My Grandmother has decided at the last minute to go to the Netherlands in July to watch my cousin play in a soccer competition. The competition is centered around Haarlem. Any advice on hotels in this city or a place close enough for her to take a train each day (not too many transfers) would be GREATLY appreciated!!! Thanks. <BR> <BR>P.S. I have tried the search engines and they only list 3 hotels in Haarlem.

Can't help you with hotels, but Haarlem is a delightful place, and you will enjoy it.

Hi, Lily, <BR>Haarlem is essentially a close-in suburb of Amsterdam. (Okay, "suburb" sounds demeaning. It's a wonderful, historic, etc. etc. town which happens to be real close to Amsterdam.) Lots of quick trains daily, no changes. Expand your search to Amsterdam and you'll be fine.

THANK YOU John!!! I really did not know how close the 2 towns are. This really helps.

Amsterdam's Centraal Station is about 25 minutes from Haarlem. Trains run every few minutes between the two cities.

We stayed at the Amadeus a couple years ago and enjoyed it, though I believe another poster found it poorly maintained. I don't know when they went. The room was not huge, but it was adequate (who spends time in their hotel room?). The bathroom was also small, but adequate. In May we are staying at the Joops, which I believe is part hotel and part system of rooms around the city center. We will also stay (on another leg) at the Amadeus' next door B&B, L'anders. We could not stay at the Amadeus this year b/c Rick Steves' group has filled it up. I think that is a positive endorsement. I plan on posting a trip summary upon my return. Joops and Amadeus are recommended by Rick Steves. We found Haarlem to be a wonderful base for Amsterdam, plus it has its own charm. After a day in the glitz and glow that haunts parts of Ad'm Haarlem is a nice place to stay. It has a beautiful town square (Grote Markt) and church (St. Bavo's or Grote Kerk). One of the more special squares I have seen. We plan to spend more time exploring Haarlem this time, and I should have more upon my return. Please note that the square is approx. a 10-15 minute walk from the train station, and the hotels I have mentioned are near the square.

I've found these so far in searches: <BR> <BR>Carlton Square Hotel <BR>Golden Tulip Lion D'Or <BR>Hotel Amadeus <BR>Hotel Carillon <BR>Hotel Joops <BR> <BR>...plus a couple of bed & breakfasts at the Rick Steves site: <BR> <BR>http://www.ricksteves.com/haarbd.htm <BR>http://www.leisurehunt.com/hierarchy...gions/Haarlem/ <BR>

The Telephone number of the official tourist information centre in Haarlem is +31 900 616 16 00. It is a relatively big city, so you must be able to find more hotels. <BR>Have you thought about staying in Haarlem, which is a beautiful old city near the beach and indeed near Amsterdam, and visiting Adam and everything else you want to see from there? I would recommend to stay in Haarlem instead of Adam, it is quieter than Adam and you can get almost everywhere else within 1 hour (like the Hague, Leiden, Utrecht, Adam, the beach).