I'm off to Amsterdam

KaHn · 22 Jun 2006 at 14:43

Otacon said:
Cheers dude

No worries the black is being held 2 weeks on saturday

If they are 4 of you going the marriott does a 4 person room for 150 euro a night which is good if you share between 4, also its in a good location and not that far from Amsterdam Arena

If you do go let me know how it goes I'm looking at going to the black next year.

KaHn

Youstolemyname · 22 Jun 2006 at 14:46

Rotty said:
Amsterdam does not have a huge club/music scene but generally head for the Leidseplein area for what there is , many clubs are very difficult for English folks ( esecially just lads ) to get in to , they will tell you "members only" as you walk up

A good pub for Rock music is the Excalibur in the red light district

I beg to differ mate. Lived in Amsterdam, in Mastricht and in Groningen, for a few years and found the club and music scene to be fantastic. You are right in what you say about 'members only' clubs but there are loads of nightclubs that are happy to accept tourists...if they aren't stumbling around drunk or otherwise intoxicated. The dance scene is great in Amstedam as KaHn and the others have posted, events like Sensation and Dance Valley are amazing.

A cracking rock/live music venue is 'the last watering hole' right at the end of the red light district down an alley just off Warmoestraat.

Here is a part of a post I made last time the question of 'what to do in Amstedam was asked'

Check out what is happening at the Melkweg during your stay. It is an excellent venue that hosts big concerts etc. (www.melkweg.nl). There might be some bands on you like

The Spui area is host to a load of 'brown' style cafe bars. These are a great place to while away a few hours before dinner. Cafe Luxembourg and the big one on the corner (that I can't remember the name of) are good in the Spui area and serve an amazing array of beers.

Just off the Spui is my fave coffeeshop 'De Dampkring'. Good venue that serves beer and other things . Worth a visit just to see the crazy decor of the front of the shop.

The Spui is one of my fave areas in Amsterdam along with the Jordaan. Away from all the hustle and bustle of Centrum and a lot more local. A group of 11 of you may be better sticking to the main drag though as they tend to be more tolerant to huge groups of tourists around there.

Clubbing, I like the Arena club. Just outside of town centre and a bit picky on door policy so don't turn up in crap clothes. There are plenty of clubs in town, best to just get there and pick up some fliers/look out for posters to see what is happening while you are there and finding out if there are any DJ's you want to see.

There are lots of larger clubs around the Rembrantsplein and Leidseplein. It is a bit different to the UK in that nobody really goes out until around midnight. Everyone drinks at home first then hits a club. Like I say, depends what type of clubbing you are after. Arena is a good venue though for more underground dance stuff. Flyers and posters are the key though!

Have fun and stay safe!'

georges · 24 Jun 2006 at 21:39

Sorry to bump it.. but that Sensation White thing has me stunned Anthem 2003 video on their site is amazing.

Will be going in a couple of years with a mate, although she's a late bday so it will be a while. Gap year ^_^

Do the hotels get booked quick then?

Alasdair · 24 Jun 2006 at 21:45

georges said:
Sorry to bump it.. but that Sensation White thing has me stunned Anthem 2003 video on their site is amazing.

Will be going in a couple of years with a mate, although she's a late bday so it will be a while. Gap year ^_^

Do the hotels get booked quick then?

Whenever I've stayed in Amsterdam, I've gone to a hostel as they're really cheap and some have 24 hour bars.

I've only really been out in the Rembrandtplein area, I saw PvD and Ferry Corsten in Escape and it was excellent. Can't fault the dance event, it's an amazing program and there's always too many clubs to see!

Violent-J · 24 Jun 2006 at 21:47

watch out for chicks with *****

BloodWolf · 24 Jun 2006 at 21:49

Rotty said:
A good pub for Rock music is the Excalibur in the red light district

RLD?

Sounds good

raz0rr · 24 Jun 2006 at 23:59

Youstolemyname said:
I beg to differ mate. Lived in Amsterdam, in Mastricht and in Groningen, for a few years and found the club and music scene to be fantastic. You are right in what you say about 'members only' clubs but there are loads of nightclubs that are happy to accept tourists...if they aren't stumbling around drunk or otherwise intoxicated. The dance scene is great in Amstedam as KaHn and the others have posted, events like Sensation and Dance Valley are amazing.

A cracking rock/live music venue is 'the last watering hole' right at the end of the red light district down an alley just off Warmoestraat.

Here is a part of a post I made last time the question of 'what to do in Amstedam was asked'

Following on from the Melkweg suggestion, you might want to check out Paradiso also, as it's a few mintes walk from the Melkweg, and also tends to have some nice gigs there.
Heineken Music Hall also, but It's much larger, and a little outside the centre.

Other than the music halls though, I don't really know much about Amsterdam. I've only been up there about 6 or 7 times.

Burnsy2023 · 25 Jun 2006 at 00:07

Kahn, can you tell me how much all this is costing you for B&B, tickets and flights etc. I've talked to a few mate and we're just seeing how much it'll cost for next year.

