Visit Amsterdam

Hello, dear friends!

Unfortunately, my sister and her husband have to put off their visit to Amsterdam due to some family reasons. I am terribly upset by their decision, as I was looking forward to seeing them. Anyway, I think I should continue describing Amsterdam hotels in other to find the best accommodation option for them when they eventually come here. I just hope that will happen soon.

The next cheap Amsterdam hotel described by Marbee is Hotel City Garden in Amsterdam, which is not very big in comparison to other Amsterdam hotels, but very cosy and nice. Her friend stayed in this hotel during his first visit to Amsterdam, Hotel City Garden Amsterdam it wasn’t within walking distance from the Main train station but was easily accessible by the trams and buses. This affordable Amsterdam hotel is situated right next to Vondel Park, and the museum district is at its doorsteps. Great location, I suppose. It is not right in the centre but still very close to everything. If you regard a hotel as only a place to have a good night’s sleep, take a shower and enjoy your breakfast in the morning because you’re going to be exploring Amsterdam’s sights all day or night long, and if you do not need (or don’t want to pay for) all the extra facilities that expensive luxury hotels offer (sauna, fitness center, spa, childcare, etc., which are only useful if you plan to hang out at the hotel), then Hotel City Garden Amsterdam is a great place to settle when in Amsterdam. Booking ahead is still a wise decision. On-line reservation is available.

To be continued…

Hi, friends!

The information about the following Amsterdam hotel was received from Marbee. She liked the idea of describing budget Amsterdam hotels for my sister and friends who are going to come to the capital. She was glad to share information and facts about some Amsterdam hotels. These are hotels where her relatives, friends or acquaintances stayed when in Amsterdam. Thank you, Marbee! And here is the first hotel described by Marbee.

Hotel Artemis Amsterdam is a 4-star Amsterdam hotel located a little farther away from the hustle and bustle of the Amsterdam’s city center, so guests can enjoy quiet nights; the exact address of the Hotel Artemis Amsterdam is John M. Keynesplein 2. The city center is about a 15-20 walk away from the hotel. If you don’t like walking and prefer public transport you can just jump on a tram around the corner from the hotel. As I have already said somewhere in the previous posts, taxis in Amsterdam are exorbitantly priced, prices there are much greater than they should be. So, beware of taxi drivers they will rob you blind! Public transport is much cheaper! By the way, central station and airport are reachable by public transport as well.

Marbee’s family friends stayed there when they visited the city for a family occasion - her brother was getting married. They didn’t have any problems with checking in because they had booked the room in advance choosing from superior, executive and business classifications. The room they got was great for the price they paid, which wasn’t much in comparison to other hotels of the same star rating.

Sorry, I will continue later. Bye!

Hello!

Well, today I am going to tell you about our walking tour of Amsterdam. To tell the truth, that wasn’t really a “walking tour”, because we were able to see just one Amsterdam’s sight - Rijksmuseum. Of course, I had grater plans, but I just couldn’t imagine how much there was to see, we spent 2 hours in this gigantic art museum, but couldn’t view even a third of the museums richest art collection. You need a few days to explore the whole museum. Marbee said that the main building of the Rijksmuseum was closed for construction, so only the already renovated Philips Wing was open for visitors, but much of the museum’s art collection was being displayed there: masterpieces of Ruysdael, Vermeer, Hals, and, of course, Rembrandt. I am interested in arts, but I don’t really know much about it, in other words, I am a dilettante. Marbee knew even less than me, so we had to spend some money on renting an audio tour of the museum. I felt like a real tourist! From those unknown masterpieces I was impressed by Vermeer’s “The Drunken Pair” and “Woman at her Toilet”.

The decorative arts galleries were a little less-crowded than the rest of the museum. There were fine collections of Dutch ceramics, furniture, crystal, silver and other decorative arts.

We had a great time there and I think we should come back to explore the rest of the museum. We were tired, and here is my advice for all those who would like to explore this particular museum or some other Amsterdam places of interest - be sure to wear comfortable shoes! I will definitely follow this advice next time!

Bye!

Hello!

We, I mean Alex and I, are still sitting at home, we just went out for a short walk today in the afternoon to take the fresh air. I am really tired sitting at home; Jack is on his business trip to Milan, he will be back on Friday and I already miss him very much :((( I am planning to go sightseeing tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, just in order to cheer up a little. Marbee (a friendly young woman living next door, we often chat with her, she is local and she is learning French at the university, she practices in French with me sometimes) agreed to accompany me on my small sightseeing tour. I hope to have a good time.

