Amsterdam

[Phroig]

We're planning a December trip (bought tickets), and I have a few questions. First, do you have suggestions for a hotel? Everything decent (based on traveler ratings) seems to be $600 and up. I skimmed the thread from several years ago, but wondered if any of you had updates or more recent experiences.
Is there anything perhaps a bit away from the city center, but sill close to a tram station? We need six nights; however, for the last day, we might just stay at an airport hotel.
Second, we have six days. The usual city sights/museums should take 3-4 days. Are there any others off the beaten path that you've especially enjoyed? Could you recommend day trips to nearby towns?
Finally (for now), is there anything special in the city around Christmas?
Thanks!

 

[audreyh1]

It’s an expensive city to stay in, but public transportation (which includes plenty of buses) is so good that it doesn’t matter if you stay somewhat outside the major tourist areas.

Indoors I think in December. I don’t know if they have any special Christmas events. The museums are awesome. Rijksmusem is amazing and too extensive to see in one day so make sure to catch the highlights. We really enjoyed Rembrandt’s house which is in the heart of the old city good for walking around. Check out a cheese shop too. A lot of people enjoy the Amsterdam canal boat tours and those are enclosed boats so would be fine for December. Maybe bundle up and enjoy one of the outdoor parks such as Vondelpark. Since you are there several days you could hop a train to another city. We really enjoy the Maritime Museum in The Hague which is right next the their impressive medieval parliament buildings.

There are parks on the city outskirts such as Zaanse Schans on the water with lots of old windmills to tour but I don’t know how enjoyable they would be in December.

 

[braumeister]

My only experience was in 2017. We had the Amsterdam-to-Basel river cruise and I wanted to see a bit of the city first so we arrived early. Stayed at the Hilton Amsterdam and it was only about €120 a night. I'm sure it's a lot higher now, but it was a great hotel.

Public transport, as audreyh1 said, is wonderful. The trams go just about everywhere, and it's a perfectly walkable city (just stay out of the bicycle lanes).

I'd go back in a heartbeat.

 

[audreyh1]

We spent two months of the summer of 2017 staying in Amsterdam. Google Maps does a great job of routing for trams plus buses. Trains too.

 

[audreyh1]

That Hilton Amsterdam which says it is about 2km from the Rijksmuseum, is quoting around €200 mid December. Probably worth it. 300m (<0.2 miles) walking to the tram stop.

 

[Ian S]

A few years ago we stayed at the Crown Plaza South. While not too close to the center of the city, a metro station was easy to walk to. We also used uber to get around.

 

[NW-Bound]

My only visit to Amsterdam was 15 years ago, and we stayed in a decent hotel in the town center not far from the train station. I don't recall what we paid, but it was not outrageous. I guess the rate goes up a lot at Christmas time.

We enjoyed the miniature park Madurodam in The Hague, good for a 1/2 day trip by train from Amsterdam.

PS. Just now saw that the train ride from Amsterdam to Madurodam is more than 1 hour/one way. Wow, I did not remember it being that long. It shows how one's memory can be faulty.

 

[Bamaman]

We've not returned to Amsterdam in a few years, but you're right about room rates being expensive. But not in the $600 range for the most part.

If you sign into Google Maps, put in Amsterdam, NL. Then magnify the map 2 clicks and click on the Hotels at the top. Up pops icons of dozens and dozens of places to stay with prices. Click on an icon and find out all about the place.

We used to stay at Amsterdam South, south of the Willemspark, however all the bed and breakfasts in the area were broken up into condos and sold. We'd take a 15 minute tram into the center city.

