Amsterdam

Hi all, a group of us are going to Amsterdam later in the year. Can anyone point me in the direction of good hotels, places to eat, bars and clubs and places not to miss..... Thanks

are you looking for cheap and cheerful or plush? are you looking for mental drug and drink induced/red light extravaganza or bit of site seeing and more city break? ...ive been twice in recent years

are you looking for cheap and cheerful or plush? are you looking for mental drug and drink induced/red light extravaganza or bit of site seeing and more city break? ...ive been twice in recent years

That's relative of course. Amsterdam is hellish expensive wherever you stay. Still, the further out you go from the centre the cheaper it gets. I stayed around about the third canal and got away with just the one arm and leg.

I couldn't afford to eat though...

The other alternative is to stay further out e.g Schiphol, Haarlem and just travel in. The hotels in the centre are pretty grim unless you stump up for Krasnopalski or one of the business chains such as the Tulip Inns. I've also heard the Botel (a converted boat) up near Centraal Station is OK.

For fun, avoid the Grasshopper and Teasers - I have never worked out why these are so popular with tourists - they will gouge into your holiday money very quickly; just round the corner in the red light district is Stones which is much more reasonable and plays great music. The Club Paradiso is still very popular especially on band nights and the Panama is just outside the centre and the fit local girls go there.

Alternatively just go to one of the "hubs" Leidseplein or Rembrantsplein and there's no shortage of decent places to eat, drink and be merry!

Succes!

This is all you will need, great hotel & a great location. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g188590-d229156-Reviews-Rembrandt_Classic_Hotel-Amsterdam_Noord_Holland.html

Cheers guys, not overly worried about price and want to be close enough to walk around the city. We've been wanting to go for a few years and now the kids are a bit older we get some freedom back, so we want to get it right.

Cheers guys, not overly worried about price and want to be close enough to walk around the city. We've been wanting to go for a few years and now the kids are a bit older we get some freedom back, so we want to get it right.

Dog's advice about Tripadvisor is sound. I wouldn't book anywhere these days without visiting that site first.

There are some nice boutique hotels around Princesgracht and Kaisergracht and these sites are quite useful:

http://www.amsterdam-hotels-guide.com/

http://www.hotels.nl/

We had great fun on the Amstel Brewery tour which was free including as much beer as you could take (there was also Heineken). Mind you, this was 1969.

the hotel rho,just off dam square is fairly decent,no bar but lots around the square not far from the red light area(sorry i mean the boat cruises) either.