Amsterdam: A Delight!

This is a lovely hotel in a great location if you want to be near the train station. Otherwise, it is kind of out of the way, although not that much in Amsterdam is out of the way.

The bed is fantastic, and the pillows... I still miss them! How often can you say you miss hotel pillows?!? The bed is huge and plush and so hard to get out of. The white linens are rich and comfortable and the rooms design is simplistic and engaging. The rooms had terrycloth robes and slippers that were just as nice as the pillows. There is a seating area as well, with a couch, two chairs, a table, and a huge window overlooking Centraal Station and all its hustle and bustle.

The hotel is very nice, very clean, and the staff is very friendly and will help you out in any way. I was very pleased with the hotel. They have an indoor pool and Turkish sauna, which was part of the reason I chose it and then never had the time to use it. They also have a dining room, but I never ate in there.

The last time I was in Amsterdam, I stayed in Rembrandtsplein, and I preferred that location, as I found it to be more central. We opted for this hotel because we were taking the train out of Amsterdam, so it was very helpful for that.

If you are looking to be by the train station or in this area, it is a superb choice.

This is a wonderful hotel, modern and clean, with a friendly staff and perfect location!!! It's located right in Rembrandtplein.

Walk out your door and you have everything. The tram is directly out the front door, with a nice public green in the middle. This is a great place to be, especially for a first-timer to Amsterdam. Everything was great, and I myself will stay here again. You will not be disappointed with this hotel.

The hotel has a dining room for breakfast, which was included in our stay. I am not sure if it always is included or not, though. I would recommend asking when booking. The breakfast consisted of breads, cheeses, fruits, and coffee. It's nothing spectacular, but it's nice to have, seeing as though most of Amsterdam does not open until the afternoon.

The guest rooms were lovely and simply decorated. The bed was very comfortable and the room was a decent size. The bathroom was clean and modern, with all amenities necessary.

There was no restaurant on the premises, but they do have an eatery with the NH Schiller hotel next door. We ate at the restaurant outside called The Three Sisters, which was wonderful, and I would recommend it.

This hotel is superb for its wonderful location, friendly staff, and comfy rooms.

Great museum, worth a visit. I love Van Gogh, so it was a nice museum to visit. A bit more exciting than the Rijksmuseum. Not too big, so you can walk through the whole place and not spend an entire day and still have more to see. Check it out; it is a great museum!

There are many works by Vincent Van Gogh with more than 200 paintings, 500 drawings and 700 letters as well as the artist’s own collection of Japanese prints, so there is plenty to see.

The Museum also houses a permanent collection by friends of Van Gogh and include Paul Gauguin and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

The Van Gogh Museum is located at Paulus Potterstraat 7. You can visit them online at: www.vangoghmuseum.nl

On Fridays the Van Gogh Museum is open until 10pm.

Do not miss the market. It is really wonderful; you can wonder through on your way from here to there.

It is the oldest market in Amsterdam. There is a good mix of locals and tourists here, so you will not be out of place. They have everything here from clothes and furniture to collector's items, bongs and crafts. It is open Monday-Saturday from 9am-5pm. Go here with some cash and have fun. I left here wishing I had bought a few things that I did not and I regret it to this day.

Amsterdam has a ton of other markets throughout the city. Other ones to keep an eye out for are the market at Looiersgracht I believe this market is open daily from 11am-5pm, but I would ask the staff at your hotel first. This market has everything. it is located in the Jordaan area, you will find almost anything at this general market and the atmosphere is fun.

There is also the flower market on the Singel canal. The flowers are beautiful and the market is so colorful. I would definitely reccomend a stop through here. It is open daily from 8am-8pm. They have all sorts of little knick-knacks to buy here as well; it's a great souvenir spot for the gardener or flower lover in your family!

There are markets all over the city; ask a local to let you in on the best ones and where they are.

There are so many to choose from so hopefully this will help a bit... my advice stay clear of large neon signs!

One of our favorites is The Dolphins, wonderful coffeeshop, go sit downstairs, the atmosphere is much nicer with circular couches and tables. It is dimly lit with a couple of windows to the outside. The room is painted with a under water theme with blues and greens from floor to ceiling. Upstairs is more bar like, with more of a party atmosphere. They offer coffees, drinks and a wide assortment of pot and hash.

