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Schiphol Guide
As requested by Alanw in http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=848884 here is a master guide to Schiphol airport. Others please add to this if I missed anything.
Schiphol is one of the worlds great airports and is essentially a city in its own right. It has tens of thousands of employees, a large international train station, loads of restaurants and cafes, a great many shops to purchase essentials as well as trinkets, several hotels, a world trade center, banks, grocery store, etc. * Food and Drink In the public area, there is a Burger King, a nice Italian pasta restaurant, plenty of cafes, etc. Also the grocery store has ready to eat hot items that are priced right. You can purchase items here that are not available in normal dutch grocery stores. Airside there are mostly cafes to choose from for food. * Rest areas Schiphol has many well equipped rest areas with comfortable seating. Most are one level up from the concourse. * Public showers There are public showers available in the non-Schengen area. I'm not sure about the Schengen area? * Casino There is a government run casino, but I've never been in it. I can't remember ever seeing anyone else in it either. * Museum There is a nice little art museum in the non-Schengen area, one level up from the concourse. * Shopping (SeeBuyFly, tulips, etc.) Lots of shops at Schiphol. This is how the airport really makes money! You will get better service shopping here than at any other shop in Holland. They will even hold your purchases for up to 30 days so you can pick them up when you return to AMS. You can see the special offers of the month at http://www.schiphol.nl/Shopping/Shopping.htm as well as a full map. Also, Schiphol has one of the finest, if not THE finest air travel enthusiast shops in the world. Right next to the grocery store in the main concourse. Every frequent flyer should visit this shop. I recommend the Air Jamaica "Love is in the Air" t-shirt. * Schiphol Secrets I'm not sure what qualifies as a secret, but few people know about the NS High Speed 1st class lounge. I'm a regular train user as well as flyer out of Schiphol so this is valuable to me. |
* Food and Drink
Especially mentioned for all the Americans, Starbucks now has 3 locations on the airport. -In Arrivals 3/4(where most of the US flights arrive) on the right side. -Between Arrivals 2 and 3(Where Yam Yam used to be) -Departures 1, near Lounge 1. * Rest areas There is a hotel near lounge 3, Mercure Schiphol. http://www.hmsc.nl/index_hotel.html * Schiphol Secrets If you want to sleep between your connection flights, follow the signs to the KPN communication centre in departures 2, go up with the escalator near the airport-spa. During the night, they won't use those chairs. |
My two cents to add
* Public showers There are public showers available in the non-Schengen area. You have two choices: the Mercure Hotel, located above Lounge 3 (between F and G pier on the top level (Level 3) has showers available for €15. The hotel provides toiletries and towels, and the shower rooms are cleaned between uses. If you're more resourceful and can bring your own toiletries and towels, there are showers in the restrooms near the Meditation Centre, between the BA Lounge and KLM Crown Lounge 42. * Museum There is a wing of the Rijksmuseum in Lounge 2 of the non-Schengen area. * Schiphol Secrets There is an ATM that dispenses US dollars at the ABN-Amro bank near the entrance to F-pier. I use the following trick when I have an early meeting somewhere in the Netherlands and intend to drive to it. I take a late flight into AMS, go to AVIS to get the keys to my rental car, and walk to my room at the Sheraton or Hilton. AVIS doesn't have any problem if I pick up the keys and take care of the paperwork the night before I actually drive the car off the airport. This way, I avoid AVIS in the morning which can be a real zoo as most intercontinental flights are arriving at this time. I'm sure other car agencies would be okay with this. * Hotels If you want to stay in a hotel at Schiphol, you have the following options: (1) The Mercure, located above Lounge 3, is inside the non-Schengen area and is very convenient for long layovers. The rooms are small and basic, but there is free pay TV (including porn if that's your thing) and you can't beat the convenience. Single room with shower/toilet: €85 Double room with shower/bath/toilet: €95 Triple room with shower/bath/toilet: €115 Rooms are available from: Day use: 10.00 a.m. - 07.00 p.m. Night use: 08.00 p.m. - 09.00 a.m. Phone +31 (0) 20 6041339 (2) The Sheraton is located directly at the airport within three minutes' walk of Schiphol Plaza, and is, IMHO, the nicest hotel in the area. The rooms are clean, well-maintained and well-appointed, but expensive. Booking ahead helps as well as looking at websites like booking.nl and hrs.de. (3) Further along, but within walking distance is a Hilton. It's rubbish in my view. |
Airline lounges at Schiphol
Airline lounges, plagiarised directly from www.schiphol.nl.
