I stayed in the 'Sphinx' hotel for 4 nights last month. It's just around the corner from the Heineken museum and close to the Rijks-museum.....a bit far from the action if all you want to do (like we were) is smoke dope, drink beer and shag a whore or two. (only kidding about the whores )

The hotel cost around £25pp per night, which was fair enough. The room was perfectly adequate, clean enough, and the shower and bog were of a decent standard (just as well )

Breakfast was bit of a let-down though....just bread and jam really, but salami and cheese were available if you so desired ( )
Tea, coffee and oj were all good though, but a toaster would have made all the difference......I'm a tight-arsed Scotsman who likes to get his moneys worth, and will usually drag myself out of bed to eat food that I don't have to pay for regardless of whether or not I have a pulse when I wake up, so the fact that I declined after 2 attempts tells it's own story!

Coffee-shops in the area included 'Rookies' which is good for night-time....decent sounds, good pool-table, and a good, happy atmosphere all round.......pity about their entry in the 'cannabis cup'....'Delta'......it smoked like shit and I found a seed in a 2 gram bag!

One of the 'Rokerij' shops is in the area too......good selection of weed, including the truly excellent 'Kali Mist' at 9 euros a gram, and 'Super Silver Haze' at the same price. The beer's dear though, and it's a bit too dark for my liking

A real 'find' though was the 'Easy Times' coffee-shop.......their 'Afghani Hash' at 12 euros for 3 grams and their 'Temple Balls' (can't remember the price, but it was good value) were fantastic......they like to play good reggae and watch soccer on TV......

So, there ya go!

C&P

yup found that to, the Delta from Rookies was some of the worst weed i've ever smoked in dam. The dealer recomeded it to

sounds like a nice trip C&P

SB

. ive been to the dam 7 times now .. there,s loads of cheap places around ,, better still an apartment , ,, the king wasnt a bad place ,, too stoned to rememebr much ,, but heck wot else am i there 4 .......stu8z

main priority is do they have free porn on the cable tv, dont matter what the rest of the place is like .
I stopped at the nh amsterdam last time i went to the dam, theres two of them and the one we stopped in is right by museum plein, which is nice , not quite as loud and lairy as in the heart of dam, it was loveley in the summer 2 mins walk from vondel park.
ive stopped at both hiltons in amsterdam , the one in the centre and the one at the airport and the nh was definately a better hotel from all aspects.
we got 3 nights and plane tickets from expedia for £250 per person

Amsterdam is my last stop on my Interrail trip at the end of this month so I was planning on booking somewhere in advance rather than just finding a place when I get there, anyone recommend a cheap but ok hotel/hostel?

edit: somewhere with net access and its own cafe/bar would be preferable

morning mate,i wouldn,t worry about an advace booking,theres plenty of accomadation in the dam,but i always seem to find a better deal once ive booked in somewere else if youve the time there a little hotel/hostel/flats renting place its right near hunters..some good deals in there also theres another place on the main drag 2 mins from central station...near the sex museum! they will also sort you out....and if your on a budget at the end of your trip id suggest the flying pig.....nice cheap and chilled with internet access and bluesbrothers coffee shop across the road who do some lovely blueberry. what ever you decide mate youll enjoy it so much youll deffo go back,have a good one and stay safe! s.e.t

Jolly Charlton Hotel

4. Vijzelstraat 4 1017 HK Amsterdam.

The Jolly Hotel Carlton is ideally located in the centre of Amsterdam, near the famous Floating Flower Market, Munt Tower and main shopping district. The hotel offers 218 bright bedrooms and 9 comfortable meeting rooms, which can fit from 10 to 150 delegates. Inside, you will also find an Italian speciality restaurant- Caruso and the Grand Cafe- Carlton Corner.

A group of us went here in early March we paid 110 euros a room for 3 nights. A deal Mrs Ambling_Madly found on T’internet.
Be sure to ask for a smoking room if you require one. The hotel has 4 & 5 star rooms available. We had booked 4 four star rooms. The foyer was quite plush with huge chandeliers and seating areas, there was also a PC ready for surfin’ the web that you could use and charge to your room should you so desire. There was also a valet and several bell-boys all in uniform and they were very helpful as were the staff on the 24hr front desk.
The hotel had a bar that you could charge to your room and a posh and quite expensive Italian restaurant (Jolly Charlton is an Italian hotel chain) but we didn’t try that out, we had other things to do.
The air-conditioned rooms were a reasonable size, clean with relatively modern decoration, the bathroom was also quite large with a powerful shower and had a hair dryer attached to the wall. The rooms also had a mini-bar, trouser press and an internet access connection. The TV showed 2 English channels one of which was a news channel but the Dutch TV often has programs on in English with Dutch sub-titles and there was the option of pay-per-view film and porn channels.
The rooms here come with a Do not Disturb light that you can switch on from inside the room. Very handy in the mid-morning to stop the maid coming in when the room is full of ice-o-lator fumes. The room was cleaned daily and fresh sweets were left on the bedside tables.
Point to note, don’t use the automatic shoe polishing machines next to the lifts to clean white trainers it fucks them up.

