patsy120

I have found an Amsterdam hotel for 3 nights in July 2018 in the museum quarter, Hotel Fita. It gets great reviews but....it doesn't have air conditioning ! How important is air conditioning in July ? I Also appreciate your opinions of the location (Jan Luijkenstraat 37, 1071 CL Amsterdam, Netherlands)?

The other 2 properties under consideration are Kimpton De Witt closer to Central Station (formerly Crowne Plaza but now renovated with great reviews) and Estherea Hotel on the Single Canal but I would not have canal facing rooms. These two properties are both 4 star with air conditioning but more expensive than Hotel Fita (3 star).

It's tough finding hotels with connecting rooms (not quad rooms) which has been my #1 consideration.
Thanks for any opinions.

PalenQ

I camped for several days in Amsterdam for years and rarely remember any night temps so warm it was hard to sleep- but it did at times get rather cool. Now that was long ago before climate change but I doubt if it has changed that much so you have to worry about AC - that hotels may not even have it says that it is unusual to need it.

I don't think many Dutch have AC in their flats but maybe in recent years they do?

But I will defer to locals who contribute here for the definitive thing today.

But this chart should calm fears - Avg midday high in July is about 72 degrees and much cooler at night.

http://www.dutchamsterdam.nl/2373-am...m-weather-july

It also forecasts weather for a few weeks in advance for this July.

That said I think Amsterdam just had a heat wave that was very unusual.

PalenQ

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ac-in-july.cfm

Question asked a week ago - hetismij who posts lives near Amsterdam -take her word - general sentiment seems to be 'rather safe than sorry'.

Must have warmed up a lot since I camped there many Julys but long ago. Climate change perhaps.

and it may also depend on what your threshold for heat is.

menachem

The weather in july is a gamble: it can either be hot, like we had last week, with temperature well into the 30s, (celsius), or like this week: near autumn: 19 - 20 degrees.
Not many people have air conditioning here as a matter of course. Climate change for us doesn't mean that it's become much warmer in summer (but winters have become much warmer) but rather that the weather is more extreme and unpredictable in summer.

Dukey1

Is it DAMP in that city at night? Does A/C help with that?

I've stayed in Amsterdam in the summer and at that former Crowne Plaza (which is a great location BTW and IMO) and I agree that the heat may not be as much of an issue especially if you can open windows BUT then there's that possible mugginess.

Let's face it: a LOT of hotels in Amsterdam are air conditioned and please, don't try to tell me that it's "because of the Americans."

If A/C weren't desirable then why would hotels PAY to have it installed?

Tulips

Because American tourists expect it, Dukey.

Homes rarely have AC in the Netherlands, and it is not often that you would need it. Last week was an exception to that.
If you are used to sleeping with AC then it would have been uncomfortable without it.

rs899

We had aircon in the Movenpick in early June and we pretty much needed it, but it just depends on your luck.

When we were in Paris a few days later, our apartment didn't have air and we were dying. The problem there was that the windows faced west, so when we got in late afternoon/evening and opened them, we got full sun, so it didn't help much until the sun set at about 10 pm. So, if you get a room without air, I would get one with north or east exposure.

hetismij2

I managed just fine last week in the heat. Curtains and windows closed during the day then opened in the evening to get the (slightly) cooler breeze.
I only had the ceiling fan on in the bedroom one night.

Americans expect AC, so hotels fit it. Modern blocks have it because they often don't have opening windows.
Amsterdammers survive just fine without it and have done for centuries. What's more they have to do a full days work after a hot night.

I sometimes wonder how American pioneers survived without AC and with Victorian clothing when you listen to modern day Americans complaining about no AC.

I never use the AC in the US. I can't sleep for the noise of it. I'd rather be hot and sweaty than have that racket all night.

AC is also extremely wasteful of electricity and the world's resources.

patsy120

Thank you all. With some "hot" sleepers, sounds better to be safe than sorry.

massimop

added consideration is that while some people can sleep well in heat (I can) others can't sleep well with noise (I can't). Problem with hotel rooms is that very often they are in noisy rather than residential neighborhoods, so opening a window isn't an answer (ear plugs help only somewhat). Plus hotel rooms are small, on high floors, so they can quite easily heat up with 2 people even if a window is open (rarely is their cross ventilaton in a hotel room).

Also I have closed hotel room curtains against the sun before leaving a hotel room only to find them open when I returned later in the day, after the maid service cleaned the room.

What kind of control you have over your environment in your own home that you know well is different from what a traveler's environment is staying in the central city.

jiker

i have stayed at The Hotel Fita 3 times in the last 2 years.It is a wonderful small hotel.the owner is great, very helpful.This is one of my favorite hotels.Dont miss it