Lounge 20: Servisair A-Company Adria Airways Air Berlin ATP Business Travel Austrian Bleecker Blue1 BMI Coris Estonian Air Expedia Travel Iceland Air JAT Airways Lufthansa MAT Macedonian Airlines Olympic Airlines Priority pass SAS Scandinavian Airlines Silverjet Reizen TAP Portugal TUI Nederland VCK Travel Lounge 21: Menzies AGIP Airsavings Alitalia Carlson Wagonlit Club Med Diners club Finnair Iberia Lounge Pass OAD Priority Pass Swiss International Air Lines VLM Airlines Wexas Lounges 25, 41, and 52: KLM Crown Lounges Lounges 25 (Schengen area) ane 41 (non-Schengen area) have showers. Lounge 52 is being expanded. Aer Lingus Aeroflot Russian International Airlines Air France Air Malta Alitalia Armavia Bulgaria Air China Airlines China Southern Airlines Continental Airlines CSA Czech Airlines Cyprus Airways Delta Air Lines Georgian Airways Iran Air Kenya Airways KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Korean Air Lithuanian Airlines LOT Polish Airlines Malaysia Airlines Malev Hungarian Airlines Meridiana Northwest Airlines Privat Air Pulkovo Rossiya SkyTeam First/Business class and SkyTeam Elite Plus Ukraine International Airlines Passengers with the following Frequent Travellers Cards can access Crown Lounges:
Lounge 40: British Airways British Airways Lounge 41: Servisair Adria Airways Aeroflot Russian Int. Airlines ATP Online Baron Travel BMI Cathay Pacific Airways Coris Egypt Air Empire Travel Estonian Air Expedia Travel Flybe JAT Airways Korean Air Miles Travel 3Oceans Travel Odysseus Pagona Travel Priority Pass Royal Jordanian Airlines Silverjet Reizen Sinja Travel Syrian Arab Airlines Turkish Airlines United Airlines US Airways VCK Travel Lounge 43: Menzies AGIP Air Astana Airsavings Alitalia ArkeFly Carlson Wagonlit Club Med Croatia Airlines Delta Air Lines Diners Club El Al Israel Airlines EVA Airways Finnair Iberia Lounge Pass OAD PIA Pakistan International Airlines Priority Pass Royal Air Maroc Surinam Airways Swiss International Air Lines VLM Airlines Wexas Lounge 49: ABN AMRO Preferred Banking Lounge How do you access this??? Lounge 50: Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines Lounge 51: Japan Airlines Japan Airlines US Airways |
Originally Posted by TrayflowInUK
(Post 10228250)
Lounge 49: ABN AMRO
Preferred Banking Lounge How do you access this??? So only for Preferred Banking clients, not for the regular clients... |
A Yotel is due to open at Schiphol in September. I'm not sure exactly where, but I understand it will be airside (like Hotel West), but in the Schengen area.
There's also the new CitizenM, a 2 minute indoor walk from the terminals. Johan |
Originally Posted by TrayflowInUK
(Post 10228250)
Lounges 25, 41, and 52: KLM Crown Lounges
Lounges 25 (Schengen area) and 41 (non-Schengen area) have showers. Mercure (airside) charges 12.50 euros (fm schiphol website) just came across this thread while researching my another long trip via AMS too. |
Originally Posted by golsquare
(Post 10233753)
showers in the Crown lounge (lounge 25) are only for platinum members only
Johan |
Originally Posted by TrayflowInUK
(Post 10228230)
There is an ATM that dispenses US dollars at the ABN-Amro bank near the entrance to F-pier.
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XpresSpa at Schiphol
There are signs up at Schiphol saying the "new" XpresSpa at Schiphol has opened at Departure Lounge 2, Level 1 next to the Network Bar (beyond Passport Control).
XpresSpa services * pedicure * manicure * beauty treatment * head/neck massage * full body massage * foot reflexology massage seven days a week between 7.00 a.m. and 8.00 p.m. |
Hello,
In Amsterdam, which lounge is nicer: Servisair or Menzies? I guess I have access to both via Priority Pass. Thanks! |
Probably not a secret but you do have to look for it....
There is an Irish Pub down the D concourse where, you guessed it, the Aer Lingus flights typically gate. If you are stuck in Schiphol for a while or, as is the case with me, flying through AMS from a pork-less GCC country, the full Irish breakfast is worth a trip (primarily for the multiple pork products on the plate). |
Originally Posted by stimpy
(Post 10226077)
Also, Schiphol has one of the finest, if not THE finest air travel enthusiast shops in the world. Right next to the grocery store in the main concourse. Every frequent flyer should visit this shop.
Also, off-airport near one of the runways, is a McDonalds and an official "spotting" area. Again such a breath of fresh air, and a welcome change from being chased away by cops like in so many other parts of the world. |
CitizenM
Originally Posted by johan rebel
(Post 10232555)
A Yotel is due to open at Schiphol in September. I'm not sure exactly where, but I understand it will be airside (like Hotel West), but in the Schengen area.
There's also the new CitizenM, a 2 minute indoor walk from the terminals. Johan Anyway, my family and I stayed at the CitizenM last Friday. In short... I was VERY IMPRESSED and would not hesitate to stay there again. I've stayed at the Sheraton (previous favourite but pricey), the Hilton (a poor effort in my view), the Crowne Plaza (not bad), and the Bastion (decent value) in recent memory, and I would stay at the CitizenM above all of these except for the Sheraton if price was not an issue. We booked the room for 69€ through their website (credit crunch special), a far cry from the 250€+ the Sheraton wanted. The hotel is more than 2 minutes' walk, but still less than 5 mins and there is a covered walkway the whole way (the hotel is located opposite G pier, the LCC area). Considering how tiny it was (I could touch both walls with my fingertips and toes if I really stretched out), the room was very well-appointed, supremely comfortable, and smartly laid out. It had a view of the tarmac, but good sound insulation. The shower was excellent, and all the amenities were provided (shampoo, soap, etc.). Two negatives:
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Originally Posted by TrayflowInUK
(Post 10739838)
There is now a Yotel that is airside, I saw the signs for it yesterday, but I believe it is in the non-Schengen area.
Johan |
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