My husband and I arrive in Amsterdam from Bordeaux Dec 20 and leave Dec 24, so we'll be spending four nights in the city. We'd prefer to stay in a private room in a hostel or in an inexpensive hotel. Private shower/bathroom would be nice but we can do without. Would people recommend booking accommodations ahead of time or do you think we would have a good chance of getting a room when we arrive on the afternoon of Dec 20? We're staying with friends in Bordeaux, and prior to that we will be in Paris for several days. We did book our Paris hotels ahead of time but I thought it might be fun to just walk around Amsterdam, pick a hotel that looks appealing and is in a neighborhood we like, and see if they have rooms. How doable is this, considering that we'll be there right before Christmas?
Posted by
maplewood, new jersey, usa
818 posts
I would get on booking a room ASAP. I can't imagine wandering around Amsterdam with bags and hoping to find a room.
Posted by
St. Louis, MO USA
1976 posts
Definitely book a room, if for no other reason than you won't worry about it.
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
Vondelpark Hostel isn't bad. It's close to the museums. We stayed as a family of five in a six-bed room. It was supposed to be for us but we had a sixth person added.
Posted by
Germany, Germany
813 posts
Find a room now. Every country in the area is on holiday then, it'll be tough finding something now.
Posted by
Boston, MA, United States
1806 posts
Private rooms in hostels with private bathrooms are scarce year-round as even the large chain hostels (like HI) have only a handful of private rooms. If that is your preference, you're more likely to find it at a budget hotel, B&B, houseboat or guesthouse. Now add that to the fact you are looking for inexpensive accommodation (which is always the first to be booked up in advance) during a busy holiday travel week... It's a stupid gamble to take thinking it will be fun to show up in Amsterdam with your bags and find a nice room at a good price in a great neighborhood at the last minute. While most of December you might be able to pull that off since it's considered "off season", holiday weeks are always when demand is high and prices go up considerably. Just because you plan on leaving on Xmas Eve doesn't really matter. There will be a lot of things going on in Amsterdam that week, and not just for the tourists. The locals will be having family coming from other parts of the country, so even the locals will be booking rooms for their relatives. Book now.
Posted by
OP
Seattle, WA, USA
3 posts
Thanks for your advice, everyone! We will probably book something online tonight. We travel light and will only have a backpack each, so walking around the city in search of a hotel would not be a problem, but since people feel that accomodations for the holiday week go quickly, it seems to make sense to reserve now. PS: I actually got the idea of NOT booking ahead from one of Rick's articles, where he suggested walking into hotels and asking about any special rates they might have (the rationale being that they wouldn't want to lose a guest who's already in their lobby and would therefore be likely to offer a discount). Rick also pointed out that by doing the walk-in thing you may be able to see the room before committing, which appealed to me. However, it seems that this may not be a good plan for the holiday season.