What section of city to stay in?
 

Traveling solo to Amsterdam in late Late May. What part of the city should I stay in? The two areas that I'm looking in are Vondel Park/Museum are or the Jordaan. Any other thoughts? I'm trying to keep the hotel to under $130 a night and have found a few options including Toren, Owl and Hotel Vondel. Has anyone been to any of these lately?

My wife and I just came back from Amsterdam. We were very happy with Mae's Bed & Breakfast. Ken & Vlad are wonderful hosts. Great coffee. Its a great location and less then you budgeted. www.xs4all.nl/~maesbb94

Hi.

It may be a bit late to make a booking, but I would suggest the Hotel Fita. It is steps away from the museums in a charming, upscale neighborhood.

www.fita.nl

B.V.

Both the Vondelpark and Jordaan are lovely sections. The southern part of the Jordaan is almost contiguous with the Vondelpark (only the Leidseplein sits between them), so staying in one still gives you easy access to the other.

If you can find a decent place for under $130 in either area, grab it. You can sometimes get a very good rate the the NH Amsterdam City Centre hotel on Stadhouderskade. This is a modern and pleasant hotel, on the edge of the Vondelpark and less than 5 minutes (on foot) from the Jordaan.

Leidseplein (lively) and Vondelpark (quiet) are great nearby neighborhoods to be in for a single traveler. I haven't stayed at the 3 you mentioned but have heard often of the 1st 2. You should be fine at $130... I only paid 57 Euro (but w/ a shared toilet) in a nice 3-star less than two years ago. If you mean this month May, snag a reservation asap, sometimes events, conventions, whatever are in town and the hotels get booked pretty solid on specific dates.

Personally, I will never stay in a hotel again after using CityMundo to rent an apartment. Check them out, they have rooms, apartments, even houseboats, for less than an average hotel. We got a Category 5 (the top)one bedroom apartment in the Centrum next week for about $435 for three nights. And that's the TOP price range.

http://www.citymundo.nl/

Thanks for the help. I have checked out a number of options but as you all know, this is a bit of a last minute trip. I have two real options from which to choose. Hotel Toren at $129 a night or Owl at $110 a night. Both are well within my price range so I'm really looking at what is the best quality in the best location. Any thoughts on the biggest difference btwn the Vondelpark area and the Jordaan? Also any first hand experience with these hotels?

If you haven't booked, try the Bridge Hotel on the Amstel River next to the Carre Theatre. Very quiet location but only a shore walk to Rembrandtsplein and Waterlooplein and Musuems. Price is very good, service is very good and the coffee is great. Check out channels.nl for reviews of this hotel and others. Have a nice trip.

We stayed in Jordaan last month and were so very, very pleased. It is peaceful and beautiful and hip, with shops and restaurants and pubs and little boutiques and close to everything.

I would stay near the Jordaan area. It's a very nice area with great shops and restaurants. Another thing to consider is that you will be out and about most of the time... you'll hardly be in your hotel room!