beanie0300

The location of this hotel was great; we could walk to several attractions including A. Frank house and Beginhof, but the service was ABOMINABLE. It became a game to see what if anything the maid did when she came to our room. We couldn't tell. She didnt replace items we'd used including glasses. She didnt make the beds; didn't sweep the floor (which had no carpet) etc etc.

The front desk service was just as bad - rude. These people have no time for their guests (which may explain why an italian couple was screaming at them on our last day, saying 'this is no way to treat your guests!).

When I asked for extra blankets (bc our room was cold despite the heat being on max) I was told to turn my heat on. They acted like I was asking for the moon. When we attempted to ask for info on the airport shuttle at the front desk, the man literally said 'excuse me,' waived us off and walked away.

(And the shuttle, supposed to come at set times, never came. We had to take a taxi with another couple. I had to DEMAND my money back from the hotel for the shuttle cost - 22 euros - just as the taxi was pulling up to the door). We had no probs taking it FROM the airport however.

Otherwise we had a great time. Weather was amazing (58 degrees and sunny until 6pm the night before we left) though at night it was cold. I wore a turtleneck, zip hoodie and wool double breasted pcoat and was still a bit chilly.

We walked most everywhere, took a couple of trams and the canalbus. I'll just list what we did and saw and if anyone has questions feel free to ask (we were there 6 nights and did ALOT):

1st day bus and boat tour (3 hrs) bc we were too tired to walk around; the canal boat tour in the sun felt great; a. frank house at 7pm that night (in the daytime there was always a line). I found it disappointing and the least interesting thing I saw.

2nd day flower market, beginhof, rembrantsplein, keukenhoff (stayed for 2hrs IMO that's enough time); 2 hr walking tour of red light district at night (this was great, highly recommend. A former prostitute explained the system).

3rd day Brussels (went by bus, with a stop in Antwerp).

4th day explored the Jordaan (including 3 hoffies); wanted to see the Old Church but it was closed that day so we explored the red light district again since it was daylight, went in a couple sex shops; Willet-Holthusen museum (a good way to see inside an expensive Golden Bend canal house and not crowded at all. You can do this in an hr); 1 hr canal cruise at night (beautiful but chilly)

5th day Van Gogh museum (a naked woman came out of the wall and proceeded to lie down with several blow-up dolls). She was a swedish performance artist. This was in the newer annex next door to the main museum. Know before you go that only 2 floors have V.G.'s paintings. There are 4 floors plus the annex; Rembrandt House.

6th day - Old Church (they had the world press photo exhibit, which I'm glad I got to see); bus trip to Delft and the Hague.

7th day - major issues with the shuttle but managed to make our flight.

My only complaint is the smoke in restaurants. We did pretty well eating at odd times or eating inside if everyone was outside, etc., but a couple of times we had to ask for to-go boxes and leave in the middle of the meal, eating it outside or takng it back to our hotel. Overall I maybe had 2 meals I'd actually consider good.







Also as a side note, I used a 2004 edition of Frommers Irreverent Amsterdam and discovered on several occassions that the info was incorrect. For example:

It said the Western Churh tower was closed in April; it was open

It said the Old Church had a tower you could climb; that tower hasn't been climbable for 15 years

It said the museum boat stops every half hr and you can buy tix from the boatman; it stopped every hr and you could not get tix onboard

These are just a few examples. I realize things can change but to say a church tower is climbable that has been closed for 15 years is a big error and it was quite frustrating.

yk

Hi beanie-

Thanks for your report. I will be in Amsterdam next month. Here are a few questions for you:

Was it a bus tour you took to Delft & The Hague?

Would you mind listing the 2 restaurants where you had a good meal?

Thanks for mentioning the World Press Photo exhibition. I will be in London a few days prior and there's a World Press Photo exhibit there too, which I'm planning on going.

beanie0300

Yes we took a bus tour to delft/hague and also to Brussels. I prefer them to the hassle of figuring out what train to take and walking from the train station to the center of town. We were tired lol. We wanted to just get picked up from our hotel and sit on a bus and be done with it. I realize this isn't for everyone but I saw a lot. We also had time in Antwerp.

We used Key tours, Lindberg and Best of Holland (the latter 2 are part of the same company). Alas you dont have a lot of options. We found Lindbergh to be the worst. Their bus (even after I confirmed the pickup at our hotel) went right by us w/out stopping and when I called them I was told to take a cab and 'hurry' to their office or I'd miss the tour.

Luckily our hotel was close to Damrak where they are located. They had told us they'd reimburse for the cab fare but it was a hassle getting it out of them. I would say overall keytours was more professoinal but they're also more expensive.

I had good meals at our hotel restaurant at NH City Center and at Cafe Luxembourg, just down from our hotel on Spuistraat. They have a great selection - I loved their salmon burger for dinner and tuna salad on foccacia for lunch. Go at off hours to avoid smoke. There is also an open terrace area and the area at the back has a view of Singel canal.

