Netherlands
The Skylounge is a cool bar-restaurant on the top floor of the Mint Hotel. The terrace gives an amazing view of Amsterdam whilst enjoying a cocktail. Free entrance, cocktails were about £12 each.
www.minthotel.com/skylounge
4 Oosterdoksstraat Amsterdam, Netherlands , 1011 DK
+31 (0)20 530 0800
Google map: bit.ly/rogQUj
Highly suggest this place to stay if looking for a hostel in Amsterdam. Staff are really nice, always smiling and ready to help you. I made some great friends in my hostel while I was there
www.hostelcosmos.com
Nieuwe nieuwstraat 17, 1012NG, Amsterdam, Netherlands
+31206252438
Google map: bit.ly/qPMLy2
Budget week end in Amsterdam? Sorted. This place is basic but spotless. Old Dutch art nouveau house with an Anapurna of stairs to climb and no lift. Atmospheric old building literally over the road from the Rijksmuseum. Beautiful breakfast room and splendid breakfast. Catch the 197 bus from Schipol and it stops outside the door. Friendly, attentive staff. If you just need a place to sleep and enjoy the sights, this is the one. I'll be back.
www.hotelmuseumzicht.com/
Jan Luijkenstraat 22
1071 CN Amsterdam, Netherlands
+31(0)20 6712954
Google map: bit.ly/dR9n1b
This B&B offers two rooms on the ground floor of a typical Amsterdam house. The garden suite is the larger and gives you a double en suite room with cooking facilities looking out onto a small garden (which you can use) bordering a canal with a view of a windmill - perfect! It's only a short tram or bus ride from the central station on the SE of the city. The owner is delightful and provides a great self service breakfast. This made my first trip to the city very memorable.
Zeeburgerdijk 17-hs
1093 SK Amsterdam, Netherlands
020 4637665
www.bedandbreakfast-ij.nl
Google map: tinyurl.com/y8g48cx
Really great hostel if you want to make a lot of new friends.
You feel at home and taken care of, as the super friendly staff asks you every day how you are doing and really look after you.
The rooms were very social, we met heaps of great people.
I will definitely head back to this place!
Nieuwe Nieuwstraat 17,1012NG,Amsterdam,Netherlands,
www.hostelcosmos.com
0031206252438
Google map: tinyurl.com/yanf9d5
We just came back from our yearly trip to Europe. This year we visited friends in Amsterdam and hopped over to the UK.
Our friends in Amsterdam recommended an apartment not far from were they live: Prince Martin on the Prinsengracht or, easier to pronounce, Princes Canal. The location was great and not only because it was so conveniently located in relation to our friends. The apartment is close to the 'nine little streets' (9-straatjes) a cute shopping area with great boutique shops and also not far from Dam Square: the centre of Amsterdam.
We were greeted by a hostess who showed us round the apartment and also gave us lots of useful information about Amsterdam. We were also very charmed by the beautiful welcome pack which contained tea, coffee, nuts, cereal, wine etc. We felt very spoiled and very welcome.
Must do's in the nine little streets:
- Shop at Butler's on the "Runstraat": a small but great shop in bath, bed and table stuff
- Have lunch at Mocha on the "Berenstraat"
- FOAM on the Keizersgracht: photograph museum
Prince Martin can be booked via www.shortstay-apartment.com/amsterdam/apartments
Butlers: www.butlersroom.nl
FOAM: www.foam.nl
9-straatjes: www.de9straatjes.nl
The worst thing about misc eatdrinksleep? That name - which makes it sound like some kind of capsule hotel or backpacker hostel, rather than what it is - a wonderfully individual, romantic hotel right in the centre of Amsterdam. Rooms are delightful, individually decorated and overlooking either canal or garden. All are equipped with good coffeemaker, toiletries, robes, big comfortable bed, good lighting and a gratis minibar - no alcohol (a small bar downstairs provides that) but chocolate, snacks and soft drinks, all included in the room price - a first for me, but typical of the way the place is run. The owners are friendly and extremely helpful without being in any way overpowering - all in all the place is a perfect example of what 'customer focus' should really mean (and very rarely does).
Downsides? Some people might find the canalside rooms a little noisy - if so, then ask for a garden room. And the stairs are very steep and narrow, but this is a traditional Amsterdam house and that's the way they work. I can't comment on the breakfast as I was leaving too early in the morning, but if the plate of fruit, bread and local cheese that was left in my room was any guide, I'm guessing it would be better than acceptable.
Getting here from the airport - unless you're laden down with luggage, don't waste money on a taxi. Fast train is 20 minutes and a few euros, the walk from Dam Square to the hotel is interesting and takes between 10 and 15 minutes. Note that although the hotel is on the edge of the red light area, you need never know it, and the Niewmarket square which it sits on is great for a couple of beers and a spot of peoplewatching. Plenty of cafes and restaurants around too.
Kloveniersburgwal 20 | (formerly Zosa Hotel), Amsterdam 1012 CV www.misceatdrinksleep.com/
Extreme friendly and efficient staff, non smoking, great rooms, modern. Not like most AMS hotels - old and stuffy. We had city view, and a really great time.
Rated 9.1 at www.hotels.com, and excellent also in www.tripadvisor.com and www.holidaycheck.de At last a modern well organized place in Amsterdam.