Their hours are Sunday-Thursday 10am-1pm, Friday and Saturday 10am-3pm
The Dolphin Coffee Shop is located at Kerkstraat 39 on the Southern Main Canals near Leidsesplein.

The Grey Area is great, SUPER small, owned by two american guys, the music is good here - one of the only shops to not play dance music. They have bongs for customers to use and they are very friendly. Unfortunately the place is so small and can feel a bit cramped, but it is still a great spot to check out. Their pot is amazing and you will leave a happy camper.

Their hours are Tue-Sun 12pm-8pm
The Grey Area is located on Oude Leliestraat 2 in the Western Main Canals and Joordan area.

Homegrown Fantasy is a nice coffeeshop as well, searving alot of coffee and drinks. The shop is also an art gallery, so there is always stuff to look at. The place is more modern and large, but still comfortable. You can check out their website online at: http://www.homegrownfantasy.org/.

Their hours of operation are Monday-Thursday 12-11pm; Friday-Sunday 12pm-12am. They are located at Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 87a in the Centrum district.

Smokey Coffeeshop is a not-so-great coffee shop. This was my first ever coffee shop and we learned quickly that it would be our last visit to Smokeys. Nothing was really horrible about it. It was more bar like and very touristy. Nothing special. The pot was OK. The fact that they had a bouncer at 10 a.m. was a little odd, but who knows how this place works as a first-timer. It was right across from our hotel and the large, bright neon sign was calling our names. It lacked that comfortable quality that you learn to love and expect when entering a new coffee shop. They have a website you can visit online: http://www.smokey.nl/Home.htm

They are located at Rembrandtplein 24 in the heart of the square.

Finally, The Grasshopper Two, the most well-known and largest coffeshop. It is very touristy, especially since it is the first coffee shop outside of the train station. It is more of a bar and club than a coffeeshop. It is nice, but there are alot of other shops in the Dam worth visiting. The pot was good, but not amazing.

The hours of operation are Sunday-Thursday 8am-1pm, Friday and Saturday 7am-3pm

They are located at Oudebrugsteeg 16 and the Grasshopper One is located at Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 59.

So you want to see the land of wooden shoes and windmills? In the mood for some Gouda? Go outside of the city walls and see what Holland has to offer. Many tour operators have day trips to different places in the Netherlands.

On our first trip to Amsterdam, we took a bus trip to a wooden shoe factory, a cheese factory, a windmill farm, and a small fishing village, Volendam.

The day was wonderful. You had the chance to drive through and see Holland and the people in their daily lives. As soon as you got to the cheese and shoe factory, conveniently located at the same place (not too touristy, huh?), you had the chance to walk around and see people's homes in between much smaller canals with windmills in the distance. It was very beautiful, very surreal, and VERY Dutch!

The Wooden Shoe factory was very neat, with rows and rows of beautiful and colorful wooden shoes. They had live demonstrations about how they make the wooden shoes. The people in Holland do really wear their wooden shoes. If you look around out in the countryside, you will see locals in their wooden shoes. They obviously sell wooden shoes and all things Dutch here.

The Cheese Factory--YUM! This honestly was the best cheese I have ever eaten in my life. We bought about eight wheels of cheese between four of us and had almost all of them eaten by the end of our trip. I recommend the smoked Gouda. My husband and I still dream about it. The factory also had live demonstrations worth watching.

The Windmill Farm or Park was very beautiful. It had a windmill you could go into, climb upstairs, and walk around the outside on the upper level. People showed you how the windmill works and its purpose.

The Fishing Village was not in the same place as the others. It was a bus ride into a small village called Volendam. This little village was so insanely quaint that it was hard to leave. The people were extremely friendly and the area was so picturesque. It is great to have some time to spend here. Just walk around the cobblestone streets and get some coffee and a pastry or whatever floats your boat.

I would definitely say that this side trip is well worth it for anyone looking to go outside the city. The Netherlands is a wonderful place that has so much to offer beyond the coffee shops. Please go out and see it all.

This was all very touristy, but for the first-timer, it was a nice way to get acquainted with Holland.