Where to stay- Amsterdam Suburb vs Haarlem?

It would be helpful to know the name of your hotel, because Oud-Zuid/Nieuw-West normally aren’t considered “out in the suburbs”. They are nice neighborhoods filled with restaurants, shops etc, so you certainly don’t have to tram into central Amsterdam for everything.
I know RS heavily promotes Haarlem, but my personal preference would be to stay in the city I come to see. You can get to the Keukenhof from Amsterdam as well.

Above post by Alex17 reported as spam.

josh, I agree with Dutch_Traveler. After factoring the time involved and the extra transportation costs, you're really not saving a lot of money by staying in Haarlem. What is your budget for hotels? If you give us that, you might be able to get some help or suggestions from people here for hotels.

I was in Amsterdam in 2018 and stayed in the De Pijp neighborhood, which I loved. Very vibrant with lots of activity, and yet very easy public transportation to get to all the major sights. There was a tram that was less than a block from my Airbnb that got me to the Rijksmuseum and many other places in less than 10 minutes. And right around me were cafes, wine shops, restaurants, a park -- in short, it was a wonderful place to stay.

You also might consider staying in Amsterdam Noord, which is to the north right over the river. It's easy to get to - just catch the short (and free) ferry ride that gets you right to Central Station in Amsterdam. From there, you can get to just about anyplace from there. The area is less expensive to stay in than the city center, and you can find some pretty nice places there. https://www.iamsterdam.com/en/explore/neighbourhoods/noord

We used to stay in Amsterdam Sud neighborhood where there were a number of bed and breakfasts. Unfortunately most such properties over the years have been divided and sold off as condos. It was great to take a 15 minute tram into the center city--quick and easy. The suburbs are not as easy now to find short term accommodations in.

We have since stayed at Hotel Schiphol which is a Van Der Valk property on A4 out by the airport. It's a business hotel with the nicest and largest rooms we've ever stayed at anywhere. And the room rates are far superior to those in the center city. They have transportation for the short ride over to the airport where we go downstairs and catch a 15 minute commuter train ride into the center city. It's an easy place to stay--and easy to fly out of. We consider it a secret place in a great city.

Follow poster Dutch Traveler’s advice.

We booked 2 nights at Hotel Fita for mid Aug. On Booking .com. Cost for smallest rooms for the 2 nites…€377. It’s near the museums and that’s in our planning. We prefer to walk most places if possible. Hotel gets good reviews. I also looked ar the closer towns recommended. Paying alittle more is worth it when we can walk most places. You however may have other outlying sites to see. We do however hope to visit Corrie Ten Boom house…that will require transportation. We have not stayed at this hotel….so I can’t truly recommend. I hope we are pleased with it.

The address of the Amsterdam hotel I'm looking at is Delflandlaan 15, 1062 EA Amsterdam.

I was looking at Google maps, and it doesn't seem like there's anything really by the area so I was expecting I'd need to take the tram everywhere from the hotel. (The hotel's website mentions that its near the World Fashion Center)

One of the reasons I chose that hotel is because its by the #2 tram line which I believe would hit the major tourist attractions on that route. I thought it would be too confusing to stay at a hotel where I'd have to transfer or take different trams to see different attractions.

But, I'm also going with a friend, whose son is currently living in Amsterdam. Since that son is a local, I would normally defer to that person's local knowledge.

And, that person is pushing back against staying at that hotel. The person said it was too far away, which I agree it would have been preferable if we could have found something more central for the same price. But, then the son suggested Haarlem which I don't quite understand because Haarlem is even further away.

To me, it seems like taking the tram inside Amsterdam would be faster and more convenient than taking the train from Haarlem to Amsterdam.

Is there something wrong with the hotel's area that only a local would know or something? Is it some type of no-go zone?

I would lean towards staying in Amsterdam, but there must be a reason why the local would suggest otherwise.

Another area to consider is surrounding the Sloterdijk train station. 5 minutes, a bit more, into Amsterdam Centraal by frequent train. Right on the main line going to the airport. Easily a dozen or so hotels, B&B, and Guesthouses, usually at prices much more attractive than in Amsterdam center.

I think that the hotel you’re referring to is the XO Couture. If it is, I stayed there with my husband and daughter in 2015. It was a very nice hotel, as you already know on the very convenient #2 tram. However, as your friend suggests, we did find the neighborhood to be very bland with few restaurant options. So, we did end up not going back to the hotel during the day or if we did, taking the tram back toward the center for dinner. The price was right though, so we didn’t mind a few extra minutes on the tram. Getting to the airport was relatively easy.

That said, we do prefer to be close to the action and on our last two trips we stayed on the Museumplein, not far from Vondel Park at another XO property, the Hotel Van Gogh. I would recommend that hotel and location.

“ I would lean towards staying in Amsterdam, but there must be a reason why the local would suggest otherwise.”

I know the area and there is nothing wrong with it. It’s not unsafe or dangerous or anything like that. However most Amsterdammers feel that the world literally ends if you cross the ring road, and this hotel is just on the other side of the A10. So to Amsterdammers, it feels like you plan to stay in some underdeveloped unsophisticated no man’s land. I’m exaggerating of course, but I hope you get the idea. To the rest of us Dutchies, there is nothing wrong with staying in that area and I wouldn’t hesitate to stay there.

I visited Amsterdam in early December and stayed in Amsterdam West, which I believe is closer to central part of town than the areas you are considering. My hotel was near a tram stop, and by tram, I was 10 minutes away from Centraal Station.

I personally think the RS suggestion to stay in Haarlem is crazy. And I went to Haarlem to visit the Corrie ten Bloom House and thought Haarlem lovely (but incidentally the Corrie ten Bloom House a huge disappointment).

Were I to return to Amsterdam, I would not consider for a second staying in Haarlem and probably would look for a hotel in the area where I stayed. The pricing is lower than hotels in other parts of the city, but I was still relatively close to the areas of Amsterdam that people want to visit and the tram system in Amsterdam is excellent. I would try not to stay too far further out in the city--but Haarlem and navigating every day Centraal Station, forget it.

Another option would be near the Sloterdijk train station (you pass through it both on the way to Haarlem from Centraal and from Centraal to Schiphol. So it is conveniently located with easy connection to both Centraal and the airport, and there are a number of chain hotels and B&Bs near there, usually about half the price of central Amsterdam. Probably not your cute hotel on a canal, but works fine for me.

The other option would be Leiden, bit further to Amsterdam, but close to Schiphol.

Please be noted that this topic has been reopened by a spammer. The OP is visiting right now and has already secured accommodation.

I came to this page because now we're looking for a place in Amsterdam -- again.

I fear may have been trolled for a wire transfer fraud, which I posted about on the General Europe page. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/vrbo-wire-fraud-scam-with-rental-company-in-amsterdam

I also find that the prices in Amsterdam are enough to raise all the hairs on my head -- and I have plenty, but I also agree with the poster who advised it's best to stay in the place you paid all the money to travel to see...

FYI, I'm looking for a 2-br from May 17 to May 24 for two couples. We were willing to pay 3500 Euros -- and still are -- in case anyone has a recommendation.

Thanks.