Hotel Recommendation for Amsterdam in September
February 9, 2014 11:23 AM Subscribe
Can anyone recommend a hotel in Amsterdam for two nights at the beginning of September. The Trip Advisor forums are usually my go-to resource for travel but in this case it's not yielding useful results. The other forums are usually helpful but on this one there seems to be a lot of snarky-ness and people singing the praises of PriceLine and I'm not down with the bidding on an unknown hotel thing.
We are spending a month in France and Italy (woot!) and decided to start our trip with a couple of days in Amsterdam just to check it out. The only must-see is the Van Gogh Museum. Otherwise, we'll mostly just be recovering from jet leg and wandering around sightseeing a little. We are 46 and 53 and aren't looking for leafy green or red-light activities if that matters at all.
We'd like to find something around $150-175 per night (though we could go higher if need be), and I have a bum knee so an elevator or only one flight of stairs would be great. Marriott is our normal US go-to hotel, if that helps give a frame of reference. My husband liked Hotel Fita but it was full for our dates.
Thanks for any suggestions or advice!
We are spending a month in France and Italy (woot!) and decided to start our trip with a couple of days in Amsterdam just to check it out. The only must-see is the Van Gogh Museum. Otherwise, we'll mostly just be recovering from jet leg and wandering around sightseeing a little. We are 46 and 53 and aren't looking for leafy green or red-light activities if that matters at all.
We'd like to find something around $150-175 per night (though we could go higher if need be), and I have a bum knee so an elevator or only one flight of stairs would be great. Marriott is our normal US go-to hotel, if that helps give a frame of reference. My husband liked Hotel Fita but it was full for our dates.
Thanks for any suggestions or advice!
I had a great stay at the King's Villa Hotel. It's a bit off the beaten path, but it's right on the Vondelpark and there's a #2 tram stop very close by. I enjoyed being able to see the sights in central Amsterdam and returning at night to the quiet neighborhood the hotel is in. The rooms are lovely, the staff is friendly; I can't recommend it highly enough. The cost might be a little over your budget, but it is well worth the extra money.
posted by oozy rat in a sanitary zoo at 12:32 PM on February 9, 2014
posted by oozy rat in a sanitary zoo at 12:32 PM on February 9, 2014
I stayed in a houseboat in amsterdam last time I was there in 2012. Highly recommended, and apparently within your price range. Only one flight of stairs by definition :).
posted by singingfish at 12:36 PM on February 9, 2014
posted by singingfish at 12:36 PM on February 9, 2014
Best answer: Local Dutch chain Citizen M is solid, and has elevators.
I live in NL - you should know if you haven't been to the country before that most buildings have extremely narrow, steep staircases to the bathroom or other levels. Many but not all restaurants/cafes however have added accessible toilets from the main floor to save the stairs.
My default suggestion for Amsterdam is to spend some time in Haarlem or Utrecht also, to get away from the crowds, but a couple of days in Amsterdam is just fine. Check out the Rijksmuseum, Jordaan, Pijp and parts of Zuid for neighbourhoods away from the crowds of Centrum. If you are lucky, you will get an Indian summer in September which is great for canal cruising and sitting outside.
posted by wingless_angel at 12:53 PM on February 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
I live in NL - you should know if you haven't been to the country before that most buildings have extremely narrow, steep staircases to the bathroom or other levels. Many but not all restaurants/cafes however have added accessible toilets from the main floor to save the stairs.
My default suggestion for Amsterdam is to spend some time in Haarlem or Utrecht also, to get away from the crowds, but a couple of days in Amsterdam is just fine. Check out the Rijksmuseum, Jordaan, Pijp and parts of Zuid for neighbourhoods away from the crowds of Centrum. If you are lucky, you will get an Indian summer in September which is great for canal cruising and sitting outside.
posted by wingless_angel at 12:53 PM on February 9, 2014 [1 favorite]
Believe it or not, I found it useful to peruse hotels.com for ideas (since you can narrow your search) and then go back to tripadvisor and check the ratings for that hotel.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 1:44 PM on February 9, 2014
posted by St. Peepsburg at 1:44 PM on February 9, 2014
We stayed in Inntel Hotel Amsterdam Centre and liked it. It was very convenient and had an elevator, no stairs that I recall.
posted by escapepod at 2:21 PM on February 9, 2014
posted by escapepod at 2:21 PM on February 9, 2014
Best answer: I've stayed at Owl Hotel a couple times now and would highly recommend it. The rooms are small but clean and the staff is wonderful, and it has an elevator. It's just off the Vondelpark (rooms look out onto the park) and near Museumplein, so centrally located but away from the craziness of the red light district. The hotel is also a block or two down on a residential side street, so its nice and quiet at night.
posted by Arts and Letters at 7:21 PM on February 9, 2014
posted by Arts and Letters at 7:21 PM on February 9, 2014
We recommend NYOP over on the TripAdvisor boards because it really is hard to beat the deal you get. I usually stay in apartments so I can't recommend a specific hotel. I recommend booking.com and find something with high ratings in your budget.
