Amsterdam in Nov 07
 

Well, I was purusing the internet yesterday, doing a little research for our trip to Budapest/Amsterdam this fall (thanks BigL for the books!)...and I saw that the Hilton in Amsterdam is $170 US per night for the nights I had planned on using an award.

Hum...this is tough because $200 is usually my cut off where I'd just assume pay the $$ and save the points for a $400+ per night hotel! Yikes!

Plus, after this trip on Delta, we'll both have 35k points for a free flight to Hawaii, Mexico, the Caribbean, and I just discoverd that we could use GLONP in Barbados and get a free flight to Delta for February 08! I don't know what Barbardos is like in February, but we've always wanted to go and the rooms are $450 a night...much more useful of an award.

So, here is my question. Just detesting the fact that I may not being staying with Hilton for one leg of our trip, can anyone suggest a really nice hotel for $175-$150 a night that is as nice as the Hilton in Amsterdam? We are not real partiers, that is for sure, and we would prefer a lounge, but I suppose that is out if we are not at a Hilton--and even if we were, depending on availability, there is no guarantee that you get into the lounge anyway (but at least we would get breakfast). I know there are better places to ask this question but I sure feel so much comfortable getting feedback from fellow-flyertalk members!

Anyway, before this gets kicked off the Hilton section, any information would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

Thanks!!!

Dawn

You KNOW this doesn't belong here but you post it anyway?

Huh? I have not seen that hotel that cheap for years. What dates are you talking about?

MisterNice

Yep....
 

Boy, if only you could be king of the world! That would totally rock.

I may get some really good information about why I should go ahead and choose the Hilton Amsterdam, regardless of how I choose to pay for it and that dollar for dollar, I'm better off there.

I can never figure out why you post when you have nothing to add but just to say something negative and sometimes just mean and/or condescending. Sad too, because you have such great information/history to share.

Dawn

November....
 

I plugged in November 2-8, 2007 and it came up $172, per night. The caveat was that it was non-refundable. But even for about $40 more, I could get a flex rate. I may just go ahead and pay the money and save the points--it really hurts when I'm even NEAR a Hilton and not staying there!!!!

Dawn

zandvoort. Its out at the beach about 15 minutes drive from downtown. Lots of hotels and small BB with kitchens. Has a train to ams Centraal via Haarlem, which is also a nice place to stay vs downtown ams. ;) also if you want to breakup ams, you can zip down to Brussels for a day or two. Very nice and lots of decent Hilton props.

Feeling better about using award...
 

Thanks for the information rwill...I can always count on you (I wish you could download your travel history to a CD!)!!!

I checked again this morning and I suppose I feel better about using an award. The rates are back up to approx $300 US. It may have been one of those things were it was "now or never."

I'll spot check again in the future...and if it gets that low again, I think I may just snag it and pay for it and save the award.

Have a nice day fellow flyertalkers!

Dawn

you feel good cause it went back up to $300, Id see it as a loss op that I didnt jump in at $172. There goes your Feb trip. Its like having a res for a free air tkt and then see that theres a fare war on and didnt cancel the tkt, later the price goes back to $600 from the $198 sale price and a person is happy as they are saving alot of $$$ by using their miles. Id see it as the opposite they had an op to grab a cheap tkt , so instead of the tkt saving them the $600 fare I see it as if they saved Only the $198 fare.

My point is that your free nights are really Only saving You $172 per night and not $300.

I didn't say I felt "good" about it!!!!
 

This is what I posted, "I checked again this morning and I suppose I feel better about using an award. The rates are back up to approx $300 US. It may have been one of those things were it was "now or never."

I never said I felt good about the rates going up, only that I felt better about using the award that I already had planned on using.

It is just a different way of looking at it. Of COURSE I would have liked to have spent $172 per night, but since that option is over, I need to move on and focus on the positive (like...I have enough points for an award...and that we are fortunate enough to be going to Budapest/Amsterdam to begin with). I can't change what happened yesterday and I suppose I could mope around today feeling absolutely AWFUL, but that is just not my personality. I can find soimething positive in just about any situation--that is what my husband says makes me such an ideal traveling partner!

Trust me, our February trip is on...we are blessed to travel every February as well...I'm just not sure where yet.

Besides, I think EVERYTHING happens for a reason (silly, I know) and maybe if I went ahead and snatched the $172, something may have happened and we couldn't go that week and then I would have had to forfeit $1k+....so I really don't trip on those things because it always seems to work out like it is supposed to in the end.

Glass half full, half empty....I'm just glad I don't feel as if I suffered some sort of "loss." Trust me, my criteria of a "loss" is much, much greater. Like getting ready to put down our 16 year old dog that has been with us since we got married nearly 16 years ago--now that is a loss. Not a few hundred bucks.

Dawn

I have occasionally seen a room rate low of about 170 euros (weekend days) over the past 2-3 years but never anything like $160 (3-4 years ago 160 euro rates were often common) especially if including any weekdays. Amsterdam hotels are quite expensive considering the room age, room size updates, refurbs, smoke odors etc. I suggest try another city and use the excellent cheap Netherlands train system. I do and did last week. I just checked Nov 2-8 rates and got:

ADVANCE PCHASE BFAST INCL BUFFET BFAST. FULL CC DEPOSIT ON BOOKING
200.00 EUR QUEEN HILTON DELUXE ROOM Requested non-smoking
200.00 EUR TWIN HILTON DELUXE ROOM Requested non-smoking
285.00 EUR QUEEN HILTON EXECUTIVE RM Requested non-smoking

MisterNice

I checked too. 2-3 at Hilton airport. 105 euro 3-8 Hilton amsterdam 165 euro. Ive always been able to checkin at the airport hotel very early after the flight as a diamond. just a thought. :) I would most likely pay for the stay this way. If your plane gets delayed 1 day, you will be out 105 euro but get a free hotel from delta and a big voucher. $219 for the ams hilton is a pretty good deal. I would save the points for Barbados, I doubt you will ever see a $200 rate there. ;)

I'm doing it the other way around....
 

We fly into AMS @ 8:30 a.m. The flight to BUD isn't until 10:15 a.m., but I'm not taking the chance--even though a Delta Rep told me it would be NO PROBLEM making the connection. She said she lived there for years and worked at the airport, but we both said, "no way, not chancing it." Especially since it is on a different airline (skyeurope).

So we'll be a week in BUD before coming to AMS. Our flight back to the states isn't until 10:15 a.m. on Nov 8th, so I think we should be fine, regardless of what hotel we are in....but it sounds like you may be suggesting that on the final night, stay at the AMS Airport Hilton just for the convenience....?

Dawn

We were in Amsterdam four years ago without a hotel reservation and were able to book the Amsterdam Hilton through the VVV (Tourist Office) at a rate of 100 Euros. Breakfast was not included. We had to pay about 20 Euros for parking since we had a car; we had to move it from the park and go lot where we had parked for the day.

We were excited because it was where John Lennon and Yoko Ono had their "bed-in" and we even stayed on the 7th floor - the same floor that they stayed on.

The hotel was quite lovely. Our room was wonderful. We had a gorgeous view.

Ooh. Kitty fight. ;)

More like someone swatting a mosquito :D