SuperG1955

Most everything I've read on FT deals with warmer times. We have a free weekend and have booked to arrive on Jan 3 in the Am and depart on Jan 7 at mid-day. This will be our first time in Amsterdam.

The weather seems to be much like New York and we'll plan on dressing accordingly.

Our best approach appears to be focusing on museums and other indoor attractions with some walking around if the weather cooperates.

We like to keep hotels in the €100 range and avoid non-elevator places.

We just got Rick Steves book on Amsterdam and will cobble together a more detailed itinerary.

So, we looking for hotel and places to visit/avoid suggestions.

Thanks.

stimpy

For me a MUST in January is a nice sauna experience. My favorite in town is http://saunadeco.nl/?lang=en

However if this is your first time in northern Europe, note that saunas here are co-ed. My advice is just forget about that part and enjoy the sauna. None of the locals care anyway because they've been going to the sauna their whole lives. Maybe book a massage too!

For hotel, what is your price range or preferred chain? Or non-chain?

baccarat_king

The New York comparison for weather is decent; perhaps, even more mild.
Last January was very mild, but that was a bit of an exception.

Since you arrive on 3 January, you might be on the tail-end of some of the holiday festivities; see HERE.

ALSO, check out the I amsterdam City Card.
LINK

Lots of great museums, definitely less crowded on weekdays and after the holidays. I happen to really love the Stedelijk Museum.

If you plan on visiting the Ann Frank House, be sure to reserve a spot online (very inexpensive); and avoid the wait.

Amsterdam is relatively small city with good public transportation (and bikes available). If you want a quieter area, perhaps consider a hotel in Oud Zuid (Old South). This area is also walking distance to most of the museums.

I'm not particularly well versed in the non-chain/non-luxury hotels, but I do recall some friends of friends stayed at the Memphis Hotel a few months ago and liked it. Definitely a quiet area, very convenient to bus and trams. Also, very close to the Amsterdam Hilton. Unfortunately, I can't speak to this property with any personal experience, but since you mentioned €100'ish; might be worth some research. Since it's right after the holidays some of the major chains Hilton/Marriott/Holiday Inn might be running some specials. Due to the nature of the long holiday weekend this year, my guess the 3rd and 4th of January would be your only difficult days (with regard to occupancy at hotels).

I wouldn't say there are places to avoid, per se, but there are definitely areas of the city (like near Centraal Station) that will be much busier and much more crowded. Sort of depends on your personal preferences with regard to hotel location. Almost all locations are accessible from the airport by train, bus or a combination of train and bus/tram. Many find the train to Centraal to be most convenient; but the #197 express bus from the airport is very convenient to a lot of locations near Museumplein, Leidseplein and Oud Zuid.

SuperG1955

Thank you both for the advice.

I checked on the Memphis Hotel and they have no availability for our dates.

I need to add the following information – we’re flying standby so we could end up delayed or even cancelled therefore we won’t make non-refundable reservations . While we try to avoid chain hotels, our normal approach is to research ahead of time, pull down a list of available places the morning of our departure, decide on someplace while we’re on the flight, and reserve while we’re waiting to clear immigration and customs.

Staying in the Museum Quarter or Oud Zuid makes sense and we’ll plan on that. Museums and architecture are our usual focus.

We’ll rely on public transportation and with the museums in mind, the I Amsterdam sounds good. It looks like we can pick it up a 72 hour pass at AMS and start to use it on Sunday so we’ll have it for the three full days we’ll be there.
I lot of what we end up doing depends on the weather and there’s just no way to predict that. We’ll just adapt our activities to the weather conditions. That’s most likely a choice between walking or taking transit from place to place.

We have 4 nights and would like some restaurant recommendations. I will check the post threads but if there are seasonal recommendation for types of food or places, they’d be appreciated.

The Light Festival sounds interesting. We’re in time to do it all including the walking route. As an aside, we love this type of activity. We went to the International Ice Sculpting Championships in Fairbanks, AK this past March and had a wonderful time.

stimpy

See this thread for restaurants where I made some posts. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/europ...amsterdam.html

Seasons don't matter that much in Amsterdam when it comes to restaurants where you should always count on it being cool and rainy. If you want to stay in Oud Zuid, the famous Hilton Amsterdam will do. From there you can take the number 2 or 5 tram to the normal tourist sites. I used to live near there and there are plenty of nice restaurants close by. Otherwise you can try the upscale non-chain hotels such as the Conservatorium or Dylan if your budget allows.

SuperG1955

We've decided to stay in the Museum Quarter. There are a number of hotels that appear to meet our extensive requirements which are: Queen Bed, bathroom in room, safe (preferred) TV. Internet doesn't matter.

These hotels are:

Hampshire Hotel – Amsterdam American
Hotel JL No 76
NH Amsterdam Centre
Park Hotel Amsterdam

The Marriott is a more expensive fallback. There are a number of other hotels that meet our requirements but don't have availability for our dates.

I'd appreciate any feedback, positive or negative.

SuperG1955

Thanks stimpy, appreciate the feedback. I've been through all of the threads below that UAPremExecflyer so nicely consolidated.

SuperG1955

In my hotel post I said that internet doesn't matter. Actually, it matters a lot but we have that taken care of.

Our smartphones are usable as soon as we turn them on after deplaning. They handle the bulk of email and texting. They each have Skype numbers as well and our US phones are forwarded to them. We have a 4G/3G Mi-Fi hotspot for our computer and Tablet(s). No need for SIM Cards either.

The world has gotten so much easier to work in.

stimpy

I only know the NH and Marriott. As like most all NH's this is a standard chain hotel, like a Sheraton. The Marriott is also a typical Marriott, with a great location next to the Leidseplein. It has a decent steak restaurant. Both hotels have easy access to public transportation.

SuperG1955

Thanks for the help. If there's no bad weather and there's room on the flights we've listed for, we expect to have a wonderful post New Year's weekend to start the year.
I'll report back on the outcome.