Another alternative would be to stay out at the Schiphol Airport and take a 10 minute train from the airport terminal into the city. The nicest hotel we've ever stayed at (anywhere) is the Hotel Schiphol. They have a free shuttle to take you to and from the airport. Best thing is that the rooms run $101-$135. We stayed in a suite one night that was as large as a house with 4 leather couches, and it was much cheaper than hotels in town.

https://www.guestreservations.com/h...king?msclkid=85f062f81c981c840420017889c1e3c0

 

[audreyh1]

My only visit to Amsterdam was 15 years ago, and we stayed in a decent hotel in the town center not far from the train station. I don't recall what we paid, but it was not outrageous. I guess the rate goes up a lot at Christmas time.

We enjoyed the miniature park Madurodam in The Hague, good for a 1/2 day trip by train from Amsterdam.

PS. Just now saw that the train ride from Amsterdam to Madurodam is more than 1 hour/one way. Wow, I did not remember it being that long. It shows how one's memory can be faulty.

The hotels near the Amsterdam Centraal station have been very expensive for a long time. I remember seeing $400 initial rates 7 years ago. Summer is the big tourist season.

Right, high speed train to The Hague is at around 50 mins and then tram too and from. It’s a nice ride. Madurodam is cool to see but maybe not in winter as it’s all outside.

Another alternative would be to stay out at the Schiphol Airport and take a 10 minute train from the airport terminal into the city. The nicest hotel we've ever stayed at (anywhere) is the Hotel Schiphol. They have a free shuttle to take you to and from the airport. Best thing is that the rooms run $101-$135. We stayed in a suite one night that was as large as a house with 4 leather couches, and it was much cheaper than hotels in town.

https://www.guestreservations.com/h...king?msclkid=85f062f81c981c840420017889c1e3c0

I would not use Schipol as a base other than 1 night as it really is too far from enjoying Amsterdam.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

It looks like the Reypenaer cheese tasting room is closed, but the shop is still open, and they're selling their tasting selection and have a video of the tasting class online. I was going to recommend Tempoe Doeloe for Indonesian rijsttafel, but I can't tell if it's still open or not, the website has been squatted on.


We stayed at Tulip of Amsterdam, and it was a nice base from which to explore the city on foot, but it was almost 10 years ago, so check the reviews.

 

[BooBoo]

We were there last December and stayed in the Moxy Hotel, a little more modern, but we enjoyed. All very close via bus. Really enjoyed the local market on Saturday. Hit a cold snap and was very cold with wind off the water. We had a great time.

 

[bltkmt]

We did an AirBB in the Jordaan neighborhood in 2019 - I would suggest you look at those as well. Great area - easy to walk to everything. Bruges is a fairly easy train ride - we did an overnight to there.

 

[Phroig]

Thanks for all the responses. We need a room for three, so that makes it a bit more difficult. Nothing at the Hilton or the Crowne Plaza for our dates. I'll check out the Tulip and the Moxy. I've looked at AirbnB, and plan to look some more.

I'll research The Hague. I looked at Bruges (we've wanted to visit since the movie), but the train ride seems to be 3-4 hours with one change.

 

[Souschef]

We stayed at the Amsterdam American hotel. It is a few tram stops from the Van Gogh and Rijksmuseum. It is in walking distance of many restaurants and canal boat stops.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Oh! We actually went from Copenhagen to Bruges to Amsterdam on that trip, and while I would be happy to visit Amsterdam again, Bruges was my favorite part, but that's just me. I loved the sausages, beer, and marzipan in Bruges, among other things. We did enjoy the train rides. (We flew from Copenhagen to Brussels and then took the train out to Bruges, then the train from Bruges to Amsterdam.)

 

[marko]

It's been a while but we used to stay at the Hotel Okura. Prices seem a bit low ($260) for AMS so maybe it's gone downhill (?). Caters to primarily Japanese, but we always got a suite and enjoyed it.

Just a short cab to downtown and a great indoor pool/spa.

 

[audreyh1]

We did an AirBB in the Jordaan neighborhood in 2019 - I would suggest you look at those as well. Great area - easy to walk to everything. Bruges is a fairly easy train ride - we did an overnight to there.

Jordaan neighborhood is indeed very nice and easy walking distance to central area.

