Hi!

Am traveling to Amsterdam for 5 nights in July. It will be the tail end of a Switzerland, Copenhagen, Netherlands trip. I have two kids 10 & 12. By this time they will either be ready to go home or revved, I want to be prepared. WHERE in the city do I want to stay for lively enough fun around the hotel but quiet enough at night for us all to sleep well (tired = unappreciative). I've been looking into the Toren, Dikkers & Thijs Fenice, Seven Bridges, Pulitzer.... unfortunately it doesn't seem easy to accommodate a family of four in the cozier hotels, connecting rooms are not common... do I need a/c?

Any advice would be SO appreciated!

monb

I'm the big air conditioning at any cost no matter the time of year guy but i have to admit the place I routinely stay in A-Dam and will again at the end of June doesn't have it and I've never felt the need for it..to include stays in the middle of August!
I think you could probably get by without it in June although I always prefer it since to me, it adds invaluable "charm" to any hotel room.

In terms of lively enough fun around the hotel...realize of course that your kids may end up enjoying riding the trams from your hotel to the places with all that lively fun in case it isn't quite close by.

Enjoy your stay.

monb -

Perhaps you might want to consider looking for a hotel in the Vondel Park area, where your kids would have access to the park, so they can run around and "be kids." Peace.

Robyn

My kids aren't really "park' kids unless they have their dog with them, we're really city folk -

The Marriott Hotel is a good place to stay in Amsterdam. It is located at the Leidseplein. It's right in the city but at the same time, you'll get the peace and quiet at night for you to sleep.

It's right in the middle of the nicer part of the city. You can reach all the other parts of the city and the tourist attractions by walking or taking the tram.

The shopping area is there. Then there's the Vondel Park (like what Artstuff had suggested). and many more. It's a great location and hotel.

Not to barge in on your post or anything, but I am working on the same thing, only in August.

Can anyone recommend something close to the Anne Frank house? I will probably be going to this site by myself while my daughter is napping, so I'd like to be close. THANKS!

For August, try the Ambassade. It came highly recommended from several sources and is reasonably priced. Unfortunately for us it doesn't work because I need more room, but if you are traveling with just one little one it may work.

Any ideas for me for July?

Maes B&B is near the Anne Frank house and has some apartments they rent that are good for families. We will be staying there in August - they get excellent reviews on tripadvisor.com

We stayed in the Estherea Hotel in a quad room, large room with a double or queen bed, I can't remember which, and a king sized murphy bed. It was a very nice hotel, in a good location, near lots of places to eat, the flower market and a short walk to almost anywhere else.

I think parking in the Stadium is easiest. It is a secure lot - you take a ticket and pay on your way back to your car, then present the receipt to get out.
The other advantage of parking here is you can just follow the signs to the stadium (look for the soccer ball).

sorry, wrong thread of course...

A note on the Estherea -
I stayed there very recently (March 2004) and had a so-so experience due to the VERY heavy-duty re-modeling work being done to the hotel currently. The drilling/demolition phase may be over for all I know, but I'd give it a pass for a few months.

I would go for an apartment. Even kids with a mature attitude would be sick of being on "best" behavior in a hotel setting at the end of a long trip.

The Pulitzer seemed geared more towards business travelers, but if you can afford it, go for it.

Look carefully at the reviews of Dikkers & Thijs before you consider this property. It doesn't seem to get good reviews on any of the travel boards.

The Maes B&B looks great! I have emailed them. Thanks for the rec!

: )

I've just returned from my A'dam visit, and stayed near the Anne Frank Haus @ the Hotel Weichmann. (It's appr 6 or so blocks south, on the Prisengracht.) The location, on a scale of 1-10, was a 20!
The hotel was pretty good. Great value for the money. Terrific breakfasts. Clean. The beds were OK (not perfect, not bad); the bathrooms were small and towels thin (but also, fine). I would stay there again.

Thank you everyone for your help and advice. I've bagged my previous choices, am branching out. Someone suggested an apartment - can anyone suggest a reliable 'broker'? Also, someone in another thread referred to the Hotel Washington having an apartment, but when I searched for the Washington I couldn't find it, does it still exist?

Monb,

I just returned last week from Amsterdam and stayed in a fabulous apartment attached to the Renassiance Amsterdam, which is part of the Marriot chain. They own several buildings right next to the hotel and rent out the apartments.

Our apartment had two bedrooms, living room, kitchen and a bathroom...all for about $130 euros a night. The location was great....just a few blocks from Centraal Station, about 2 blocks west of Damrak st.

One of the things I really liked was that we could use the amenities of the hotel (concierge, business center etc), but we were still in an apartment.

Have a good trip wherever you stay!

Margy

Did you get the apartment through Marriott? How did you book it?