Hotel Orientation

Amsterdam is expensive, but don't despair if you need to spend less than 100€ ($160) 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 may want to avoid certain neighborhoods that harbor the haunts of drug or sex peddlers -- I say "may" because many visitors head for Amsterdam precisely to experience these aspects of the city. 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. 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 review).

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.

Smoke Won't Get in Your Eyes -- Smoking is forbidden by law in Dutch hotel public areas -- such as the lobby, restaurants, and bars -- except in separate designated and enclosed spaces, in which staffers are not allowed to provide waiting or other services. Few, if any, hotels plan to establish such a separate space. Each hotel can decide whether or not smoking is legally allowed in its guest rooms. Around 80% of Dutch hotels have implemented a total ban on smoking in guest rooms, and this already large percentage is likely to grow over time. Many plan to charge guests who ignore the ban for extra cleaning costs associated with smoking.

Standard Amenities -- A major element in the upgrading of low-cost hotels has been squeezing bathrooms into guest rooms in the city's canal houses and older buildings. 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 tourist offices will help you for 3.50€ ($5.60), 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 020/625-2869; reservations@atcb.nl; www.amsterdamtourist.nl). Online reservations are free; those made by phone, fax, and e-mail cost 15€ ($24) and it costs an additional 15€ ($24) to change a reservation.

Rates -- Many moderately priced and budget hotels now copy expensive hotels by varying their rates from day to day for both online and phone reservations, according to the level of demand, and whether it's an advance-purchase or a last-minute reservation. A particular hotel reviewed in this guide might be categorized as "Expensive" or "Very Expensive" even when its lowest possible rate would fit into the "Moderate" or even "Budget" range. If you manage to secure a room at that rate, rejoice in your luck or acumen, but be aware that plenty of your fellow guests will be paying at the higher end of the range.

Taxes -- Value-added tax (BTW) of 6% and service are included in hotel bills. In addition, a 5% city tax applies to rooms at all Amsterdam hotels. Most hotels add this tax separately to the room rate; others include it in the rate. Be sure to check this when reserving.

Vexations -- Mosquitoes, which thrive in the damp conditions on and near the canals and on marshy 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 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 can be, aah . . . "relaxed" . . . in Amsterdam. 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 job. 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.

If you dare to make a complaint like 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 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€ ($8-$40) 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 hard 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, you better make sure an elevator is in place and working. Should there be no elevator and you have trouble climbing stairs, ask for a room on a low floor. Or think positively and regard the stairs as your workout for the day.