Looking for suggestions for hotels in Utrecht. Plan to stay there 2-3 nights, and then take the train? to Amsterdam Airport for flying back to the states. Could use advice about navigating the train back to Amsterdam airport. and places to stay/things to do in Utrecht and surrounding towns.
Many thanks
Trains from Utrecht Centraal to Amsterdam Schiphol are very easy - there’s a commuter intercity train that gets you there in about half a hour without any changes. Just go to the station, buy your ticket and look at the boards to see which platform your train leaves from. You can also look at the English version of the Dutch railways website, https://www.ns.nl/en/journeyplanner/#/ to plan and to buy your ticket online if you want to.
I use booking.com for hotels, there are a couple of chain hotels, including a Hampton Inn in the mall area near the station, if you want something a bit more quaint, there are several places in the nearby city center.
For getting to the airport, the train is best, lots of direct trains, takes about 30 minutes, simply tap in and out with your credit card. Same with getting around.
Utrecht is nice, lots of restaurants and shops along the canals. There are several museums, a Rail museum if that interests.
Amsterdam is a short train ride away, Leiden about the same, and really most places in the Netherlands are not that far. Utrecht is a pretty central transport hub.
We were just in Utrecht last Sunday. We attended Mass at St Catherine’s Church, but before hand we visited their museum. It looks like a small place form the outside but is actually very large. We also had cake and coffee at the small cafe in the museum.
Taking the train there from Rotterdam was so easy, and they came often. We saw the train to the airport. When looking in the board, it shows final stop as the main one but also will show all stops in between. It is before the stop to Amsterdam Centraal.
I love Utrecht. I had a wonderful few days there last year. I wouldn’t particularly recommend the hotel I stay in (part hotel, part hostel, tiny room, very noisy) but the city itself is gorgeous.
Do a canal boat ride. Wander along the canals. There are little cellars at water level, some of which are now Airbnbs or restaurants.
If you’re into 20th century architecture, go to the Rietveld Schröderhuis - it’s like a Mondrian painting in the form of a house. Needs pre-booking as it only takes limited people.
https://www.rietveldschroderhuis.nl/en
Utrecht is a great rail hub and the train station is right by the city centre, so just hop on a train to anywhere that takes your fancy (tap & go with bank card or Apple Pay). I spent a very nice day in Gouda, which was a very short ride away.
Utrecht is such a lovely place just to wander and enjoy the lifestyle - really beautiful and historic but also feels like a very livable modern city too. Just watch out for the bikes when crossing the road.
We recently returned from Utrecht where we spent several nights. We stayed at the Hampton Inn at the mall. Our intent, having visited Utrecht in the past, was to find a convenient hotel for efficient, daily train journeys to new locations we’d never visited in previous trips to the Netherlands. It worked very well for us. The hotel staff were helpful and accommodating, the room was quite comfortable and breakfast was very good with a wide selection of choices. It couldn’t have been much easier for our needs. We visited Deventer, Dordrecht and Den Bosch. Each was about an hour or less away by train, our usual day trip goal. Utrecht is a convenient hub for Netherlands train travel and the tap in, tap out credit card payment for trains was a breeze. There are restaurants in the mall and nearby. This was a different type of trip than past travels. Our time was limited and while not the most charming hotel and food experiences ever it served its purpose well for us and we had a great time. Safe travels.