The hotel is close to Rembrandt plein at the bottom of the Rokin and ideally situated to be in the middle of everything it’s a lazy 10 - 15 minute walk to Dam Square and a 20 minute wander to the Van Gogh & Rijksmuseum. . A taxi direct to Schipol airport cost us 30 euros.
The closest coffeeshops are Rokerij III which is literally around the corner, Smokey on Rembrandt plein, and the lovely Dampkring both within a walk of a few minutes.

If you want something central with a touch of luxury we highly recommend The Jolly Charlton. If you go out of the holiday season mid-week, like we did (Tues-Fri), you can pick up some right bargain rates.

Ambling_Madly

NH City Cenre 3* - All you need ! Kadinsky & Dampkring all but 2 min walk away! Rest of the hot spots only 10-15 min walk away. Great location - not too loud! Smoked in room No Hassles - window open, towel under door, bit of air freshner NO PROBLEMS! Secure & clean - Recommended!!

Re: my post above.

The hotel actually cost 110 euros per night.

How do all,

I stay at the piet hein hotel in Vondelpark itrs a 3 star and the rooms are well cushty huge bathroom, double bed nice bar open until whenever.

Well worth the trek imho

Bearing in mind you should be doing it all out - I never see the point in spending a fortune on a Hotel cos I only ever spend 4-5 hours there and thats when I'm sleeping!!!

I always stay in the Bulldog hostel (www.bulldog.nl)

The do communal dorm rooms (up to 12 people) for £15pp/pn - I have never stayed in one that has been full and by the time I crash in bed I dont know whats going on around me anyway!! You get a locker to lock your stuff away (padlock costs 5 euros if you aint got one) 2 bathrooms/toilets - always been clean.

If you want to go more up market they do rooms for 3/4/5 (so you and a group of mates) - prices are on their website

They have a bar/smoking area for people staying in the hotel. Bar has opening hours but as a guest the room itself is open 24 hours a day. It has net access, TV with huge DVD collections, pool table and some other games (chess etc). Best plan of action is to stock up on paralysing skunk in the small hours of the morning - back to the hostel and blaze untill you have to crash out This is usually where we roll a super doob!

You get a sort of breakfast included - rolls, cereal that sort of stuff...I usually get a roll and munch it on the way to get a hench breakfast at Barneys (altho gettin a bit pricey there now)

I cant recommend this place enough...it has everything you need and nothing else - I cant fault it and the price is unbeatable!

stayed in 6 bed mixed dorm in Hans Brinker Budget Hotel on kerkstraat which was pretty good, had there own bar, but no smoking hasj in the rooms also stay in the Stayokay hostal kloveniersburgwal, very near the red light, but that was crap, had there own bar but no smoking.
In Utrecht I stayed at Strowis Hostel, and I cant recommend them enough. Its a kind of alternative, green, autonomous youth idea. very chilled, cool music all the time, you can smoke in the garden and they have a good kitchen for use.
other than that I tried to get some sleep outside tilburg trainstation and Eindhoven aeroport, but I dont recommend either

I'd recomend this place to anyone, hotel old quarter i'll be there in june again,60 euros a night midweek,70 weekends with breky,good resteraunt nice food n quite cheap,quarter of the price of them Fkin steak houses haha 2 mins walk from central station,next door to hunters bar on WARMOESSTRAAT

What a FAB idea!!

having been to holland a few times, i thought i'd give you a run down of the places i have stayed.

But before I start, to whoever mentioned the campsite, I was wondering weather it was toker freindly, looks like me, hubby and campervan will be taking a trip.....

So Places to Stay!!!

