and wonderfully accommodating hosts.
Amsterdam: We liked the idea of staying in De Pijp, as judith suggested, and she was spot-on with the vibe we wanted with this neighborhood suggestion. We stayed in what was billed as a Bed & Breakfast, but was decidedly not what an average person would deem as such. We were charged €90/night, which was a relatively good price, and seemed to be in a desirable area, but the place was awful. I am intentionally obfuscating her name here, but AVOID B!bi'S and be very skeptical about staying anywhere on Quellijnstraat since she seems to manage a few of these pseudo B&Bs. This was just some woman named Debbie's apartment, which is being rented out by B!bi. You are merely staying in Debbie's mysteriously vacant apartment! Debbie's clothes, mail, food, bathroom supplies and everything are still here. There are many discrepancies from what she promised. At no time did B!bi not mention that we would be sharing the apartment's bathroom or the kitchen with other people - complete strangers, and there were no interior locks. Also, I selected this place because B!bi offered use of the museum cards, which we never received. The food for breakfast is all just half-used jars of jelly and old frozen bread. The other couple (who ALSO didn't know they were going to be sharing the apartment) ate all the eggs and milk before we got there. The place is ...not clean. Also, there was a cat locked in one of the rooms! If we knew we were sharing with strangers we would NEVER have selected this place, but once we arrived, we were stuck, since there was a huge conference in town. We complained to the tourist board, but they basically said, "Sorry, sux 2B U!" and didn't seem to be too concerned about it. I wish i could offer advice for avoiding this kind of situation but everything seemed to check out before we left.
posted by ChefJoAnna at 11:59 AM on October 4, 2010 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Next time, we plan to stay in Jordaan, which is where the Anne Frank house is located, and I think would be better suited to your needs. In my experience, a bit touristy during the day (though not as much as other neighborhoods) but much quieter at night. Everything closes early, even coffeeshops. A little more expensive than Leidseplein, but then, Amsterdam isn't cheap in general.
(Again, this is my experience from a week's vacation. Locals should feel more than free to correct me.)
I imagine that there are neighborhoods farther out that would fit both the noise/activity requirements and the cost-conscious ones, but I haven't done the research on them.
posted by supercres at 11:42 AM on July 21, 2010 [1 favorite]