dwzemens

The only Frequent Flyer flight I can find in late October from Rome -> Detroit has me laying over in AMS from 12:00 midnight until leaving on an 8:00am flight in the morning.

Can anyone over advice, words of wisdom, or encouragement for this situation?

Thanks!

blackduff

Probably you should jump into a hotel for a few hours. If you leave the airport at midnight, you're going to cost a lot of money in transport.

If you just hang around in the airport, you might doze off when you're supposed to hit your next flight. An hotel room will give you a few hours anyway.

You might find if Schipol has a small room which will give you a bit of rest for cheap prices.

Duty free in Amsterdam is good though. Get up to see the products and prices.

Good night.

Blackduff

Andre

Are you unwilling/unable to pay for a decent hotel?

There's a Mercure right inside the secure area of the terminal that will cost you EUR 85:
http://www.hmsc.nl/en_index.html

And 3 other hotels are just outside the terminal, but walkable:
- Hilton
- Sheraton
- CitizenM

I've stayed in both the Hilton and Sheraton and they're fine.

The CitizenM appears brand new calls itself a luxury capsule hotel (room pix look pretty kinky) and is considerably cheaper than the other two at EUR 77 for the lowest prepaid rate:
http://www.citizenmamsterdamairport.com/
That's what I would try.

Hope this helps,
Andre

zeppole

Amsterdam is an all-night town. I'm not suggesting the red-light district, but I'd do some research and see if there are any other late night venues. I'd check to see if the airport train runs at that hour and I could stow my luggage if it wasn't being checked through.

I might even throw money at the problem: hire a taxi to take me around for a few hours.

Hey - look what I just found:

http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache...ient=firefox-a

zeppole

Sorry. This is the link that goes 24 hours

http://www.pubclub.com/amsterdam/pubsandclubs.htm

zeppole

and you are not alone...

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...d_Holland.html

Drowden

Check out the website sleepinginairports.com. Other travelers have posted their experiences and offer advice. It doesn't sound like it would be worth it (in my opinion) to get a hotel room for the few hours you would have. The Amsterdam airport has showers available and a "sleeping room" so check that out.

On the lower level (toward the trains and rental cars) are grocery stores, food courts, etc. I'm not sure what would be open that late, but it might be good to check it out.

Also, they do have lockers, so you could lock up your carry-on things so you wouldn't have to worry about them while you tried to get some sleep.

Good luck.

dmlove

If the yotel will be open at Schiphol by then (scheduled for "summer 2008&quot, that would get my vote.

https://www.yotel.com/default.aspx

dwzemens

Terrific information as usual. Thanks to all. I am particularly intriqued by the Votel and the Mercure.

zeppole

yes, on second thought, you probably should just get some downtime rather than go pub crawling!

amp322

Sheraton is linked right to the airport - just walk on through, check in, catch some ZZZs , roll out of bed, find your gate. I've done it plenty of times.

I thought there was a hotel in that airport that rented rooms for half days, but i can't find it... :-?

nametaken

Just do it; rent a hotel room for a few hours that is close to the airport. We have had to do this on several occasions when connecting through Madrid. We no longer fly Iberia so we don'go that route. THe only thing that works for good connections(whatever airline) is to reserve very early --one year, nine months etc. I know that is not easy to do, but you do get better connetions to wherever. We really find using our frequent flyer miles works beter in the USA. I think reserving early for European travel is the easy way to go..
You will not need to rent a hotel room or wait for such a long connection.

suze

If you can afford to, spring for a hotel! Since I can't sleep on planes, getting on a transatlantic flight with no sleep the night before (since I'll assume I can't sleep in airports either) would be recipe for disaster.

dwzemens

I am glad to see info on the convenient hotels. We certainly can afford a hotel, and I think we will opt to do just that.

suze

Even if you aren't getting a real night's sleep, for me the chance for a nice long shower, a bite to eat, and a nap in a comfortable bed for a few hours would be worth the expense.

dmlove

Suze, that's why the yotel is such a great concept. My son stayed there for 4 hours (you pay by the hour, minimum 3 hours, I think). It was $50 or so for a bed, private bathroom with shower, and TV/internet.

mjs

I would stay the night at the airport. The Sheraton is actually quite nice and a few minute walk to the terminal.

sshephard

I picked a random night in November for the Sheraton and found that the cheapest room was $567. Is there a cheaper way to get a room at the Sheraton?

dwzemens

I had looked at the Sheraton early on, but for the rates they charge it was almost pointless to use FF miles.

Given a choice between spending $500.00 for a short nights sleep or slumping at the airport, I am going to save the money.

It does look like there are other far more affordable options, however.

travelgourmet

<i>The Amsterdam airport has showers available and a &quot;sleeping room&quot; so check that out.</i>

The showers are in the Mercure hotel, and you would have to pay for the use. At that point, it might be better to just get a room.

The Mercure would likely be a good combination of affordable and convenient. The Hilton and Sheraton are likely to be expensive. Off-site, there are quite a few other options, but these would require a cab or shuttle bus.