My Favourite is www.houseboathotel.nl for about £35 each per night you and your freinds can stay in your very own house boat, most come with pot-belly fires, lovely bathrooms, and even complimentary snacks on arrival. They do ask that you dont smoke, but it didint put me off, and neiher should it you, as long as you take a can of orangespray for the last day, no-one can tell....seriously though, the lady said they dont like people smoking and i quoote "ciggarettes" didnt mention spliffs, incase they fall asleep and set the boat alight.....my freind james dozed of a few times, spliff in hand, but it never stayed a light long enough for it to burn him, or the boat, so you should be fine.
Theres a nice supermarket about 5 minutes up the road, and the best way to and from the boat to city centre is by tram, or night bus, it does take about 20 minutes to get there, but in my opinion it was well worth it, tranquil surroundings, privacy, and the added joy of being to make a fry up when you fancy...we stayed in the "watterjuffer" suits four and has one bedroom and a large sofa bed fit for a king.

Next on my list of favs (being a girl) was the Hotel Tulip, on a small lane on Dam Square, I stayed here for my 21st (a fair few years ago now) and I think it must have been expensive, nice little hotel, coffeeshop opposite, tv with porn (for the boyz) breakfast included (never made it!) But nice "Hotel type" bedrooms, like what you'd find back home. smoking okay, it stunk when we walked through the door, so we followed suit!

Have also stayed at hotel terminus, which might be great for blokes, as its next to the redlight district and comes complete with spare bed for hookers, the tvs have free porn, and breakfast is included, the stairways are crazy, and i did get a flea bite, and to be really honest, for a woman its a bit like an eerie nightmare waiting to happen..... smoking was okay, and i am sure it was a hotel designed for pimps!

Next a bit further afield.... we stayed at willie wortels in haarlem, (Kruisweg is the street name) litrally over the road from the train station. Shared toilets, which were clean and not minging, and no brekky (who ever gets up for breky anyway?) shared showers, but each room had a sink, tv, nest of tables to skin up, and nice clean beds and furniture (just refurbished?) piccys of weed upon the walls, nice! and the ADDED bonus of, yes, a coffeeshop open till 2am, underneath you! So...if it snows like it did when we were there, you dont even need to step on the pavement, and you can get a nice toastie and a cuppa in there first thing.....they get used to us tea with milk drinkers after a while!

and finally, The Hotel Golden Tulip Lion D'or also on Kruisweg, 120 euros for a double, nice posh rooms, tv, bathroom etc, in fact sooo posh i felt a little paranoid, but never the less i still had a tooke with no bother, this was an emergency stay over after Thomsonfly left us stranded for 30 hours, it would have been nice if they'd picked up the rather expensive bill, I am sure if I was less stressed I would have been in my element staying there, however for the first time ever i was stressed in holland, but thats another story, just DONT fly with THOMSONFLY.COM!

over n out!

sorry if thats long....



jag x

shared a apt with a few members here (amazing ppl they were)

cost 100 euros for 2 nigths was mint luxury nice confyness

deffo the way to go if yer going in a group cheaper

i dont know the name of this one.....but worth recearching online.

a hotel which has different themed rooms, ie morrocon, tibetian etc. didnt managed to book in as they are soooo busy, but it looked lovely online, so i am sure you will find it.

its a small hotel though only about 6 rooms, would be ideal for a man who wants to suprise his lady.....(hint to hubby )

Love Jag x

I lived over there for two years, if your on a budget or on the run I recommend the camp sites or train stations. Meet some real dodgy people and get wise.

If you sleep rough behind central station, there's some air conditioning ducts that blow warm air out, lots of fun as all the homeless party till the early hours.

Other than that try Amsterdammebosse? camp sight just north of the city. Fucking internationally kicking in the summer months, great times for all.

Tim

I just stayed at the hotel prins hendrik right across from central station i had a twin room to meself nice bathroom but no bath only a cheap old shower but staks of hot water and heating too.
Price included city tax and the breakfast and its a great starting point from there
i think mine was 70 euros per night as i booked it through and agent and got a discount off the normal price of 85 euros.

So all in all a basic 3 star place smack bang in the city.

I would go back there again.

SS

Theres a campsite east of central called zeeburg tram 14 from dam sq. if your backpacking with a tent u can stay there for a fiver anight its got showers a bar, cycle hire shop.I stayed for 6 weeks a few years back i didnt wanna go home. theres folk from all over the world we got mates with some aussies. if u dont mind ruffing it out its worth a shot .Theres also a public swimming pool 5mins walk away .well be going back this summer for another episode .

adding here too... can't recommend www.greenhouse-effect.nl any higher... Ruth, the manager there, is a proper treasure too

anyone know whats happening in Dam next week?

can't seem to find a decent hotel anywhere?

flights are ready to be booked so dont wanna get over there and find I got nowhere to pass out

SB

Techy Invasion!!!! http://xtech06.usefulinc.com/

Ahhh balls, I'm over from Tuesday to Wednesday for a little stress recovery therapy. Does anyone reckon the coffeeshops are likely to be very busy as a result of this? That's all I f'ing need!

