Am thinking about bidding for a 4* on Priceline. Moevenpick and NH Centre are the ones that tend to come up most frequently for bidders -- at an unbelievable 75 USD!

Note: it is NH Centre, not City Centre (which is 3*) that is in play right now.

Is the location of the Moevenpick on the pier a plus or a minus?

Thoughts about either would help me make my decision on whether to go this Priceline route or not. Thanks!

We stayed at the Moevenpick in the summer of 2007 and enjoyed it very much.

It was my 4th time in Amsterdam and my wife's second. She picked the hotel and I was prepared to not like it mostly due to it's location. But it was fine.

Mind you, getting a free upgrade to a suite probably clouds my thinking! ;^)

If you have a look at Google Maps you'll see that the 2 hotels are almost equidistant from Dam Square. So in many ways the Moevenpick is not that remote.
And it's only about a 10 minute walk into the centre. I ended up enjoying figuring out how to take different routes to and from the hotels.

There's a free shuttle bus that will take you to Centraal Station, a tram stop out front plus there's a canal tour boat stop right next door.

So go ahead and bid on Priceline... whichever of the 2 hotels you get you can't lose...

Rob

Thank you, PA!

Last June I bid on a 5* and got the NH Barbizon. It is located right next to the train station. We had a very nice room-no problems. 68€

The stop/go bus runs from very near the Mövenpick which makes getting into or the city or back again if you are tired very easy.
The NH Centre, on the Stdahouderskade, is a little further out from say Dam Square, but is well positioned for the Van Gogh- and Rijks-museums for instance, and also for the Anne Frankhuis.
Either would be good. They are both very modern hotels, but if you only use a Hotel as a place to stay not as part of the whole experienceat that price go for it!

The Movenpick is a bit out of the way, but it really isn't that far and the bus is convenient. I think the hotel is very nice, so that makes up a lot for the lesser location. At the prices you get through Priceline, it is a steal.

We stayed there for 5 nights. I just did NOT care for the location at all. The biggest factor was there were no little stores/shops/restaurants nearby!!!!!!! It was a hike to get to anything. I am the very best of walkers, but after much sightseeing, the walk along the quay seemed endless. There was a marathon the weekend we were there nad the tram was not running it's normal route. After eating and drinking a few beers, this was not fun ar all. The hotel was fine and service was good. IMO, try the NH...if you can get it. I wrote ro Priceline and made a big deal about the location, but they could crare less

Thanks, all. I am still hesitant about both Priceline (no changes, cancellations, etc.) and the Moevenpick. I think my new strategy will be to book my room at a hotel at their normal rate (And one I can live with) and see wha=ich hotels are in play closer to my trip in May. (Everyone was getting the NH Carlton two months ago.) I'll start a new thread about those choices...again, thanks very much for your input!