Excellent east/west style cuisine, nice bar. What else you want? We had free internet, executive floor, Nespresso machine in the room, sprinkler system, the best breakfast, bathrobes, slippers, fruits, covered parking, a canal boat in front, Tram transport next to the hotel - and just 20 minutes from the airport and five minutes from central station.
www.moevenpick-amsterdam.com,,
water side, next to Cruise Terminal, city centre
We have just returned to France from a week's holiday in Amsterdam. I have a few suggestions for other travellers. We had previously stayed at www.hoteltoren.com. Great place. Very charming and family run (which we like). This time around we rented an apartment through www.apartments-for-rent.com/amsterdam.
We booked an apartment in the Jordaan area on the Prinsencanal. We were very lucky to meet some young guys the first day we arrived. They run a small boat rental business called www.boothurenamsterdam.com (which translates into boat rental amsterdam) The guys who run it are amazing and give us a whole list of fun things to do in the neighbourhood. We did not leave the Jordaan area except for a brunch at the www.bakkerswinkel.nl in the Westerpark.
The boat rebtal guys suggested little Amsterdam gems like www.tazzina.nl and www.cinemaparadiso.info/
www.boothurenamsterdam.com
www.apartments-for-rent.com/amsterdam
www.bakkerswinkel.nl
www.hoteltoren.nl
Accommodation in a city can be expensive. When I want to stay in Amsterdam I more often than not stay at any of the fabulous campsites dotted around Amsterdam. There is a central one just behind Centraal Station across the water or several others in the outskirts of the city - they are always a bargain and well maintained - give it a go, camping in the city is fun.
All campsite information can be found through the Amsterdam tourist board.
This youth hostel is in the perfect location and the staff is extremely friendly and helpful. Our room was clean, we had a TV, sink, space - it was everything we wanted.
Cosmos is two blocks from the red light district and close to everything else.
There's a nice coffee shop (El Guapo) right across the alleyway.
This is my favorite hostel.
Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1012NG
Nieuwe Nieuwstraat 17
www.hostelcosmos.com
+31206252438
Amsterdam Central Station
This is a super fun youth hostel. The staff is very knowledgeable and I met a lot of great people from all over the world.
I would definitely recommend it - but be careful walking up the steep stairs up front if you've been enjoying a little too much of what Amsterdam has to offer.
Nieuwe Nieuwstraat 17,
1012NG, Amsterdam, Netherlands
0031206252438
www.hostelcosmos.com
Amsterdam Central Station
Hostel Cosmos is a really friendly hostel. Best welcome I've had from a hostel. The guys working there (especially Yazine) were great and made us feel really welcome.
They ended up letting us stay for a few more hours longer on our last day as our flight was quite late - thanks guys. Simba the cat was awesome too! It's in a really awesome spot too, close to the train station, and just on the edge of the red light district.
Amsterdam Hostel Cosmos
Nieuwe nieuwstraat 17-1
1012 NG Amsterdam, Holland
Tel. +31206252438
www.hostelcosmos.com
Amsterdam Central Station
Apartment booking website, easy to deal with, we had a quiet spacious apartment near Haarlemmerplein for €750 for a week. Ten minutes walk from city centre and Jordaan. Local shops and restaurants good.
google Citymundo
This Amsterdam hostel was very friendly and fun, with some very cheap pints in its ‘Uptown Bar.’
It’s among some lively coffeeshops and bars or is just a few hundred metres from the Van Gogh and Modern Art Museums for something more cultural!
Accommodation is cheap and includes breakfast and internet.
Vossiussstraat 46-47, Amsterdam, 1071AJ
www.hostelbookers.com/hostels/netherlands/amsterdam/1461/
Good site to get accommodation in amsterdam.
Based in the newly developing southern edge of town international business sector, this pod type hotel with self-service check in, has some nice features in the rooms: chaise longue and mood lighting.
The room space is above average for the price and the beds are massive and comfy. The pod is like a four poster bed with a wetroom and stools attached at either end. It lodges in the World Trade Centre and so there are cafes etc in the building for breakfast and cyclist watching.
The women all seem to turn up for work in black high heel boots, cycling, of course, and the men struggle to steer and hold their briefcases at the same time. They then disappear underground on a moving walk way to park their bikes. Dutch transport efficiency at its best.
Anyway, it's well linked to Schipol airport (train) and to Centraal on number 5 line tram, all in the same station Zuid. Very good value for money and pleasant escape from the city rush.
Station Zuid, World Trade Centre, www.qbichotels.com/
We visited Amsterdam with our three year old daughter, while I was heavily pregnant.
Knowing that we would be having early nights in our hotel room, we upgraded to a room "with a view", using money saved from not using evening entertainment or so many museum admissions.
Our room overlooked on of the ubiquitous squares and we spent evenings eating a rather nice room service menu people watching.
It may not sound exciting,but we loved it and kept sane at the same timeR with no worries regarding baby sitting services.
Forget the grachts, the quaint tallhouses and the coffee shops - take a trip out to the eastern docklands, the evocatively named Borneo-Sporenburg, KNSM & Java islands.
Marvel at the Dutch way of designing cities, take a guided tour & weep for the UK.
The Times hotel in Amsterdam was excellent value of money, newly renovated and had friendly and helpful staff - especially after by luggage was lost by the airline!
Search Been there