Travelling to Paris & Amsterdam, Hotel and area recommendations?

Soul.Survivor

Soul.Survivor

Soul.Survivor

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Hey guys,

Off to Paris and Amsterdam end of april, 5 days in each country.

I'm struggling to find decent hotels and not sure which area's to stay in.

Has anyone been there before and have any recommendations please?

Thanks.
 
I stayed at the Hyatt Regency in Amsterdam a few days ago. Was nice, spacious room which had a decent shower. Breakfast with buffet and table service options.


Never been to Paris.
 
Amsterdam is pretty small so i don't think you have to worry too much about area. As above i can't really comment on Paris.
 
Been to 'dam over 20 times, stayed in a variety of locations and accomodations, from a boat hotel all the way up to 5 star hotel, and everything in between.

Park Inn by Radisson Amsterdam City West I found is the best for the price/location. Will never stay anywhere else again.

Thank me later.
 
Junglist said:
I tend to enjoy an AirBnB when I visit Amsterdam but I only ever do a weekend at a time
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Unfortunately the founder of AirBnB has just joined the MAGA cult (working for DOGE) so best avoided :o

I go to the ‘dam every year for work. I usually stay in a hotel called the Dylan which is lovely. My colleagues often stay in the Andaz which is round the corner but a bit more corporate. The Hoxton is nice too.

PS - Paris and Amsterdam are not countries ;)
 
When I was last in Amsterdam I stayed at a hotel on the edge of the Vondelpark, worked really well.

There are a few hotels at Bijlmer, which is way outside of the city and definitely not where you want to stay.
 
Avoid Sloterdijk. There's a bunch of hotels around there which are cheaper than staying in the centre of Amsterdam, but the area is dead and feels very industrial
 
  • Haha
Reactions: A2Z
weringo said:
@A2Z do you have a point to make?
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Wasn't worth my time to reply to your useless post but ok as you asked..

You go out of your way to post 0 recommendations but instead say to avoid the specific area I recommended... Was just hilarious as you're clueless.
 
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A2Z said:
Wasn't worth my time to reply to your useless post but ok as you asked..

You go out of your way to post 0 recommendations but instead say to avoid the specific area I recommended... Was just hilarious as you're clueless.
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You have taken my comment a little too personally. Believe it or not I don't know all of Amsterdam's hotels by heart and so had no idea of the location of the hotel you recommended.

I am just trying to ensure OP doesn't make the same mistake I made of staying in a location which looks more like Milton Keynes than most people's idea of Amsterdam. Whilst you might save £30/night on a hotel of equivalent quality you also have to deal with commuting in and out the centre every day. The trains are frequent but you can be waiting 20 minutes for the next one if you time it badly.

As my recommendation apparently wasn't clear enough: stay in the centre of Amsterdam where the sights are. Don't stay in a business park in the outskirts of the city
 
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I've been to Amsterdam a number of times as well and used to find the hotels in the centre pretty good value. After COVID though the prices seemed to rocket so I started looking a little further out of the city with nearby transport links to get to the centre swiftly.

One hotel I've stayed in that ticked that box was the nhow Amsterdam RAI. Hotels of a similar quality were double the price in the centre. Depends on your budget I suppose.

In terms of Paris, before I first visited I also questioned which arrondissement to stay in and where to stay.
I chose the 5th arrondissement otherwise known as the Latin Quarter and thoroughly enjoyed it. The hotel I stayed in (twice now) was the Hôtel des Grands Hommes.


Just on a side note, Amsterdam is really nice and I personally prefer it to Paris, however it's chocka with tourists these days.
Last year I decided to try somewhere else and went to Utrecht instead which is known as the mini Amsterdam and is just a 30 train ride from Schiphol.
It was indeed smaller but it wasn't packed out, had none of the tat but was just as enjoyable.
Hotel wise I stayed at The Nox Hotel Utrecht which again was fantastic.

Enjoy wherever you go. :)
 
Charlie Bravo said:
Just on a side note, Amsterdam is really nice and I personally prefer it to Paris, however it's chocka with tourists these days.
Last year I decided to try somewhere else and went to Utrecht instead which is known as the mini Amsterdam and is just a 30 train ride from Schiphol.
It was indeed smaller but it wasn't packed out, had none of the tat but was just as enjoyable.
Hotel wise I stayed at The Nox Hotel Utrecht which again was fantastic.
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Agree with you here. We went to Utrecht for a concert a few years back and debated staying in Amsterdam and traveling to Utrecht for the gig or staying in Utrecht and traveling to Amsterdam for sightseeing. In the end we stayed in Utrecht at the Grand Hotel Karel V and really glad we did.
 
I always try and stay at Motel One Waterlooplein when in Amsterdam, good price, good location, good sized rooms (the latter is v unusual for Amsterdam!)
 
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Stayed in a place called Urban Lodge last time in Amsterdam. It was way cheaper than hotels in the centre of Amsterdam and about 3-minute walk to Sloterdijk station which was just 1 stop away from Centraal. Hotel itself was fine, clean, decent food, bar, even a few eateries next to it if needed. As others have said you can make big savings if you stay outside the city a bit.
 
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I'm visiting Amsterdam in May and ended up booking a 4 star hotel by the station in Zaandam, 15 minutes train ride to Amsterdam central station. Although not as convenient as being based in the city centre I found it to be much cheaper. I'm used to pre-covid prices. The majority of accommodation in budget in central Amsterdam were hostels or grotty looking hotels with shared bathrooms.
 
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In Amsterdam I usually sleep on the streets - under a nearby bridge or at a bus stop. In Paris I stay at a place near Ledru-Rollin. No complaints.
 
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