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

We've stayed in Amsterdam a few times.
My first visit was after a work assignment in the middle east and my first visit to Europe. The travel coordinator booked me in a hotel near the airport. It was a nice business hotel and reasonably priced. I found transportation into Amsterdam was reasonable. However, there wasn't much to do within the vicinity of the airport.
During another visit, we stayed in an area between Central station and the Anne Frank House. The place was inexpensive but it was probably one of the most basic places we've stayed at. It was a convenient location but I don't think we'd stay that close to Central station because the decent places are too expensive and the cheaper places too basic.
During another trip, we stayed near Vondelpark, close to the Rijksmuseum. This is probably the sweetspot for us. We don't mind walking in Amsterdam as there's so much to see. It's a reasonable walk to Central station, though I'm not sure how wet it will be in December.

If you like cats, there's a cat shelter on a boat called De Poezenboot which is kind of fun to visit. Entry is by donation.
We do the Rick Steves stuff and found Haarlem was ok for a day trip. We combined it with a trip to the beach in Zandvoort but likely not great in December.
If you make it out to Bruges, I thought that was a nice daytrip from Brussels. Perhaps you can combine the two?

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I was just in Amsterdam in September at the end of a British Isles cruise. I had previously been in Amsterdam, so for the free day that I had, I chose to take the train to Delft. I thought it was a perfect location to go for a day trip. It has a very nice town center to walk around and explore with canals. Lots of places to eat and shoppes to look in. Both the Old and New Church were worth visiting.

On a previous trip to Amsterdam, I took a day trip to Bruges, Belgium via train. It was also a great day. It's a little further away than Delft, but very doable in a day.

 

[audreyh1]

I was just in Amsterdam in September at the end of a British Isles cruise. I had previously been in Amsterdam, so for the free day that I had, I chose to take the train to Delft. I thought it was a perfect location to go for a day trip. It has a very nice town center to walk around and explore with canals. Lots of places to eat and shoppes to look in. Both the Old and New Church were worth visiting.

Did you catch the Royal Delft factory and museum? That was cool. On the outskirts but well worth it.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

Did you catch the Royal Delft factory and museum? That was cool. On the outskirts but well worth it.

I did not. I stuck to the central area of town. But I'll also confess that the actual Delft pottery doesn't do much for me. I saw lots of it in the shoppes, so that was enough.

 

[audreyh1]

I am into ceramics - not as a collector, mostly enjoy the history and fabrication. The museum had some really fantastical large colorful pieces even rooms/walls. It’s not all blue and white ha ha. And you get to walk through part of the working factory. We enjoyed it.

 

[Car-Guy]

It's been a long time since I've been there so my hotel recommendations would be "suspect"... Regardless, they have lot's of good ones. Amsterdam (and surrounding areas) is probably my favorite place in all of Europe to visit. There's a lot to see and do.

Zandvoort is a nearby (~20 mins away) North Sea beach resort community that might be worth a short trip. It's to cool (cold) for getting in the water at this time of the year but great beaches for walking... There's a race track, bicycling paths, casinos, good shopping and restaurants all in the area.


I'm sure you will have a good time whatever you like to do/see.

 

[simple girl]

We stayed at Cocomama (https://cocomamahostel.com/#amsterdam-boutique-hostel) in 2014, and it was a blast! It's a hostel but they have private rooms with private baths, and that's what we chose.

No idea what the current rate is now. It was a super interesting place to stay. There is a common area in the basement where there is a shared kitchen, dining, and living area.

It was really fun meeting young backpackers and hearing their stories.

 

[Freedom56]

I have been there several times on business and always stayed at the Crown Plaza Amsterdam City Center. The location can't be beat and it's a nice hotel. This is a great city to visit and I liked it so much that we went back for a few leisure trips and stayed at the Crowne Plaza Amsterdam south hotel which is much lower in price price point but a pretty nice hotel none the less (about $150 per night).