Can anyone recommend one from experience? We will be spending 8 days in Amsterdam and would like to spend a few days in a smaller town. Any suggestions appreciated.

Huis Koenig is a truly delightful B and B in Bruges but reserving one of its 3 rooms must be done months in advance.

ooops... b b huis koning

huiskonig.be

Martin's Relais is over rated.

We went to Bruges in 2011 and stayed here: http://www.hotelpatritius.be/index.asp

We really liked this hotel. The people were very friendly, the room was spacious, and the included breakfast was excellent. When my daughter returned to Bruges last year with her husband, she chose to stay there again and had another good experience.

I loved the Hotel Adornes in Bruges.

over the last decades, either my wife and I or our children and grandchildren have stayed at the <b>Egmond Hotel</b>...
loved it. It's out of the hustle and bustle and the canals, standing on its own acres in the heart of the Minnewater, with its beautiful gardens. ample parking, walk to RR station and only ten pleasant minutes from the Gros Markt in the middle of Brugge. Spacious rooms and gracious staff, outstanding full breakfast, and fair rates. I don't think we ever paid more than $150 USD (w/bkfst).

Note Brugge and the Hotel Egmond
https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...russelsAntwerp

Why not try somewhere else in the Netherlands? Haarlem is very close to Amsterdam, and the Netherlands is so much more than that little area.

http://www.botbedbreakfast.com/

I have stayed a few times here and it is a gem - right in central Haarlem - run by brother and sister who live here too - If wanting to tour around Holland a few day take some days away from Amsterdam and stay in Haarlem which has great train links to all of The Netherlands- I stay here sometimes and day trip into Amsterdam - a very quiet area on a lovely canal- unlimited buffet breakfast and can use the common kitchen to cook for yourselves and save tons of money.

Haarlem may be near Amsterdam but it is light years away from it in many ways - a typical bustling regional town - take day trips from it to many not far away neat places.

Bruges is neat but it is 3.5 hours by train each way - but a base there can let you do easy day trips to places like Gent, Antwerp and the North Sea resort towns.

Thank you for all the good suggestions.

We have about 8 days to spend outside of Amsterdam. We would prefer a small city with museums, music, etc and/or easy day trips. Any suggestions other than Haarlem? We liked the descriptions of Haarlem but are open to other suggestions.
Thanks.

We loved the Grand Casselbergh hotel in Bruges when we stayed there a few years ago and would stay there again in a heartbeat. Beautiful hotel, great location and not exorbitant (I think we paid 128 euros for enormous room plus breakfast). We found that there was plenty to do and see in Bruges and stayed there for 3 nights, never even training to Ghent as we'd planned. Of course with today's tragic news in Brussels you may be rethinking your plans (I wouldn't)- but you could easily spend 5 days or more in Belgium- a beautiful country.
I also love Haarlem, although we did it as a day trip from Amsterdam. I think it would be charming for a couple of nights. You can also do day trips to Delft and The Hague. We traveled easily by train throughout. Don't miss the Frans Hals museum in Haarlem and the Mauritshuis in The Hague: both are jewel boxes.

<i> BnB or Small Hotel in Haarlem and/or Bruges?
Posted by: cindyjo on Mar 22, 16 at 12:03pm</i>

I second PalenQ's Haarlem suggestion. I stayed there for 5 weeks last summer. I stayed at the B&B Paula on the west side, about two miles from the city center, and bicycled galore.

»a small city with museums, music, etc and/or easy day trips«
Haarlem is more an - attractive - alternative for staying in Amsterdam than a second base.
Have a look in the east. Zwolle fits most of your criteria. It has an impressive history, and is a good base for nearby small riverside cities like Kampen, Deventer and Zutphen, and for some daytrips in the countryside, with a nice collection of castle-countryhouses.

My wife and I went to Belgium and the Netherlands last year. Outside of Amsterdam, our favorite city was Antwerp. Bruges was nice, but just didn't have as much to see and explore as Antwerp. We also went to Ghent - and a day and half was sufficient there.

If going to Bruges and around Belgium and Holland you may want to look into the Benelux Railpass, valid in Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg - hop on any train except the Thalys trains anytime - but you would have to be taking some fairly long rides like Amsterdam to Bruges.

Stayed twice at Cote Canal in Bruges: http://www.bruges-bedandbreakfast.be Caroline, the owner is absolutely wonderful, and a wealth of knowledge about the area.

Haven't been to Antwerp, but we did spend 4 nights in Ghent in 2010. We stayed at de Waterzooi B&B http://www.dewaterzooi.be/en and that was the best place I've ever stayed at in all my travels. It is right across from Gravensteen castle and the view is fabulous. highly recommend it. And breakfast? Amazing also