Priceline Hotel: Would an AMS airport hotel work for a 5-night stay

[WillTravel]

I'm trying to figure out if this is a reasonable solution, or stupid.

Transit links between AMS and central Amsterdam seem to be very good.

Airport hotels are somewhat cheaper than hotels located in the City Center/Museum zone, and some of the hotels in that zone are not that central either.

I haven't finalized the itinerary yet, but it's quite likely we'd be coming in very late the first night, and leaving very early the last morning.

Under these circumstances would it make sense to do a 3* or 4* bid for the AMS airport zone? The dates would be either Aug. 19-24, or Aug. 24-29.

[lwitchel]

WT - I know you've done this enough to know the general positives and negatives so a lot depends on how you feel about them. For me, I lose something of being "in Paris" even being at the Meridien Etoile on the Boul. Peripherique. At the same time, I'm not as warm towards Amsterdam (a minority position). One thing an airport hotel might give you is a quieter night's sleep. At the hotel I stayed at last year (the Bilderberg Jan Luyken right near the Vondelpark, but on Queens Day, which is the fourth of July on crack) there was screaming in the streets all through the night.

Schipol has excellent links to Amsterdam but getting from the tram to the train to the hotel will probably take you a good 30-45 mins each time even with a quick and frequent train journey. Your call - how much night time experience and activity do you want? Have you tried bidding in the city itself yet - if the Renaissance is coming up for your dates I gather it's a good option as well.

[Scorp]

I'm not as warm towards Amsterdam (a minority position).

Well, you can add me to the ranks! I was very underwhelmed by Amsterdam and when I spent a week in the Netherlands a few years back, I ended up getting out of the city altogether and stayed in Utrecht. It has the central train station for the region, so trains to Amsterdam (or to other regions) are fast and frequent, if you do want to spend some days in the bigger city (which is only about 40 km or 25 miles). You would probably find it as easy or easier to take the train from Utrecht to Amsterdam as you would from Schipol to Amsterdam.

Also, Utrecht is a lovely little city with lots of medieval architecture, tons of shopping, and a goodly number of cafes and restaurants along its canal system. I never regretted for a minute staying there instead of in the bigger city. It's a great place to walk around, lots of museums and galleries, very friendly people. And I got a great deal on a hotel there, with a big breakfast included. I can't remember the hotel name, though.... :)

You can check the tourism web site, at

http://www.12utrecht.nl

Don't know if that will appeal or not, and I don't know if there is PL bidding there.

[WillTravel]

My daughter has built a strong case for going to Amsterdam and has a long list of places she considers must-sees. I've tried to persuade her Berlin would be just as edgy and modern (probably more so plus it has cheaper hotels), but Amsterdam it is. I even pointed out that a hostel in Amsterdam is only a little less expensive than a 4* hotel in Berlin, and we might end up staying at a hostel, but she still wanted Amsterdam.

I know Rick Steves recommends staying in Haarlem. I'll take a look at Utrecht.

On consideration, I don't think the airport hotel is a good idea for five nights. I was just temporarily blinded by the difference in cost.

I did try bidding - 3* for $50 (obviously not going to win at that rate) for the CC/MQ. I got a counteroffer for $111, which I suspect is a 4* hotel which could probably be won in the $100 range.

[thesilb]

WT - Having been to AMS maybe 20 times, my two cents would be do not stay at Schipol. It would not nearly be as nice as staying downtown. The area around the airport is drab, and while there is good transport, do you really want to deal with trains each way every day? Similar to above poster, I would add that one of the joys for me as an American is being in (almost any) European city center - they just organize and do things so much differently, its a joy to soak it up. Staying at an airport takes away from that, in my view.

[thesilb]

Check PL-V and if showing Marriott or Renaissance, try 100 or 102 for the four stars in CC/MQ. You'll probably get one of those. I like the Marriott better for location sake. The Leidseplein is an area you might want to target if you decide to stay downtown. It close to all the good museums and the dining & nighttime options are superb.

I don't know if you have any connections with your work to IBM, but if you do there's a 130 euro refundable rate for a deluxe room with breakfast at the Marriott on most nights, use code XXX at MARRIOTT.com

[WillTravel]

thesilb, I could ask our corporate travel agent if we have such an IBM code. That is a pretty good rate - I just don't know if I want to spend it.