I spend a lot of time in Amsterdam and I'm happy to answer questions here in a less snarky environment.
posted by humboldt32 at 12:12 AM on February 10, 2014
I spend a lot of time in Amsterdam and I'm happy to answer questions here in a less snarky environment.
posted by humboldt32 at 12:12 AM on February 10, 2014
I really enjoyed Hotel V: has an elevator. It is funky and small, great breakfasts and amazing service. It is easy walking distance of really cool areas and there's a tram stop out the front.
posted by honey-barbara at 3:29 AM on February 10, 2014
posted by honey-barbara at 3:29 AM on February 10, 2014
Response by poster: My knee and I thank all of your for your help. We decided to go with the Owl Hotel.
posted by Beti at 9:51 AM on February 13, 2014
posted by Beti at 9:51 AM on February 13, 2014
Response by poster: Just a followup for future reference. We stayed at the Owl Hotel and ended up making a trip back through AMS on the way home and stayed at the Citizen M wingless_angel mentioned.
The Owl Hotel
Pros: Great location (near the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum and plenty of attractions), the staff was super nice, and the breakfasts were good and filling. Husband says "They have Heineken in the vending machine in the lobby."
Cons: The room was really hot. It was on the second floor facing the back courtyard (can't remember the number now). The windows opened but there wasn't any airflow - if we'd had a fan (we didn't ask for one since we were only there a couple of days), it probably would have been fine. There were pull down shades that we closed in the morning hoping that would keep the room cooler but the staff opened them at some point and we came back to a hot room.
Citizen M
Pros: An excellent travelers hotel. Seriously, like 100 yards from the Schipol Airport entrance. We needed a stopover for one night at it was incredibly convenient to just walk over to our hotel. It's ultramodern with these cool pod-like shower and toilet "rooms". The staff was the best we'd encountered in a month of traveling in three countries. Good food is available 24-hours. You give them your key card and they charge it to your room (I felt so posh!). For a building full of transient people (it was clearly a favorite for business travelers), it felt like instant community. There are little self-check-in kiosks with friendly staff to welcome you. After check-in you can hang out in your ultra-quiet room or go down to the canteen/bar (which didn't feel at all meat-market-ish or weird) or hang out in one of the lounge rooms that are designed like living rooms - there were people reading quietly, working on their computers, even several people playing a board game. It was just great all the way around - and this was at the end of a long trip when we were both exhausted and just wanting to be home. Really I can't say enough good things about it. (Oh and their soap smells really good!)
Cons: Almost none: It'd be nice to have a noisy exhaust fan in the toilet pod for a little, uh, privacy. It's fine if you are a solo traveler but not so much if you are a couple.
posted by Beti at 8:18 PM on November 28, 2014
The Owl Hotel
Pros: Great location (near the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum and plenty of attractions), the staff was super nice, and the breakfasts were good and filling. Husband says "They have Heineken in the vending machine in the lobby."
Cons: The room was really hot. It was on the second floor facing the back courtyard (can't remember the number now). The windows opened but there wasn't any airflow - if we'd had a fan (we didn't ask for one since we were only there a couple of days), it probably would have been fine. There were pull down shades that we closed in the morning hoping that would keep the room cooler but the staff opened them at some point and we came back to a hot room.
Citizen M
Pros: An excellent travelers hotel. Seriously, like 100 yards from the Schipol Airport entrance. We needed a stopover for one night at it was incredibly convenient to just walk over to our hotel. It's ultramodern with these cool pod-like shower and toilet "rooms". The staff was the best we'd encountered in a month of traveling in three countries. Good food is available 24-hours. You give them your key card and they charge it to your room (I felt so posh!). For a building full of transient people (it was clearly a favorite for business travelers), it felt like instant community. There are little self-check-in kiosks with friendly staff to welcome you. After check-in you can hang out in your ultra-quiet room or go down to the canteen/bar (which didn't feel at all meat-market-ish or weird) or hang out in one of the lounge rooms that are designed like living rooms - there were people reading quietly, working on their computers, even several people playing a board game. It was just great all the way around - and this was at the end of a long trip when we were both exhausted and just wanting to be home. Really I can't say enough good things about it. (Oh and their soap smells really good!)
Cons: Almost none: It'd be nice to have a noisy exhaust fan in the toilet pod for a little, uh, privacy. It's fine if you are a solo traveler but not so much if you are a couple.
posted by Beti at 8:18 PM on November 28, 2014
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posted by mynameisluka at 11:31 AM on February 9, 2014 [1 favorite]