Looking for good/cheap hotels in Amsterdam and Barcelona

October 7, 2011 9:47 AM

I will be traveling to Amsterdam and Barcelona at the end of November/early December. Can anybody recommend me any good and cheap hotels?

All I require is a clean room with a large clean bed and a private bathroom. Internet access is preferred.

(I found similar hotel threads for Amsterdam on AskMe but they're over a year old.)

posted by I-baLL to Travel & Transportation (10 answers total)

Try airbnb, I stayed in an apartment in Barcelona back in March, it was great!
posted by krakenattack at 10:11 AM on October 7, 2011

You might want to check out the Kabul. They list it as a hostel, which it is, but when I stayed there I booked a single, which made it seem like a hotel. It's definitely basic, but it was clean, and the location is central and close to public transport. It's also quite cheap for Amsterdam.
posted by EvilPRGuy at 3:24 PM on October 7, 2011

Response by poster: Does it have private bathrooms?
posted by I-baLL at 3:27 PM on October 7, 2011

Went to Amsterdam last month and stayed on a houseboat called "Little Amstel."

The owner is a lovely lady who provides a very good breakfast, and the location is walkable to the town centre, trams, metro, etc. Not a long ride in from Schipol either. Very clean and nice studio room with bathroom, free and fast wifi, and cheaper than a hotel (which are inexplicably very expensive in Amsterdam).

If my memory serves I think we paid 120-130 Euro per night.
posted by area.man at 3:49 PM on October 7, 2011

This summer, I stayed in Chic and Basic hotel in Amsterdam, on Herengracht canal, just inside the Jordaan district and nearish to the train station (ie. great location). It was as its name describes, was very clean, had private bathrooms, and offered a discounted price if you paid in full upon booking (which is a great way to save on the cost of a hotel, if your plans are firm). The going rate for a room with a double bed and private bathroom in Amsterdam with Chic & Basic is currently 106 Euro. They also have a hotel in Barcelona.
posted by urbanlenny at 6:16 PM on October 7, 2011

I stayed in Casa Gracia in Barcelona - they're affiliated with Hostelling International, but it is very different to all the HI's I've ever stayed in. It was clean, in a decent part of town and the people who own it were very nice. Also very good common room and breakfast. I enjoyed it because it was small and very social.

Whatever you do, don't stay at Inner Hostel in Amsterdam. It is terrible.
posted by cholly at 8:22 PM on October 7, 2011

Yikes, finding a cheap place to stay in Amsterdam can be quite a challenge. I see that area.man speaks of a nice place that was 120 -130 Euro for a houseboat. That's pretty neat and also quintessentially Amsterdam. We had quite a hard time finding something cheap in Amsterdam in the summer. We did end up staying at the Marriott right in the centre of town for about 140 Euro for a room that comfortably fit four of us. The bathroom was lovely and the staff were all quite helpful. The hotel is located right beside Vondel Park and the central part of Amsterdam. The Holiday Inn was a little bit cheaper but slightly further away. You may want to consider putting down 10-20Euro extra to know that you were staying in a good hotel. What I mean is that if a crap hotel is 100 Euro and a really nice one is 140 Euro then the crap hotel is really bad value for money. We booked on line through the hotel website and saved money over some of the travel websites like travelocity or expedia.

I did see some cheaper places to stay out by the airport. But in my opinion, if you are going to Amsterdam then you should go to Amsterdam - not the airport. It's a city where it's nice to walk around or go around on bike. It was by far the most expensive city we visited on our European vacation in the past summer.

I expect the prices you would pay now that is October would be a bit cheaper. The thing about Amsterdam is that there just isn't a ton of space in the city hotel rooms, rent and god forbid purchasing real estate are all at a bit of a premium. I think if I were to do it again and I could stay on a canal boat for the same price as the hotel I might give that a try.
posted by YukonQuirm at 9:17 PM on October 7, 2011

Amsterdam, as mentioned above, is really expensive for hotels. There's an Ibis hotel at the train station though, which might be reasonable, and also a pretty basic but perfectly ok Campanile hotel (and quite cheap if you can get a good deal) a little outside the city. If you google Campanile, you should find it. I can't remember which tram it is, but it takes you directly there, and takes 15/20 minutes in total from the city centre. I think I got a double room for €50 last year. Good luck!
posted by cornflakegirl at 2:06 AM on October 8, 2011

In Amsterdam check out the A-Train hotel. My wife and I stayed there for a few nights a few years ago. It is right near the train station. Very small rooms,though.
posted by mbarryf at 5:51 AM on October 8, 2011

I recently (February) stayed at the Praktik in Barcelona, and although the rooms aren't quite as sundrenched as the photos would have you believe, I found it to be good value for money, particularly for those of us with modern(ist) sensibilities. And situated near Girona subway station, the location is excellent.
posted by ar0n at 3:35 PM on April 15, 2012