whimsey21

Hi All,
I'm about to make a work trip to Amsterdam, and could use some advice to maximize my time there. I'll be arriving one morning and will have that day to myself for sightseeing- I'll then have two days of meetings in The Hague. I'm going with a colleague who really wants to stay in Amsterdam, so we're planning to take the train back and forth each day (on my own, I would have stayed at least one night in The Hague, but he is determined to stay put). I'll have the evenings to do some more looking around.

I'm a HHonors Diamond and am getting a rate my employer will pay at both the Hilton and the Doubletree Centraal Station. The Doubletree seems a bit better for the commute to the Hague since I can walk to the train station, but my past experience with other cities is that the areas next to central train stations aren't always the nicest. The Hilton is a bit of a hike from a train station (tram or walk to Zuid, I think) but I'm wondering if it is a nicer neighborhood? With my time I'd like to see some of the touristy things, shop for gifts for the kids, and make a quick visit to the Rijksmuseum. I've never spent any time in Amsterdam, so don't really know which parts of the city have the most activity, nor how easy/hard it is to get around. I'd appreciate any advice on which hotel location to choose so I can make the most of my short time.

SAT Lawyer

The Doubletree Centraal Station is a good hotel with a far superior location, especially for your particular needs. For sightseeing purposes in Amsterdam, you can walk, bike, or take trams from there to get around. There are, as you might expect, some sketchy characters in and around Centraal Station, but unless you plan on loitering there yourself, they shouldn't be a problem.

JBord

The Doubletree will work. Another option worth checking is my go-to hotel in Amsterdam, the Renaissance. A 5 minute walk to Centraal, in a nice neighborhood, right on the edge of the Jordaan district, with a good selection of small restaurants and bars for the evenings.

Ditto

The doubletree would make more sense.

dutchgirlDH

Stay at the DoubleTree. Great roof terrace IIRC. The area is fine, the main public library is right next door for example. And easily the best place both for taking the train to The Hague as for exploring, compared to the Hilton.

Watch out for pickpockets in particular around Central Station.

stut

Agree - the Doubletree is a good option if you want to stay at a Hilton property. It's walking distance from Centraal Station (turn left as you exit, you can't miss it) and in the newly-redeveloped Oosterdok area, which has a number of interesting places to eat and drink. You can walk to the centre quite easily - head down Zeedijk to Nieuwmarkt if you want to avoid the hordes going down the Damrak (or follow the cycle route along the station front and under the main road to the Singel, just by Browersgracht, for fast access to the canal belt and the Jordaan).

The Hilton proper is in an upmarket residential area, which has its own benefits. There are interesting local centres nearby (around Johannes Verhulststraat and Beethovenstraat). From there, you could use the South Station (Amsterdam Zuid/WTC) which also has direct trains to Schiphol (6 mins) and The Hague (36 mins) which saves you time vs the journey from Centraal. It's about a 20-minute walk, or a short bike/tram ride - it's equally a short tram ride from the Hilton to the canal belt, via De Pijp, Museumplein and Leidseplein.

All things considered, I'd choose the Doubletree for a short stay, but I did enjoy staying in the near suburbs on longer and more regular stays (actually not at the Hilton).

The area around Centraal Station is a lot busier and less seedy than it used to be. Do watch your stuff, of course - particularly on the trains between the airport and the city - but I wouldn't be unduly worried.

whimsey21

Thanks all-- the Doubletree it is. I appreciate all the detailed responses. The Ren actually would have been my first choice, but they are apparently fairly full, so they aren't offering any discounts, and are way above what my employer will pay. I'm looking forward to my visit- if anyone has any suggestions on good restaurants near the Doubletree, I'd love to hear them.

flatlander

The station area isn't particularly bad, just a bit full of people going back and forth at night. The main station of the tram network is a stone's throw from the Doubletree so that sets up your transport quite well. Frankly the biggest personal safety hazard in Amsterdam is the damned scooters, especially on the cycle paths.

There is a Belgian beer bar called Delirium a short walk along the riverfront east from the Doubletree, it's opposite the Bimhuis (next to the Mövenpick), check the ABV before you quaff

However the biggest collection of restaurants nearby is on Zeedijk with a cluster of Asian restaurants and then a little further on off the end of Zeedijk is the Nieuwmarkt area with the Chinatown of Amsterdam. Or head slightly west into the red light district; it's quite safe from a personal point of view but you run a slightly higher risk of being pickpocketed here than elsewhere in Amsterdam so watch your pockets and bags. You can look at the prostitutes in the red-lit windows but do not try to photograph them.

Going yet further on in that direction you get to the Rembrandtplein (Rembrandt Square), recognisable from the station of Rembrandt looming over the (usually present, occasionally moved for special events) bronze statues of the Night Watch. This has a good supply of cafes, bars, restaurants, coffeeshops, etc. On the way you may have passed Cafe Basjoe, allegedly the oldest coffeeshop in Amsterdam, if that's your thing (beware of smoking the strong stuff and being too wrecked to function the next day). My personal favourite in that area is Zushi, conveyor-sushi but very high quality. I don't recommend the sushi at Shabu-Shabu (and what fool called a sushi bar shabu-shabu?) because it had a low hygiene rating last time it was inspected. Both the Gaucho's and the Nachtwacht steak houses are ok. Coco's is very generic, don't bother. Decent breakfast can be had at the line of cafes on the north side of the square, if the Doubletree fails you. For beer in that area, try Cafe Gollem with its vast selection of Belgian and other beers.

From the station front, you can take tram 9 or 4 to and from the Rembrandtplein if you don't want to walk (I wouldn't blame you), usually from stop 3 on the east (Doubletree) side of the central station. Check out the 24hour, 48hour, etc, tram passes if you intend to take several trips about the tram system.