I think it may well be possible - although it's more likely the strip clubs that'll be packed!!!

Bloody computer geeks nicking all the hotel rooms

they wont be the coffeeshops as they can't claim it on expenses tho

may have to put my trip off as there seems to be only 1* hotels left and my friend has "Hygene needs"

SB

Groenhoff in Vondel park was clean and tidy with a blind eye to a few J's before turning in. 3 nights stag party Jan 2006. Not my first choice as it's a fair job getting back from town when wrecked but fine for a long weekend with wife when there is no mad rush to get mashed. Bit too far from Grasshoppers which is still my favourite.

Hotel Keizergracht - on Keizergracht, just hope my spellings behaving

Nowt special, never tried the breakfast, but clean rooms, working bathroom bits and a nice canal view if you ask for it. Didn't complain once about us smoking it up something rotten after a day's tramping about had made our feet sore.

Avoid the ibis in Stationsplein its the first hotel in the whole of Holland to go NO SMOKING!!!

Only found this site in the week, checking the posts, have been to Dam 4 times in last 2 years and stayed in different hotels each time, three of which i would recommend on the basis of comfort, price and acessibility to everywhere. Hotel Luxor (2 mins from CS in RLD), The Delta (on the Damrak 5 mins from CS) and La Boheme on Marnixstraat 2 mins from Leidesplein. Always book thru hotels.nl - they dont screw up and u dont pay til you get there, and they offer discounts upto 60% which gives u more spending money when you are there - bonus!! All the afore mentioned hotels offer ensuite and breakfast included in the price, each were no more than £40 for double room per night! They were all smoking hotels, with comfy rooms and plentiful buffet breakfasts.

The hotel i was not so impressed with was Vijaya (RLD) on canal, very noisy, tiny rooms in which you wuld brain a cat if you swang it, and ensuit bathrooms which weren't - they were down the hallway, also very steep stairs and no lifts - not good when you are incapabe of coordinated movement. .

Apologise if ave repeated info posted by others but did not read all previous posts on this thread -bad girl!!!!

Feel free to PM for further details

just got back from adam this morning and we paid 260 euros for 2 nights in wot i can only describe a room you wouldnt let your dog sleep in but the beds were clean that was the savin grace the hotle is the alfa its opposite central station and over looks the flying dutch man and is on the same street as the pooldog which had the most mellow jack horrar ive ever had and alot better flavor and effect than the trainwreak we paid 62.50 for 1.6 grms for did so dont be tempted its shit jack meadley jamaican skunk harsh smoke but fucks you so does the skuff skunk

that camping island is rough. at night, some woodlouse, with rather humped backs, patrol the loo's as there drawn to the light. one of my mates took a spade to one and didn't crack it. there like 4" long. errrrrr!


my mates head to travel hotel on beursstraat. thats very cheap, but shared bathrooms and itchy grey blankets. furniture unfit for oxfam. just along the row is hotel terminus. got a great room in there, with balcony onto warmoestraat.
to get to beursstraat, you head down the damrac from the station. left towards grasshopper, than at grasshopper turn right, thats the street. our room became everyones meeting point. loads of space. dead clean. onsuite. all in pine with a nice round table and pine framed modern pictures on the walls. bang up to date. nt cheap, but worth it . breakfast was in with the price, but i was never up, so my mates wondered in and helped themselfs it was a big buffet job, eat all you wanted

dont book into a hotel visit citymundo.com and check out their apartment and boats for rent, the minimum stay is 3 nights but you get your own place and you can come and go and please yourself.
check it out man its worth it

look no futher than the Greenhouse Effect

stayed in both the Market Square appartment and one of the rooms, no the cheapest place at around £30-40 per person per night, but very smoker friendly (munchies in the mini bar ) and in a great location on the warmenstraat

the Market apartment is about 5 mins walk away just round the corner from the Bluebird, def worth looking into

SB

A few of us got the Greenhouse Effect "Downtown" apartment for £23 per person per night within the next week or so, saved a lot going through www.lovingamsterdam.com.

Can highly recommend them as a booking agency.

never heard of them before but i will certainly be looking into it, cheers

check out the hoel brian on singel if you dont care where your staying coz your neva gonna be there, for the price of a two person room (20 euros a night off season weekdays, 27.50 on weekends all year and on season in the week) you will be sleeping in a room the size of a toilet with two beds in (one attached to the wall)!

