Arriving in Amsterdam ON Queen's Day

Steve writes:
Take a cab or tram or walk to your hotel. Should be just fine. Its not like Times Square on New Years Eve throughout the city.

Steve's info is incorrect. Most all the trams in the city center will not be running. Most all the streets in the city center will be closed to vehicular traffic. In fact on Queen's Day Amsterdam will be very similar to NYC on New Years Eve; the streets will be crammed with lots of people. Mardi Gras in New Orleans is another good comparison.
Staying at an airport hotel is an option, but there are plenty of hotels within easy/short walking distance of Centraal Station. You should partake in the celebration. Arrange your hotel reservations ASAP, some hotels are sold-out months in advance.

http://www.amsterdam.info/queensday

Concur with the others, the country comes to a standstill during Koninginnedag. I was in Breda one year for the holiday, and even that minor city was packed.

We arrived in Amsterdam on Queen's Day a couple years back. It was a bit of a zoo, but fun, too. The train from the airport was packed, but we managed fine and people were very helpful. We walked to our hotel with no problems. Our room faced a canal, giving us a front-row seat for all of the celebrations. Go for it - it was a very memorable visit!

Thanks for the feedback, everyone!! I was able to call back into customer service for my frequent flier program and will now arrive on the Wednesday before festivities get underway! I'm really excited to be able to get settled before diving in head-first.

Now, a follow-up question: I'm trying to decide between the Hotel Piet Hein and the Obic Hotel Amsterdam WTC. Both get pretty decent reviews but I was curious as to whether any of you knew more about them first-hand or through word-of-mouth.

Thanks!

Never stayed at either hotel, but the Qbic isn't in the city center, it's located in the middle of a corporate park. But it's next to a rail/metro station so getting to Centraal Station is very easy; the area is a bit "sterile" though. The Hotel Piet Hein is in a better area...it's next of the museum district.

Michael and Nancy illustrates just how valuable it is to have first hand experience rather than conjecture based on guidebooks alone. Last Fall we were in The Hague when the Queen opened parliament. It was truly a festival with outdoor vendors, street entertainers, food stands, streets closed with a massive police present for security, trams not running or diverted on to alternate routes, massive friendly crowds -- in general a zoo. So I could not see how Queen’s Day in Amsterdam would be any less. And thanks to Michael and Nancy we know that it is more than Time Square.

The strength of this board has always been the depth of experience that many long time posters have and not just quick access to other Internet information points. There is no substitute for the nuances of experience.