Where to stay in Amsterdam and Bruges

Several of you have asked where to stay either pre or post trip.  Here are two places I have stayed. Do note that you can stay far cheaper if you are willing to stay out of town or to accept a perfectly acceptable lower rated property in town. 

The Manor Hotel is just south of the main train station called Place Centrale.  It’s an easy 10 minute tram ride into the downtown area.  Prices start around $157. 00 a night and for Amsterdam that’s reasonable. It’s a former hospital that was converted years ago to a nice hotel and restaurant. https://www.themanorhotelamsterdam.com/en/

The Hard Rock American Hotel is right in the heart of things.  It’s a fun place to stay and has an absolutely gorgeous dining room.  The bedrooms are decorated in a rock and roll style with massive photos or memorabilia in the rooms. If you want to sleep with Mick Jagger, Jimi Hendrix or Janis Joplin here’s your chance.  There are numerous bars and restaurants within a 2 minute walk and shopping is also close by. Several different Tram lines are right out front. The flower market is right down the street as is Vondel Park. Prices start around $220.00 a night.  Most likely we will meet our boat will be in the Oosterdok area (main Harbor). It’s an easy 15 minute walk from the Amsterdam Central Station (train station) area. There is no need to book a hotel near the boat.  Amsterdam is easy to move around with ample public transportation and taxis available.  https://www.hardrockhotels.com/amsterdam-american/

I suggest you devote at least 3 days to Amsterdam. There are simply hundreds of things to do.  Museums abound and Keukenhof Gardens are just out of town and well worth the visit.  Keukenhof is one of the world’s largest flower gardens. If you want to see tulips there are 7 million of them here. As well as numerous other flowers.  Skip the Heineken Brewery Tour, it’s not in the original factory and is not that good. There’s plenty of good beer to be had in the local watering holes. 

At the end of our trip we will be in Bruges.  Bruges is a beautiful and romantic Medieval town and also worth a day or two extra. There are lots of places to stay under $150 a night.  I am already aware that a group of us have booked at the Grand Hotel Casselburgh in Bruges.  For those that are willing to let me play Pied Piper I will lead you to a great bar I know of in the basement of an old building. It’s called Le Trappist and has character galore.  Below is the picture of Le Trappist. 

The train station is a twenty minute walk from most of the hotels and easy to get to.  From there it is under a 3 hour train ride back to Amsterdam or you can set your sights on further touring in Brussels or even head off to Paris. 

A movie you might like is called “ In Bruges”  and stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson.  It’s a comedic crime drama. There’s quite a few scenes of Bruges which will give you an idea of what it looks like.

Still have questions about something or accommodations?  Email me at mfskier@comcast.net.

Regards,  Michael Finegold