HELLO TO FRIENDS OLD AND NEW. I HAVE'NT BEEN ON FOR A WHILE. BEEN BUSY WRITING MY BOOK AND DOING M...
HELLO TO FRIENDS OLD AND NEW. I HAVE'NT BEEN ON FOR A WHILE. BEEN BUSY WRITING MY BOOK AND DOING MYSTERY SHOPPING! BUT I'M BACK & WILL TRY TO CATCH UP WITH MY COT OPS. BEAR WITH ME!!
Member since:19.05.2003
Reviews:46
Members who trust:12
My husband and I try to get away for our anniversay. Past trips have taken us to Paris, Belguim and this year in April we went to Amsterdam. There is so much to see and do, this is going to be a very long read, sorreee!
We had never been before, therfore didnt know where to book accommation, so got on the net and found a hotel within minutes. The hotel was called the Green House Effect, which we got from the Dutch tourist board site.
When we got to the site (very user friendly)you can take a tour or go straight to accommodation.
We went to the accommodation page, which has price and photos of the rooms which are all 'themed'. We picked the English Rose Room, 105 euros p/n inc. breakfast.
It was spacious, very clean and very warm.
Quite romantic really! It had a large bathroom with toilet, 2 hand basins, bath and seperate shower. There's too much info to list with regards to the other themed rooms, but if you're interested go to their web site.
After a short flight and taxi ride, we are in the street where the Hotel is located, and I dont mind telling you, I was SHELLSHOCKED!! As the taxi couldn't stop right outside the door, we walked about 200yrds and in all that time, I was bumping to people, walking into lamp-posts, tripping off the pavements and more. Why? Beacause of all the sex Shops!!
In UK, our sex shop windows are usually blacked out but not here. Everything is on show.
From the taxi to the hotel, we passed 4 maybe 5 sex shops, 1'normal' coffee shop and 3 'weed' coffee shops where you buy your weed along with something to drink (I've never seen that before!), also some tattoo parlours, where in one, the woman had her breast out, getting tattoo'd, and not even behind a screen.
We reach the hotel, and I'm thinking "Oh my gawd!!". The hotel checkin is actually a bar and totally covered in grafitti! First impressions tell you its a dump. I got quite disheartened!
Anyway the girl behind the bar, was lovley. Really friendly and cheery and told us the hotel entrance was across the road and that if we wanted breakfast, it is served right here in the bar. We were also told that if you go next door and show the Bar Man your key, you 20% discount on your joints and weed etc.
We gets in the room and I must say, I was very pleasantly surpised. It was spotlessly clean and airy. After dumping the luggage we are off to explore.
We headed down to the Red Light District. I have never seen anything like this in my life and start giggling like some stupid teenager!! If you've never been, try imagining a street with loads of shops with little windows, one by one by one, right next to each other. But instead of seeing goods for sale, you see the Dutch 'goods' for sale. WOMEN!! Girls of all age,size,colour,creed and so on. They are very pretty, heavily made up and wearing bikinis or negligee's. Men doing deals at the doors, the women pointing to ME to "come for fun Laydee". Thats when I got a fit of the giggles! There a numerous 'theatres' with men outside trying to tempt people in to the 'live sex shows'. But fter walking up and down for while, we get bored and find a wee Irish pub that doesn't allow smoking joints on the premisies. Good for us, cos although we both smoke, I don't like the smell of weed and hubby gets drug tested at work and will loose his job with any trace in his system!
Next night we go for a meal on one of the many lesure boats. That was lovley. Quite pricey, (in pounds? approx 30pounds each) but it was our anniversary that night so we splashed out. The food was lovley, choice of menu and waiter-style or buffet help your self style. Nice atmosphere, background music and tour of the canals that lasted approx 2 hrs. Well worth it.
During the day we went on the usual excursions. Ann Franks House, (i thought that was boring cos I didn't know how she was). Apparantly she spent one of the wars in an attic.. blabla. I was bored so wasn't really listening. Went to the Tulip Fields. That was great. Seeing all these diferent coloured fields of tulips and daffodils. Quite stiking compared to our boring green and brown fields. Thats worth a visit (approx 20 each).
The night life is mental. There is the usual bars and clubs, there's the strange ones (I think it was a gay bar!!) where the men are all dressed up 'Village People' types clothes. Theres drag queen clubs, everything suit to everybody.
The shopping is good. Sight-seeing things like galleries, diamonds shops and factories, cathedrals etc.
Food and drink are reasonable, roughly about what you would pay here.
All in all, a great place to visit. Would defo. recommend it for a short break.
thanks for reading yvonne
p.s. for anyone who knows me, you'll know i always put op's in the wrong place. sorrree, i've done it again. I've done and op on amsterdam!! it should be for the Botel Amstel Hotel. Sorry agian.
Are you sure you meant to write about the Amstel Botel --- it doesn't sound like the boat-hotel the rest of us have written about !!!
AlexW 12.06.2003 22:37
Sorry about the uh rating but I went to the Amstel botel on my honeymoon and was looking forward to an op on it :) Let me know if you get it moved to the right section and I will re-rate :)
WELCOME ON BOARD! The Amstel Botel is a modern luxurious floating hotel A unique ... more
experience to discover Amsterdam! You can easily reach Amsterdam Central Station by ferry NDSM ferry in approx 10 minutes All our rooms have their own bathrooms with ...
Information:
Price is per double room per night and may vary depending on date booked...
incl. Breakfast - HRS Rating: 5,35/10 - The Amstel Botel is a floating hotel located in ... more
the middle of the town right next to the former NDSM shipyard. Begin the day with a tasty breakfast. Later, explore the dockside area of workshops, artists' studios...
Jun 9th, 2003
(Jun 16th, 2003)
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