Where to Stay in Amsterdam? Location and Type.

Wife and I are planning on going to Amsterdam in early April for 4 nights (including a weekend) . Looking for advice for both where to stay (what part of city) and what type of lodging (hotel, apartment, houseboat?).

I’m thinking not a hotel ( like the idea of more than just a bedroom ,and don’t think a hotel suite offers value). We wouldn’t cook meals I don’t think, certainly not dinner. But breakfast is a possibility, certainly snacks/drinks in the afternoon will be consumed.

And in what part of the city should we stay . I wouldn’t want to stay in the equivalent of Times Square (in terms of hustle/bustle), but would like to be in a location with some action, restaurants, easy access to sights, etc. Maybe a nice view?

Any info would be greatly appreciated; I have read Blake’s thread on Amsterdam.

Bruce you should PM Blake Brown. He’s in Amsterdam every year for an extended stay. I suspect he knows more about the city than anyone here (unless there are any natives)

Thanks Neal. Hoping 2020 is a good/better year for you .

Thanks Bruce.

There are a couple of Dutch people on the board - you could try to pm Barry Rothof for instance. I am sure he is also aware of wine focused restaurants in A’dam.

Thanks . Going to stay on a houseboat-cool and unique for sure .

Hope you will enjoy it! A’dam is famous in Europe for being one of the most overpriced hotel markets. But on the other hand, there is a lot to see! And April should be perfect: decent weather and just before the tourist invasion.

2 restaurants with good wine lists I recall are: Rijsel and Café de Klepel - might want to check those out.

Booked a houseboat in the Out West area . Stumbled upon it when surfing the Internet and found an article on Architectural Digest as a great place to stay .

Agree with Neal re: talking to Blake. Was a shame we never caught up over there.

At minimum, check out his “Musings From Amsterdam” thread (I believe that’s the title).

I took my younger daughter around 2013 and we stayed on a houseboat somewhere near the Prinsengracht station, roughly south central. We were able to walk to museums and restaurants. I think you’ll enjoy the houseboat. We went in February and the lodging was plenty warm, so I don’t expect there will be any problem in April as long as your place has decent heating. That was my one concern beforehand. I think we used VRBO at the time but I would try to use AirBnB now.

Thanks

And I did read it, as stated in my original post.

Gotcha.
Price ain’t cheap, rave reviews on Airbnb (including a recent winter stay) and featured in Architectural Digest all add it up to a winner IMO .

So COVID squashed our Amsterdam trip back in April 2020. We are going to give it a go for April 2024. We are looking to rent a houseboat, and between Airbnb and Vrbo I don’t see any great options .

Any suggestions for a “real” website or person/company for houseboat rental in Amsterdam?

I won’t be able to help with advise to where to turn for the houseboats but Amsterdam as a city wished to protect the local access to living spaces which is quite an issue here. Hence the private rental has been significantly limited and I guess this is one of the reasons why you might not able to find what you are looking for. On the other hand there are nonetheless many places with a canal view which might be just as good.

As to neighborhoods…, Amsterdam in general is very safe and it’s a quite tiny town in terms of size, which is one of its charms. Within the ring road (A10), most places can be reached within a 10-15 minutes bike ride. If you are between a few locations pleas feel free to DM me. More or less all somewhat central areas have easy access to all you’re looking for so don’t feel limited in that sense.

With that said, I personally really like Jordaan and it would be one of the areas I’d love to have recommended if I was a tourist myself. I would not stay next to central station (Jordaan is close but far enough) and red light district. Zuid (South) is perhaps more residential but a very nice area as well, especially Museumplein which is quite convenient for the major museums (and everthyelse). De Pijp, a bit younger and somewhat livelier with many bars and restaurants. I like East next to Amstel river, nice vibe, depending on location as what you’re intrest in it might be a bit further away.

Feel free to reach out by DM or here for any more specific consideration.

Last but not least you picked a usually lovely time to visit, April quite often sees a couple of warm weeks, people happily enjoying the first rays of sun warmth, tulips and all that in full swing. And if it’s raining Dutch people won’t let that stop th from having a great time!

Thanks. Flights booked and really bummed about the lodging situation . Can’t find a good houseboat/apartment to rent-as you have stated the rules have changed .

You’re out in quite good time, so unless you hitting a big event time I think you should be able to find something quite decent. Maybe not the houseboat but at least an apartment or two. Did you already checked out booking.com?

Probably not much of a comfort but think most locals would prefer an apartment over the boat :smiley:

It’s such a lovely and beautiful city that ones you get here I’d be surprised if missing out on the houseboat will be something you will think much about after the trip.

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Wife booked Hotel Estheréa. Fine with us but will keep looking . Only thing we have to figure out is if we want to attend/visit Keukenhof garden/Flower parade. Everything will fall into place .

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The first time we visited Amsterdam, we stayed at the Ambassade on Wilfred’s recommendation and liked the location and hotel very much. Since then, we stay at the Pulitzer, which we like enough not to consider other options.

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So right now we are down to the Pulitzer or the Estheria , leaning towards the Pulitzer.

Looked at the Pulitzer for a wedding venue but decided on a more countryside vibe. Its a beautiful hotel and you will enjoy.

Another hotel I haven’t seen listed is the Dylan. We looked at their wedding stuff as well but I would put it up there with the Pulitzer for those looking in the upper end of hotels while not staying somewhere ostentatious.

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