Now, I am going to revert to the Travel Hotel Amsterdam, a cheap 2-star Amsterdam hotel in the center of the city and close to many places of interest. We stayed in the Travel Hotel in Amsterdam two years ago (that was my first visit to Amsterdam). Jack and I booked a room in this cheap Amsterdam hotel for one night, the next day we were going to depart for another city. Unfortunately, we hadn’t enough time to explore the city.

We compared the rooms offered by the hotel and booked an en-suite double room, with private facilities, which meant that we had a double bed and a private shower and toilet. There were basic rooms (twin, triple and quad) as well with shower and toilet in the corridor. Not my choice! But guests could save some money booking this room type.

I will continue later on, just feel a little bit tired after a day with Alex, I hope he will recover soon! Bye!

Hello, everybody!

I am sitting at home with Alex these days, because he caught a cold somewhere. We reread Harry Potter books with him, play, draw, watch cartoons, sleep and take medicine, poor little boy have to stay at home: he is full of energy in spite of being ill. That’s why I feel exhausted by the end of the day even though I am supposed to be resting at home :(((

OK, and again about cheap Amsterdam hotels for my sister and her husband. By the way, Joanne says that it is very advisable to book Amsterdam hotels in advance in order not to have any troubles with checking in. So, keep that in mind.

Travel Hotel Amsterdam is a 2-star Amsterdam hotel for budget travelers. This cheap hotel is situated right in the middle of the city center, not far from the Central Station, indeed, it will take you just a few minutes to get from the Central Station to the Travel Hotel Amsterdam. Moreover, the hotel is surrounded by city sights for any taste: shopping streets can be found just around the corner (that’s for us, darling! :)))), the Anne Frank House, the Flower Market (Joanne says that it is something amazing and surely a “must-see” place when in Amsterdam, but I haven’t been there yet), the Dam Square, the Royal Palace are also near the Travel Hotel. Stops for public transport are also just across the street from the hotel, so you can easily get to other Amsterdam’s places of interest. You see, that the location of the hotel is ideal for exploring the city, as well as for any other occasion. The Travel Hotel Amsterdam doesn’t own parking lot, but parking spaces are available around the hotel, for some charge, of course.

I should go now, I will continue later.

Hello, everybody!

Caroline, I am very glad that you liked my previous reviews of budget Amsterdam hotels, I hope they will be helpful for you and Barry. Jack sends his best regards to you. It’s a pity we couldn’t see you in Paris as we were planning: Jack had some urgent work and had to travel to Eindhoven for a couple of days. I was really upset and a little bit angry with him :(( Just hope to see you some other day, the sooner the better.

OK. I go on with the reviews of Amsterdam hotels. The next is a 3-star Hotel de Paris Amsterdam (Jack has stayed there last year). It’s just a perfect Amsterdam lodging to explore the city on foot: approximately 5 minutes to the square “Leidseplein” (it is considered to be one of Amsterdam’s liveliest places for nightlife - theatres, cafes, restaurants, cinemas, the casino, and so on. We will definitely find what to do there! I was there once with Chantal during their stay here - fire-eaters amazed me most of all. I would never try doing that myself though!), 10 minutes to “Rembrandtplein”, 20 minutes to the Dam, 25 minutes to Red Light District (you know what it is, don’t you? :))), 30 minutes to the Central Station. So you see Hotel de Paris Amsterdam is within walking distance to almost everything and all at a snails-pace stroll! And I think that the best way to explore the city like Amsterdam is on foot, I guess you would agree with me.

I will continue later, we are going for a walk with Alex now. Bye!

Now, let’s revert to the hotel description started in the previous post. Hotel Seasons Amsterdam, remember.

I have already mentioned that Hotel Seasons is a city center hotel in Amsterdam and here are just a few must-to-see places, or tourists’ favourites, located close to the reviewed hotel: the Heineken Brewery ( no.1 place for Barry! :))), the Leidseplein, Waterlooplein and the Rembrandtplein with lots of restaurants, bars and cafes for any taste and budget, the Flea Market, the Museum Square (Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art), and Carre (main theatre).

Caroline, now comes the place, which we should pay special attention to: Albert Cuyp market! It’s just a perfect place for shopping, paradise for shoppers, i.e. for both of us! I am just on tenterhooks waiting our shopping there with you! You will certainly love it! I have already experienced shopping there with Joanne. The product selection amazes: everything from the traditional range of vegetable, fruit, cheese and spices to clothing, bed-sheets, cheap textiles, watches, cleaning products, shoes and even cosmetics. Here you can find almost everything! It is all very cheap compared to the local shops (Joanne says that the prices here are among the cheapest in Amsterdam). I bought a handbag for EUR 8 and a little further away I saw the same for EUR 19! We will definitely have fun shopping there.

Oops! The post is not about the Hotel Seasons Amsterdam, but the shopping. Sorry :)) I promise to continue about the hotel later.