There is also a greek takeout spot near the hotel on Spui, sorry forgot the name, but we got good spinach pies, hummus, greek yogurt etc there and ate in our hotel. It's very small but they do also have a couple of tables if you want to eat in. Enjoy your trip!

TracyB

Hi I have enclosed my post from last week when we arrived back from Amsterdam..I have some good recommendations of restaurants and other things..By the way I have stayed at the NH City Centre a few times, and it is not the friendliest hotel, but the location is great and if you are lucky enough to get one of the huge canal view rooms on the first floor with 2 bathrooms, you forget all about the unfriendly staff!!
Here is my report:

Just arrived back from London and Amsterdam. It was a nice trip. Weather very cool though. Fortunately it did not pour rain.
We have been to Amsterdam several times before and London once before, but this time kept closer track of where we ate, and even did some things we did not do before..
In London,we visited some people that we met in India in 2004..They picked us up from the airport and we did the London Eye and the Thames River Cruise..It was very nice..We walked from there to Covent Garden and eventually ended up at Chinatown for supper (The Lido, average Chinese food)and from there to a Pub until we were so tired we could not see anymore! The next morning we went to Milton Keynes (a city outside of London) to visit other people and watched the DVD of our India tour..We drove through the countryside and had lunch at a little Inn..We basically did the non-touristy thing..We were treated wonderfully, found the British people to be so friendly...
In Amsterdam we stayed at the Hotel Agora..Nice small hotel on the Singel Canal down the street from the flower market. Nice location but a little noisy at times. Had a canal view room. Staff very friendly, breakfast the same everyday (boiled egg, cereal, breads, lunch meats and cheese)..
Did a bike tour through the Dutch countryside with all of the lovely tulips, it was breathtaking (letsgo-amsterdam.com)..I highly recommend one of these tours..Sore butt, but it was worth it.
Some of the restaurants we ate at..(around 20 Euro including a beer)..Thaise Snack Bar Bird, Zeedijk 77 (excellent Thai food, i can still taste it)..Small restaurant, very few tables..Nam Kee, Zeedijk 111-113..Excellent cantonese food with the best service in Amsterdam (and I am not kidding). Asian Fusion Restaurant (Eat Mode, Zeedijk 105)Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese and Thai, not bad, but I liked the other's restuarants better..You order and pay first at the counter and then they serve..

For our night out, we choose Indian..The Taj Mahal (Marie Heinekenplein 1)..Absolutely excellent, very spicy..Excellent Chana Masala and the best garlic naan I have ever eaten..45 Euro including beer and rice pudding..Yum, will go back there next time.
Ate at several small places, but the only one I will mention in Maoz Falafel (all over Amsterdam)Very good falafel's, I did't jot down the price, but they are always full of tourists, so they must be good!!
Also ate several fries and mayo, herring, shrimp brodjes, etc, etc...It was a great eating experience..Lastly, we ate at Los Pilones..Kerkstraat 63..(31 Euro including beer)..Great guacamole and nice atmosphere..
Did the Heineken experience tour..Great fun..10 Euro per person and you get three beer each that you get to drink at a few spots while you tour around and also a free gift (i will not tell)..Really enjoyed it and the Taj Mahal Restuarant was right behind!!
That is all for now..It is very expensive in Amsterdam, bring lots of money, warm clothes, the best walking shoes you have...Oh yes, and London is even more expensive!!

Dreamer2

"a naked woman came out of the wall and proceeded to lie down with several blow-up dolls"

LOL!!!!! Did she do anything once prone? How did she exit? Too funny.

Thanks for sharing your interesting report. Good tips and details! Glad you had a great time.

beanie0300

Nope once prone she just lay there perfectly still with the dolls. I later read her 'art' was to make a commentary on society's discomfort with nakedness (which I didn't think they have in Amsterdam) but it was great - a quintessential Amsterdam experience.

"If you are lucky enough to get one of the huge canal view rooms on the first floor with 2 bathrooms"

Well I wouldn't know. Though I was told at check-in they'd change our room if we didnt like it, when I actually asked for a larger room, I was told that there was nothing larger that was non-smoking w/ 2 beds. Apparently having 2 beds and a non smoking room are so rare and precious there is little choice (yeah right).

I actually kind of liked our view. We could see a tiny part of the canal, and were facing the back of several shorter, I think they were, houses? Anyway we could see the rooftops and the people in the houses at night and it was very quaint and beautiful and sunset, but I still can't recommend his hotel.

Patrick

There's nothing quite like a good puzzle or game and this is a classic example. It's so fun to see a post about "THIS" city without ever mentioning what city "THIS" city is. For those of us who have been to Amsterdam, once we start reading we can figure it out. But to those who haven't, it is such a tease. They might want to go, but wouldn't even have a clue what country this "unknown" city might be in.

It only took me about half the post to figure it out -- "canalbus" and "a. frank house" were the give aways.

beanie0300

Because the fact that it was listed under Netherlands was no help, eh? See, that's why this sight breaks posts up into categories by country. They're clever that way.