Look out for the owner of the place (brian) he is an english bloke who came to amsterdam and neva left, anyone who has met him will surely know what i mean when i say he is VERY monty python, also remember dont ask the drinks machine for fanta, instead of nazi coke it spits out beer!

Hi im off to the dam on the 22nd of feb and the m8 who im going with would like us to stay here http://www.prinsenboat.com/en/index.php,

It some kind of boat house i think, but it runs at sumit like 170 euros a night but poss deal in low season,
My m8 said it bloody great and says u could not want anything else???
Im not to sure as i only want to get my head down so im not to bothered about what a place looks like, As long as its clean and tidy im happy,

Has anyone else ever stopped in this type of acomadation?? if so what did u think to it??

thanks inadvance for any response,

RHO Hotel-on the corner of Dam Square behind the pointy column thing-on the street that leads to NES cafe-it's a proper hotel but the staff have seen it all so you can pretty much do anything you want.

Slump to the floor in the corridor and need to rest there for a few hours? No problem -the cleaners will be sympathetic and help you back to your room-etc etc

bout £30 if you share with friends-£60ish for a single or double and you can wander in any day of the year and they WILL have rooms

yo

You having a laff mate?

Another vote for Greenhouse Effect Coffeeshop/hotel - excellent service and room....

Greenhouse Effect

just got back from staying in the greenhouse effect, what a lovely place ,

lovely people, cool rooms, good breakfast options, and having spliff with breaky is always good
great location, loads of smokes within 100 mtrs , red lights just around the corner, smoke as much as you want in your rooms, discount for smokes and drinks at the coffeshop
we WILL be going back.

only downsides ,
the stairs to the room can be a challange if your really really really mashed
the bed was a bit old and lumpy, and errrrrrrrrr ummmmmm thats it

9.5 out of 10

alright mate

where did you book to stay there,
as i want to go at the start of march and it seems that the greenhouse effect is the place to go.
did you book via the website or somewhere else?

cheers bud...

my girlfriend did it on loving amsterdam . com or .co.uk

hope that helps mate

cheers bud, canne wait to get out there!!! im going for just a hash trip this time around, any good cafe's that sell some good quality hashish??

cheers again

Katsu, and bluebird had a amazing selection of hash

elmoogo you can book it through there own website... Link is in my last post in this topic......

Best place I've been and have beent to ever since whenever i visit amsterdam(n) is bed & coffee. Its a small place with 4 rooms and shared bathrooms/showers, and a front room with a pc with free internet access, and free tea/coffee Its very clean and has a vey friendly chilled out vibe. The bathrooms are exceptionally clean too, cleaner than my home bathroom

The bedrooms are great an look quite funky, disco balls, multicoloured spots and UV that you can mess around with. I thought it was a nice touch

Last time i stayed there was september 2006, and had a room with a double bed and cost 192 euros for four nights, ie 96euro pp = 24euro ppn = £16.35 per night per person, quite acceptable I think the prices change depending on dates and number of people, so you may get a higher or lower price, but if you email you can find out specifics.

Its not very central sort of to the south, but no more than a 15 minute walk, and tram lines really close by. I didnt find location a problem and i would rather stay there than too centrally myself, quieter, less touristy, and as an added bonus the amazing greenhouse tolstraat cafe is just round the corner and so is katsu. Greenhouse tolstraat is by far my favourite coffeeshop, nice comfy couches, is really nicely done up inside, is usually less busy, serves beer and most importantly amazing bud. I recommend their super silver haze, ny diesel and arjans haze


the site is http://www.bedcoffee.nl/

I like Durty Nellys on Waermostraat, £15 a night in the biggest dorm, free decent brekkie and its also a pretty good Irish pub! 24 hour bar for residents too.

I'll be there next week actually, the location cant be beat - 2 minutes from dam square.

I been going back n forth to the dam since 89,
stayed in many a shit hole.

We always book an apartment or house boat these days, Ive never payed more than 55 euros per night
for any house boat or apartment. And for us its the only way to go now.

The hosts are always very friendly and even stock the fridge with beers too.
Cant go wrong.

Ill be going to the dam on Monday and I'll give a review of the boat we booked when I get back on thurs.

All I can say is...

THE FLYING PIG

UPTOWN OR DOWNTOWN

BOTH ARE CLOSE TO QUALITY COFFEESHOPS AND PLACES TO EAT

UPTOWN IS IN THE CLUBBING AREA AND IS NOT AS BIG AS THE DOWNTOWN WHICH IS SITUATED 500 YARDS FROM CENTRAL STATION

SORRY ABOUT THE CAPS

MARTIN

P.S. They are great value for money :-)

I wouldn't go anywhere else.