looking for advise on getting lodging in Amsterdam, we will be there is November, is there such thing as "last minute deals" or walk in deals ? I work in the hospitality Industry and we have guests every day just "show up" the day of there for they get a great rate, do they do that in Amsterdam? not sure if thats just a California thing. any advise on where to go for lodging, ideally we would like to stay on a house boat, in the center of everything. thank you so much,
any other advise you have about Amsterdam ill take too :) Suzanne Napa ca
Posted by
Honolulu/Seattle, HI/WA, USA
2788 posts
Do you have RS Amsterdam Guide Book yet? If so, great. If not you should get one as it has lots of good information about finding lodging there that we used the last time we visited Amsterdam. If you need that guide book, it can be ordered elsewhere on this web site. I have no connection with the RS organization. Happy travels aloha charlie
Posted by
Austin
973 posts
Suzanne, for last minute deals I have used Priceline when my usual roost is sold out. I second the suggestion that you look at Rick's guide, and do a search on the forum. November might be quite chilly on the water; we've been there twice at Thanksgiving with snow on the ground and a need for central heat.In 2010 I was so taken by the cold and blowing snow that I HAD to stop for hot food and coffee after a long visit to the Hermitage Amsterdam just on the on the walk back to the Hestia. I have found deals on the Hilton website for last minutes, but...umm... this is August so you can plan ahead.
Depends on what you like as to the advise we'd give.a great Rijstaffel would be one of them, and seeing the band playing at the Paradiso is another.
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9100 posts
For last minute "walk-in" deals it's best to head to one of the Tourist Information offices. They offer a room finding service and will have a master list of hotels which are on the "push" list, desperate to fill empty rooms.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
The hotel I stayed at in Amsterdam has a 4 night minimum on weekends - year-round. I take that to mean that on a weekend, you cannot count on finding a room on short notice, and if you do, it won't be discounted. I don't know about weekdays. Other large cities, in the US as well as in Europe, can be similar. You may have walk-in rates in Napa, but I wouldn't plan on that in San Francisco. I could get lucky - or could arrive in SF to find nothing but expensive rooms available, or no available rooms at all. Rick talks about last minute specials in some Scandinavian cities in the summer and on weekends, and in Brussels on weekends, but that's because they get primarily business travelers. What I found is that Amsterdam is perennially popular, that the same hotels are listed in multiple guidebooks, and that many hotels have few rooms. So, good places tend to get booked up fast, and the city as a whole does not give good value for money on lodgings. Or, put another way, it's a seller's market, not a buyer's one.
Posted by
Auburn, Alabama
1064 posts
I cannot help you with the search for bargains. Regarding houseboats, however, there are a couple of outfits in Amsterdam specializing in rentals. The outfit we used and are familiar with can be found online at http://www.houseboathotel.nl. Everyone has different tastes, so I don't know if this particular one would appeal to you, but I would recommend BK18 in the heart of the Jordaan. When we were there, so many people confused it with the houseboat museum a few boats away that I was tempted to sell tickets.