Why are so many people on this board so - well for lack of a better phrase, you couldn't pull a needle out of their posteriors with a semi truck.

Life is short...surely you have something better to do with your time that spend it critiquing posts on a message board. Perhaps not.

Michel_Paris

Hi Beanie,

Good report. By the way....there is no Netherlands section of the board, just Europe.

mjsilver

"Because the fact that it was listed under Netherlands was no help, eh? See, that's why this sight breaks posts up into categories by country. They're clever that way."

Actually, the Fodors website doesn't break posts up into categories by company. At least, it only does if you select the country first before reading the posts. But if, like most readers you don't do that, then there are no country categories visible.

I've seen other people being misled like this -- it's Fodors fault, really.

mjsilver

Sorry, in my last post, I meant "categories by country" of course! Finger trouble....

suze

beanie, thanks for taking the time to give us a great trip report.

But yes, as others have clarified once you post everything is just dumped onto the Europe board, so we only have the title of your post to guess where you have been.

Patrick

Beanie, it is extremely sad that you have to resort to being nasty and upset when YOU are the one who doesn't understand how this site works. I was not rude to you, but trying to cleverly and I thought humorously help you to understand that when a person comes to the Europe board and goes through the messages, he or she has no way of knowing what country was clicked for a later search aid.

It is also unfortunate that some people are so sensitive they can't take a simple suggestion of how to improve things to make the board better for all concerned.

I will forgive you for being totally nasty and rude to me, if you will forgive me for trying just to be helpful. In the future I will TRY to remember your name as one of those people who pretends to know things and resents any comments of help or any suggestions. But I apologize in advance if I forget your name and try to help in the future.

suesnothome

Please explain.... what is NH City?

Thanks

beanie0300

Patrick your original post was rude and condescending. If that's how you attempt to 'help' people I'm sure I'm not the first to react as I did to you.

And yes I'm aware that all posts get jumbled in the Europe section, but I can't believe most people just go to that section. Why on earth would anyone do this if you know which country in Europe you want to visit?! Hmm, I want info on Italy so I'll just go to 'Europe' and weed through hundreds of posts about all the other countries. Odd. What a waste of time.

Scarlett

I always just go to the Europe boards, I have never used that search section..
Even so, to spend so much time writing out such a long report, you really need to put the city name in the title.
Very funny about the naked woman ( is that just So like Amsterdam?)

As to how you reacted to Patrick, no you are not the first person to react in a rude way, to someone giving advice on posting ..

Travelnut

Hi, beanie...there are lots of readers who like to see the various posts, and have wider interests than one particular country. That's why many folks just open the Europe forum and start scanning posts.

yk

beanie-

Actually, I think the majority of posters here just go to the Europe board, not individual countries. The only few times I pick a specific country is when I do a search. Most Fodorites here have been to more than 1 European country, so we just scroll through ALL the posts on the Europe board.

suesnothome-
NH City, I believe, is the name of the hotel in Amsterdam that beanie stayed.

Nikki

beanie, if people are searching for specific information they are likely to do a search using the countries they want to visit. If they are just reading through the message board for interesting posts, they are more likely to ignore the search function and read the most recent Europe posts. Not everyone visits this forum to plan specific trips; many are here for the entertainment value and to read and respond to posts about places they have visited; and the longer one spends reading this message board, the more places that seems to encompass.

Patrick

Beanie, I'm sorry you felt my original post was rude and condescending. IT WAS NOT MEANT TO BE. This is a no win situation. When someone posts "please next time list a country" then they are still accused of being rude and condescending. I know because it happens to me. I felt posting this helpful suggestion this way added a slight bit of humor at no one's expense (except for someone who is so sensitive they'd get upset if someone offered them any helpful advice at all -- because they know they are never wrong, as you've clearly indicated of yourself. Even now you won't believe all the posters who explain why people don't know what country you are talking about.)

As you see, I am not the only one who rarely if ever comes here and clicks on a particular country. I have been to most countries in Europe and am always interested in all of them as many of our readers are -- so there's no reason to come here and only click on Netherlands and only read those posts. Of course, some will if and when they are looking for something very specific. As hard as this may be for you to believe, many people visit more than one country on each visit -- so your "Why on earth would anyone do this if you know which country in Europe you want to visit?!" question makes no sense at all -- obviously they would do that because they aren't just visiting one country.

Since several others have agreed with me, I hope you will give up just a shred of your hurt pride and ego and manage to take a suggestion that was meant to be helpful. On the other hand if you choose to keep thinking "what an ass, I don't need to follow those stupid suggestions" then, of course I'll understand. Through the above posts you've clearly revealed your character so now I understand much better. My comment was never been to insult, be rude, or to hurt. I'm sorry you somehow twisted it into being so -- by being rude in return for no reason.

By the way, anyone who reads my first post above as being rude and condescending needs to go to school and learn a little bit about how to read. (Now, that IS condescending but in this case clearly deserved.)