Hotel Orientation

Amsterdam is expensive, but don't despair if you need to spend less than 100€ ($125) a night for a double room. Most city hotels, whatever their cost, are clean and tidily furnished, and in many cases, they've been recently renovated. I've mostly listed hotels with rooms that have private facilities, even in the inexpensive category -- and if I've included a hotel where this is not the case, I've only done so for the most compelling of reasons.

Many hotels offer significant rate reductions between November 1 and March 31, with the exception of the Christmas-to-New Year period. The city is as much a delight during this season as it is during the tourist-packed summer months; you'll enjoy a calendar full of cultural events, many traditional Dutch menu dishes not offered in warm weather, and streets, eateries, and museums filled with more locals than visitors.

If a particular hotel strikes your fancy but is out of your price range, inquire whether special off-season, weekend, specific weekday, or other packages will bring prices down to what you can afford.

You'll want to avoid certain neighborhoods that harbor the haunts of drug or sex peddlers. Amsterdammers accept them as facts of life, and there are really no "no-go" areas, but it's wise to limit ventures into Amsterdam's shady corners to daylight or early-evening hours -- there's no reason to spend your nights in a less-than-desirable area or worry about getting back to your room safely. The hotels described here are all decent hotels in decent neighborhoods (for the few on the fringes of dubious neighborhoods, I've mentioned this in the text).

The Netherlands adheres to the Benelux Hotel Classification System. Hotels get stars based on set criteria -- having a pool, an elevator, and so on -- so the hotel with the most stars isn't necessarily the most comfortable or elegant (though often, it is). Each establishment must display a sign indicating its classification, from "1" for those with minimum amenities to "5" for deluxe, full-service hotels.

Standard Amenities -- A major element in the upgrading of low-cost hotels has been squeezing bathrooms into guest rooms, and the city's canal houses and older buildings faced major obstacles in their efforts to upgrade. The term bathroom, by the way, is used whether the facilities include a tub, tub/shower combination, shower stall, or even one of those silly shower/toilets that inevitably results in lots of soggy toilet paper. If having a full bathroom is important to you, verify in advance that all you need is included.

Dutch TV channels air American and British programs in English with Dutch subtitles. Cable TV offers CNN, BBC, MTV, Sky, and others. If you're traveling with kids, be warned that some Dutch, German, and Luxembourg stations broadcast soft (and some not-so-soft) porno shows late at night.

Reservations -- Should you arrive without a reservation, VVV Amsterdam helps you for 3.50€ ($4.40), plus a refundable room deposit. They can find you something, even during the busiest periods, but it may not be exactly what, or where, you want. To reserve ahead of time, contact the Amsterdam Tourism & Convention Board, P.O. Box 3901, 1001 AS Amsterdam (tel. 020/551-2525; fax 020/201-8850; reservations@atcb.nl; www.amsterdamtourist.nl) for Amsterdam; for all of the Netherlands, use the free Netherlands Reservations Center, Plantsoengracht 2, 1441 DE Purmerend (tel. 0299/689-144; fax 0299/689-154; info@hotelres.nl; www.hotelres.nl).

Vexations -- Mosquitoes, which thrive in the damp conditions on and near the canals and on waterlogged reclaimed land around the city, can be a major nuisance. You can buy various plug-in devices to hold them at bay, and a fly-swatter to bring 'em down, but it's best not to let them into your room in the first place.

The lower down the price scale you go, the more likely you are to find yourself subject to "amenities" such as tiny sinks in which you can just about wash one hand at a time, no soap or shampoo in the bathroom, or a supplementary charge for orange juice at breakfast -- talk about being nickel-and-dimed (or dollar-and-pounded).

Gay & Lesbian Hotels -- Though by law no hotel is allowed to turn away same-sex couples -- in Amsterdam, such a thing is unimaginable anyway -- service will probably be better-tailored at gay-run accommodations, and Amsterdam has gay hotels aplenty. Prices and facilities are pretty unexceptional -- the innkeepers' knowledge that most guests will be out enjoying themselves is probably why these hotels don't turn up the luxury level.

Complaints -- Standards of service are more relaxed in Amsterdam than in, say, New York. That's doesn't mean you won't get good, friendly service -- you will -- but there's a subtle subtext: Dutch service providers just naturally assume they're doing you a favor, rather than their duty. This attitude surfaces most clearly when you make a complaint. You may be astonished to discover that if you have a problem, you might be blamed for not being satisfied with what's provided.

In Amsterdam, if you dare to make a complaint like by some, shall we say, Americans -- rearing up on your hind legs and hollering until the staff person gets his or her butt into gear -- your effort goes down like the Titanic. In big international hotels, where staffers are more accustomed to the demanding "foibles" of global business travelers, the response is likely to be glacial but correct. But in a hotel farther down the financial food chain, watch out: You may have a stand-up fight on your hands.

Breakfast -- If breakfast isn't included, expect to pay 5€ to 25€ ($6.25-$31) for a continental, buffet, or full breakfast, depending on the hotel category. A typical morning begins with a selection of breads -- whole-grain, nutty, or rye -- fresh from the warme bakker; rusks (crunchy toasted rounds, like Zwieback); ontbijtkoek (spicy gingerbread cake); a platter of cheese and sliced meats (ham, roast beef, salami); coffee (thicker and stronger than American coffee, and often served with koffiemelk -- gunk similar to condensed milk, which does to coffee what water does to a fine malt whiskey) or tea. Some hotels throw in a boiled egg, yogurt, fruit juice, or all three.

This, at any rate, is the ideal spread, but cheap hotels may present only a few sorry-looking, curled-up-at-the-edges cheese slices, assorted cold meats of indeterminate provenance, and eggs boiled hard enough to sink an enemy sub.

A Down-to-Earth Warning -- Elevators are difficult to shoehorn into the cramped confines of a 17th-century canal house-turned-inn and cost more than some moderately priced and budget hotels can afford. Many simply don't have them. If lugging your old wooden sea chest up six flights of steep, narrow stairs is liable to void your life insurance, better make sure an elevator is in place and working (or think positively and regard the stairs as your workout for the day). Should there be no elevator and you have trouble climbing stairs, ask for a room on a low floor.