Visit Amsterdam

I decided to devote this post to one unusual and ultra modern luxury Amsterdam Airport Hotel named Yotel, which was opened not long ago in the airport of Amsterdam Schiphol. It is built in a modernist style and consists of 55 rooms in first-class airplane cabin style. I was utterly amazed having heard of this futuresque Amsterdam Aiport Hotel.

I must mention from the very beginning that extremely wonderful conditions and a good service are offered at rather moderate prices. Well, it may be convenient not only for tourists but also for business-visitors.

As I began the topic from the description of the Amsterdam hotel which is right at Amsterdam’s airport, then I will tell you some more about traits of airport itself so that you’ll better know the place that you will start (or probably already have started) your acquaintance with this wonderful city.

When arriving at the airport, especially for the first time, and talking to the officers at passport control try not to stress the issue of coffee-shops, magic mushrooms etc., especially if experiencing all those ‘pleasures’ is not the direct and the only purpose of your visit. Although this kind of stuff is legal there, it is not encouraged. Amsterdam has a lot to see, anyway.

And, traditionally, some tips:
You can also rent a mobile phone at the airport Schiphol and use the service of special office which helps tourists in different occasions in Amsterdam, especially in the language issue, but, of course, it should be paid for.

Hello!

The next hotel in Amsterdam I am going to describe is Hotel Seasons Amsterdam, where some friends of mine from France (Pierre with Chantal and Leroy with Lucy) stayed for three nights. I remember they were quite satisfied with the friendliness of the hotel staff and the services provided by this 3- star hotel in the center of Amsterdam. I asked them for some details of their stay and got Chantal’s reply e-mail today.

At first, they were attracted by the hotel’s convenient location in the heart of Amsterdam. And, as the purpose of their visit was to get acquainted with the city and the local sights (and seeing me ), city center Amsterdam hotel was the best choice to settle. They didn’t have any information about this hotel (Chantal jokes that she decided to choose it because she just liked the name), they just hoped for the best. They arrived with a train to Amsterdam Central Station, consulted in the Tourist Office what is the best way to reach Hotel Seasons Amsterdam, and then had a 15-minute tram ride to the hotel. The nearest stop was the ‘Stadhouderskade’, and the hotel was just in a 2-minute walk. Thus, the hotel is within easy reach from Amsterdam Central Station by public transport – you needn’t waste your money on a taxi, believe me, there are better things to spend your money on when in Amsterdam.
I will continue later about the hotel.

Mom and Dad, I am fine here, don’t worry. I miss you too, and we are going to come and see you at the end of the month (Jack will take a couple of days off). Check your e-mail box, I have sent a message for you. See you soon!

Hello!
I have recovered at last! Many thanks to Joanne’s mixture of herbs, which she boiled somehow and made me drink twice a day: it was quite bitter, but very efficient, so there is no cough any more.

Now, let me continue my own overview of the budget Amsterdam Hotel Linda. As I have already written, it is situated right in the heart of the city. The “Museumplein” is very close to the hotel, thus it won’t take you long to get to the famous “Van Gogh Museum”, the “Rijksmuseum” and the “Stedelijk Museum”. “Museum Van Loon” and “Museum Willet-Holthuysen” are also situated nearby. I think Hotel Linda Amsterdam is a good place to stay for museum fans: so many of them are within easy reach.

The building of the hotel seems to be recently restored, it looks very impressive. There are 5 floors and 32 rooms in the hotel. Guests can check in from 14.00, and check out before 11 o’clock. There are double rooms, triple rooms, quad rooms, and even bigger rooms for up to 6 people: perfect for families or for a cosy little gathering of close friends. All apartments are equipped with internet access and services, colour TV, telephone and private bathroom with shower. Continental breakfast is included in the room price, but the hotel hasn’t got any restaurants. Daniel says that there are very many good restaurants and bars nearby, so that’s not a problem at all. By the way, leave your pets at home as they are not allowed (good news for cat or dog allergic individuals – Barry will appreciate the fact). Te address of the hotel is Stadhouderskade 131, Amsterdam.

That’s all I have found out about this city center hotel in Amsterdam by now. In case I have any other information, I will let you know.

With every visit to Amsterdam I got more and more convinced of the fact that people here are divided into two groups: Dutchmen and tourists. By ‘Dutchmen’ I mean the citizens of the Netherlands, regardless of color and religion. While a tourist is an “investor” of his/her money into the local economy for the country’s prosperity, and get a proper – although polite and kind – cold attention.

But it was only a digression, and now I will revert to the hotel issue. As I have written in the previous post, find a hotel to stay at beforehand.

When my first visit I and my colleague spent much time searching of the vacant room. There were vacant Amsterdam Hotels in the Red Lights District (just don’t anybody laugh!) but all options were rejected because… like… using polite language, it was slightly less clean than we were ready to accept. That’s why we went on wandering over the streets and could not rent a room even with overpayment. At last we nearly gave up when in a quiet side street we found one hotel with a vacant room: Hotel Trianon Amsterdam.

We were so tired that such things as radio, TV and direct phone line did not matter much to us, but we appreciated bath and shower. However, we enjoyed those facilities the following week, together with daily breakfast in the lunchroom, restaurant and bar.

Moreover Hotel Trianon Amsterdam has very convenient location in the best shopping district of Amsterdam and near the Concert Hall (Concertgebouw) and museums like Rijksmuseum (Rembrandt’s art), Van Gogh and Stedelijk (the museum of modern arts). It is also important that it takes only 30 minutes to get to the Schiphol airport and Central railway station by tram or taxi from the hotel.

Then I can advise you to walk over the historic centre and to visit different museums. There is a concert hall Concertgebouw near a very unusual place, the museums of brilliants. Concertgebouw is a beautiful place of festivals, where 45 names of famous composers are stamped on the balconies walls.

The main thing I like Amsterdam for is entertainment at any taste: you can splash out all your energy in the 24-hour discos after sightseeing.

Hello!
I feel much better now, coughing a little, but I’m taking cough syrup, so I hope to recover soon.

My sister with her husband decided to spend their spring vacation here in Amsterdam with me. They asked me to help them to find an appropriate, inexpensive, but comfortable and cozy hotel in Amsterdam to settle there for a couple of weeks. I’m going to ask my friends here in Amsterdam, husband’s sister – Joanne and her husband – Daniel (they are locals), for any information about local hotels. I’m planning to make my own research as well. I hope that this overview will help all our friends and relatives who are going to visit Amsterdam (whether to see us, to see the sights or for some other reasons), anyway, additional information at first hand would be a plus.

When I questioned Joanne about budget hotels in Amsterdam, somewhere in the center of the city, the first hotel she thought about was Hotel Linda Amsterdam. A good friend of hers stayed there once and spoke well of the provided services and friendly staff.

Here is some more information I discovered about Hotel Linda Amsterdam. The hotel is comfortably situated on the side of the city center, close to the Leidseplein and the Rai convention centre. The Heineken Brewery (I know Barry’s passion for beer ))) and the popular market the Albert Cuypmarkt are within walking distance. Several museums can be found nearby as well (The ‘Museumplein’ if I’m not mistaken). The address of Hotel Linda in Amsterdam is: Stadhouderskade 131, Amsterdam.
That is all I know about this hotel by now, but I’m going to search for additional information as soon as I feel better.

Bye!