Hotel room anyone?
Who would have thought the harder part of planning my global adventure would be finding a room in Amsterdam? So far as the planning goes it looks like I’ll be able to make the reservations for everything in Africa much easier. For some reason every place in Amsterdam requires a 2-night minimum on a weekend. I’m only there on Saturday and am planning to be in Africa by bedtime Sunday night. *shrugs*
Anyone ever travel to Amsterdam that has a suggestion for how to overcome this little issue?
The Cynical Queer 
Nov 30 2006 at 12:15
I wish I could help you my friend, but as you know I don’t travel. I think Adam will be able to help if anyone can. I hope everything works out. I think I would tell them “give me a room for the night or I’ll ugly American all over your Ass!”
I’m almost as excited as you are about your trip. South Africa will be so sweet. You might even tour a Diamond Mine and look for souvenirs.
It is cold and raining here in Indiana today supposed to snow tonight. Enjoy your warm weather. The Winter is on it’s way. Have a good day, or else! haha!
Nov 30 2006 at 12:40
Simple Answer: Don’t stay in Amsterdam. Amsterdam is notoriously expensive. Actually it might be more expensive than London.
You should think outside the box. Schipol is less than an hour from a number of cities: The Hague, Rotterdam, Utretch, and Harlam, to name a few. Email me and I can give you a list of websites to try that are better known to Europeans than Americans that will give you choices elsewhere in The Netherlands.
The only reason to stay in Amsterdam is if you are extra intersted in some of its attractions, but for what its worth, I think Amsterdam is highly overrated.
Nov 30 2006 at 14:30
TQE – Right now I’m looking at it as a matter of do I pay all the train tickets to go wherever I want to go (if staying outside of Amsterdam) and then visit the city center or pay the extra to stay closer in that I would have paid for the train tickets?
I have not looked at all the transportation issues, but something you need to remember and I think you forget once in a while is that while you’ve been to a great number of locations, I have not. 🙂 So what is boring and passe to you may very well be fascinating to me. IE I’ve never been to a city with a ton of canals, an actual organized red light district, and excepting London, non-American cultural activities.
Nov 30 2006 at 17:45
CQ: You are right — Amsterdam is old hat for me, and I try to avoid it.
My first choice of hotel booking engines is Booking.com, which lets you find hotels on a map. This is immensely helpful.
When it comes to Amsterdam and your one night there, you need to answer one key question before beginnning your search: Do you want to go out in Amsterdam at night, or will you want to go to bed and sleep overnight?
If the answer is going out and partying all night, then you want a room near the main train station. If the answer is sleeping overnight, then your specific location matters not: It might be nicer to stay at an airport hotel that includes an airport shuttle (arrive in the AM, check-in, leave luggage behind, take shuttle back to airport, take train to City Center, and then return to the hotel once you are done).
That said there are probably plenty of reasons to stay in the city center, vaguely near the train station. Keep in mind that, for the most part, Amsterdam is really easy to get around and that transportation issues will be minor, so you can go some distance from the Central Station and still be within striking distance of everything.
I guess I am waffling a lot on this: Long Story Short, look at the booking.com search results, then ask me what I think of a specific hotel–I can give you the pros and cons of that area of town.