The Park Plaza Utrecht and Holiday Inn Leiden are both available in the 60-65 Euro range for my dates, which is certainly pretty good for a European 3* or 4* chain hotel. The latter one in particular has excellent reviews. But I think I will hold out to stay in Amsterdam itself - and I'll give some more thought as to exactly how much I want to spend on it.

[thesilb]

I think you are smart to hold out and stay in Amsterdam itself. By the way, the proper code is really "XXX" - that's not a placeholder for what the actual code is. If your company does any business with IBM or has any connection with or to, you're allowed to use the rate as far as I've read in the FlyerTalk ethics type discussions. I can tell you, they don't check your ID or anything. Its a great rate for a confirmed spot in the Leidseplein, although just bidding 100 or 102 for the CC/MQ four star lands you a 50/50 chance of getting this hotel, anyway (but not the free breakfast).

[WillTravel]

Thanks for the tip. I tried it just now. The "XXX" works. And my company does work with IBM. This would be a great rate for more than two people also - because with that booking you can get two double beds. So accommodation for four people and breakfast for 130 Euros per night would be hard to beat anywhere else.

[thereuare]

Does owning an IBM computer count? :)

For anyone reading this thread and using the code, please use this board's MARRIOTT link for your purchases.

Thanks!

[WillTravel]

To update this topic, I have found a deal at Best Western Lancaster for an ensuite twin room for 64.5 Euros per night, including breakfast and VAT. This is a 3* hotel (at least as rated by the Dutch government) by the Artis Zoo. This is a fully cancellable rate.

http://www.bookings.nl/hotels/lancaster?aid=100000

Reviews on channels.nl and tripadvisor.com are mostly positive. Tram links to the center look good. This hotel is located at the eastern edge of Priceline's City Center/Museum Quarter zone. I don't know if it would show up on Priceline or Hotwire, and it's never been reported, but it's certainly possible.

It seems that there was only one room available at this rate for these dates, because after I booked it and tried a search again, this hotel did not show up with a cheap rate.

I'll perhaps try (very) lowball rates for a 4* bid, but I don't see any point in trying a 3* bid.

[WillTravel]

This turned out better than I could have hoped.

I did not use Priceline. For the sake of reference, the counteroffers I got in the low $100s changed to counteroffers in the $130s as my dates got closer. So if you do want a 4* hotel room, I would say there's a good chance that waiting until a late date is not a good idea.

When we arrived at the Best Western Lancaster at 12:30 AM early Saturday morning, we were told that our room lock did not work, so they were sending us to another hotel, Best Western Eden, in a taxi at their own expense. This hotel, at 144 Amstel, is between Rembrandtplein and Waterlooplein. It had a terrific location. We walked practically everywhere. Our rate of 64.50 Euros per night (plus 1.72 Euros per day city tax) included a nice buffet breakfast. The hotel public areas were 3* quality, and the staff were helpful and friendly. Our room was spacious for Europe, and the bathroom was very good, but the hallways were a touch rundown. However, we had absolutely nothing to complain about, except for some nightclub noise (which we slept through). We skipped the Red Light District, and didn't linger around Centraal Station, so we got a pretty good impression of Amsterdam.

The only unfortunate thing is that the Best Western Eden is being upgraded to a 4* hotel. So I think our odds of staying there again, certainly at that price, are pretty low.

I would definitely not stay at the airport on a return visit. I would stay in a smaller town if the town was interesting enough on its own, but I think I would find it inconvenient compared to where we stayed.

(I'm a little suspicious of the room lock story, and think it more likely that they resold our room, but it doesn't really matter why we got bumped, as it turned out very well for us. The Lancaster in the Plantage area would have been OK, but the Eden was a much more convenient location.)

[LoneStar]

Just glad you avoided the hostel. :)

I'm also firmly in the camp that Amsterdam, and the Netherlands as a whole, is overrated as a tourist destination (although I do like some of the small towns, particularly the "cheese towns").

I also think Ireland is overrated, but that's another story!