You'll have to give a review afterwards

It looks like serious fun, if funds allow i'll be there next year!!

Burnsy

KaHn · 25 Jun 2006 at 01:57

burnsy2023 said:
Burnsy

Right, lets see;

Hotel based on 4 people sharing at the Marriott worked out at 159 euro per night, we are staying for 3 nights.

Flights were booked with KLM to avoid stupid flying times (KLM from newcastle - schiphol 110 quid to fly at 10am there and 5pm back) you can go cheaper but be prepared to fly at 5am to amsterdam and 9pm back etc.

Tickets to the event, well we got them from www.ticketonline.nl but as I have said this year the event pretty much sold out in an hour, which is a lot of tickets.

But the tickets were 45quid each delivered with booking fee etc, had no problem with this company either.

so all in all if you are only looking at going for the event, which runs 9pm on the saturday to 7am the next morning you can do away with the hotel room and get decent flight times and be all in at 160 ish quid.

we on the other hand are staying for 4 days which is costing us 300 quid each.

But thats a 5* hotel in a nice part of amsterdam (granted the RLD was appealing but not to sleep in tbh) flights with a decent airline and tickets to the event.

Hope that helps if you want any more info just email me (in sig) or post on here.

KaHn

Superdude · 25 Jun 2006 at 03:34

Rock and Indy clubs are few and far in between in Amstersdam.

Hill street blues is a good coffee shop in the red light district. Good music, nice and big.

I can't believe people pay £150 a night :eek:

I paid £66 for 6 nights in an awsome hostel. 24 hour bar, clean sheets, warm shower.

Ranger · 25 Jun 2006 at 10:38

KaHn said:
You should have went a week saturday we are going then for this,

http://sensation.id-t.com/sensation2006/white/event-white/

KaHn

Damn that looks superb, as someone has already said, please tell us all about it when you get back.

Cheers

pointy shadow · 25 Jun 2006 at 10:45

If you are all into your dance music make sure you go over on Queens Day as Amsterdam turns into one massive rave.

I was there 2 years ago on Queens Day and it was awesome!

Youstolemyname · 25 Jun 2006 at 11:00

Queens day is mental. Just been chatting to the guy I shared a flat with in Gronigen and am arranging a trip over to see him this summer. This thread got me all starrey eyed about when I used to live there.

Everyone seems to home in on Amsterdam, for obvious reasons, but there is so much more to Holland that is only a short drive/train ride away from Amsterdam. Towns like Haarlem/Alkmaar are near to Amsterdam and a lot lot cheaper.

Maastricht is a bit of a trek but worth it. But by far my fave place is Gronignen. It is a university town just full of students with the biggest bar in all of Holland. :cool:

Groningen is about 2.5 hours from Amsterdam on the train but so worth a trip up to. It is really close to Assen as well for any motorsports fans wanting to take in the biking.

KaHn · 25 Jun 2006 at 11:01

What about lieden?

I stayed there a couple of years ago was nice.

KaHn

Youstolemyname · 25 Jun 2006 at 11:11

KaHn said:
What about lieden?

I stayed there a couple of years ago was nice.

KaHn

Never really got over there but you just remended me of leeuwarden which was also a decent night out. Im well jealous of you mate, I love holland.

Only ever made it to Dance Valley and some of the club nights but never a Sensation. Some of the dutch 'hardstyle' posse were a bit manic for my liking.

Droolinggimp · 25 Jun 2006 at 13:04

Just got back from that sensation site.. and OMG what a rush.. Looks totaly awsome.. that is definatly my thing right there...got to get meself to Holland next year....

lookitsjonno · 25 Jun 2006 at 13:19

defqon1 for the win:

about as many people as at sensation white/black but on a beach

why do the dutch always have the best dance music events

would have gone to sensation black but lineup isnt as impressive this year

raz0rr · 25 Jun 2006 at 13:21

pointy shadow said:
If you are all into your dance music make sure you go over on Queens Day as Amsterdam turns into one massive rave.

I was there 2 years ago on Queens Day and it was awesome!

Queen's Night is insane. It's like the whole population just flocks to all the major cities. I've never seen so many people packed into a single place before.

Burnsy2023 · 25 Jun 2006 at 13:29

Cheers Kahn.

How close is your hotel to the Amsterdam Arena?

BTW, remember to keep your money close to you, there are loads of pick pockets.

Burnsy

KaHn · 25 Jun 2006 at 13:43

burnsy2023 said:
Cheers Kahn.

How close is your hotel to the Amsterdam Arena?

BTW, remember to keep your money close to you, there are loads of pick pockets.

Burnsy

The hotel we are staying in is on the opposite side to the RLD, so a lot closer to the Arena, from what I can tell we are about 4or so miles away from it. From my map reading skills we are about 2 min walk away from the Heineken Museum, which is on one of the main smaller ring roads around amsterdam Stadhouderskade, this pretty much leads you towards the Arena, if you go south on Amsteldijk should lead you pretty much to it. But think will probably trust public transport or taxi it, but from what I can tell the taxis in amsterdam are fairly steep.

KaHn