Hotel Sticker Shock
 

We're planning a river cruise next April. It doesn't allow for any time in AMS, other than the day of boarding. We decided to add 3 extra days in AMS before the cruise. (It's not the cruise's extension, which was only 2 days.) I've been browsing through all the posts here about hotels in AMS, and actually visiting the websites of most suggested hotels. I now have sticker shock. :wow:

The combination of the USD's value against the EUR, and the fact that we'll be there during high season, makes for really high hotel costs. I have a couple of places in mind, and I would love your opinions. I'm also open to other suggestions.

• Amsterdam Wiechmann Hotel
• Maison ELLE Amsterdam

While we're there, we want to do the normal "tourist" things:

• Keukenhof Garden
• Rijksmuseum
• Van Gogh Museum
• Anne Frank House
• Our Lord in the Attic Museum
• Maybe a canal boat ride

Are we missing something "major"? I'm open to any/all suggestions.

We also enjoyed visiting Dam Square and the Nine Little Streets area.

Have a great trip!

You'll probably need to buy tickets in advance for the sites you most want to see. Europe is very crowded these days.

I would check the Anne Frank Haus website to see when tickets for April become available. I would add the Jewish History Museum and the historic Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue. I would also add the Stedjuiek Museum which was closed for renovation when I was last in Amsterdam pre-pandemic. Thinking about a river cruise myself for April as although I've been to Amsterdam three times in my life, I've never been during tulip season.

Yes, I know that part. :-)

For April 3, 2026, I believe I can buy them 2/17. My math could be wrong. This Vegas heat is getting to me.

I have not been to either hotel, but I don't see how you could go wrong. The both look lovely and they are both well-situated for what you'd like to see.

The Resistance Museum in Amsterdam is the best I've seen anywhere. Well worth 2-3 hours of your time. I found the Jewish Museum to be very lacking and, frankly, a waste of time. Maybe they've added some exhibits; maybe not.

If hotel prices in Amsterdam are an issue, perhaps consider staying outside of the city in another smaller but equally appealing city. Normally I wouldn't suggest this, but distances in the Netherlands are not vast and there are good train connections into Amsterdam Central Station. Utrecht and Haarlem are under 30 minutes and Leiden, Delft, and Gouda are about 45.

I'm not surprised you have sticker shock. In addition to high tourist tax, currently 12.5% (before btw) the government has increased the btw (VAT) for hotels, hostels, B&Bs, AirBnB, etc to 21%. That is paid over the cost of the overnight stay and the tourist tax.
Add to that the difficulty (and therefore the higher cost) of finding people to work in hospitality, high business property taxes etc etc putting up the cost of an overnight stay and Amsterdam becomes extremely expensive. The Netherlands as a whole is very expensive for hotel stays in my experience.

It may be cheaper to stay in another town but you have to consider the cost of getting into Amsterdam and back daily and the time it takes. Currently €5.20 pp each way from Haarlem for instance, but price will rise before next April, and yes only 15-20 minutes, depending on the train, but you have to get to the station, find the platform, hope the train is on time etc etc.
All major cities and most towns charge a tourist tax, the level varies and can be per accommodation or per person per night. It is always included in the price quoted, as is btw.

Oh and Madam397 it is Anne Frankhuis, we are Dutch, not German. And yes I know she was born in Germany.

Thank you. I don't plan to stay outside the city. I didn't say the hotel costs were prohibitive, they're just higher than I expected. Thank you for explaining why.

Thank you for the suggestion. We'll find a hotel closer to the things we want to see and do. With such a short time in the city, we don't want to waste any of our time traveling to and from the hotel.