Bike friendly hotel in Rotterdam.

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PhilB
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Joined: 21 Oct 2022, 11:59am

Bike friendly hotel in Rotterdam.

Post by PhilB »

I will be cycling through Rotterdam, this June, and would like to stay for one night to explore the city. Could anyone recommend a hotel with secure bike storage or is bike friendly.
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mjr
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Re: Bike friendly hotel in Rotterdam.

Post by mjr »

https://www.allefietserswelkom.nl/kaart suggests thesocialhub.co may be a good one to ask.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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Woodtourer
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Re: Bike friendly hotel in Rotterdam.

Post by Woodtourer »

Contact Bikes4Travel. Great bike shop in Rotterdam.
PhilB
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Re: Bike friendly hotel in Rotterdam.

Post by PhilB »

Many thanks for the info, I've emailed Bike4travel and with luck they can help. I have, on occasion in the UK, just pushed my bike into the hotel room and nothing was said by the staff. I'm not sure how it is in the Netherlands and being in the city I don't want to lock my bike on the street.
bohrsatom
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Re: Bike friendly hotel in Rotterdam.

Post by bohrsatom »

I've found that NL hotels tend to be less bike friendly than you'd expect - I suspect that because bikes are everywhere they don't really understand why you'd want to keep yours in your room, or want to provide a dedicated space to keep them.

On previous trips I've checked into a hotel and left my bike locked in a guarded municipal bike parking. Sometimes they are free, otherwise they're very cheap (few euros a day maximum). You check your bike in, are given a ticket/token which you then exchange for your bike when you want to leave. If you have a reasonable lock then your bike will be perfectly safe as the guard would stop anyone using bolt cutters or an angle grinder!

The folks working there don't generally speak much English, but the person in the queue behind you will and they can help explain how it works.

For googling you want to search for a 'Bewaakte fietsenstallingen' (Guarded bicycle shed). I'm not sure if you can use ones at stations as you'd probably need an OV Chipkaart, only available to residents, but someone with better knowledge of how this works will hopefully be able to advise further.
(You also need to be careful about places which are PIN only as UK debit cards will most likely not work)
scragend
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Re: Bike friendly hotel in Rotterdam.

Post by scragend »

bohrsatom wrote: 30 Jan 2023, 10:58pm For googling you want to search for a 'Bewaakte fietsenstallingen' (Guarded bicycle shed). I'm not sure if you can use ones at stations as you'd probably need an OV Chipkaart, only available to residents, but someone with better knowledge of how this works will hopefully be able to advise further.
(You also need to be careful about places which are PIN only as UK debit cards will most likely not work)
As far as I'm aware you can pay per use at an NS fietsenstalling. The NS web site says:
Je kunt ook in de stalling betalen, per keer dat je je fiets stalt. Dit doe je gemakkelijk met je pinpas, wanneer je de stalling met je fiets weer verlaat. Aanmelden is hiervoor niet nodig.
You can also pay at the parking, each time that you park your bike. You do this easily with your debit card, when you leave the parking again with your bike. Registration is therefore not necessary.

Of course paying by debit card in the Netherlands brings its own issues! I'd expect NS to accept Mastercard/Visa though - they do for train tickets at the machines. It's generally smaller shops/places outside of tourist centres, and of course stubborn old Albert Heijn, who won't take Mastercard/Visa. Certainly in Amsterdam it's not much of an issue; Rotterdam is big enough and international enough that it might be the same. Maestro is in the process of being withdrawn in favour of Debit Mastercard anyway.
Woodtourer
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Joined: 23 Jan 2018, 1:51pm

Re: Bike friendly hotel in Rotterdam.

Post by Woodtourer »

Just remembered. Not sure what it is in Dutch. Friends of the Bike. You pay a small joining fee and people open their home to cyclists. Breakfast was included.
Jdsk
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Re: Bike friendly hotel in Rotterdam.

Post by Jdsk »

Vrienden op de Fiets:
https://www.vriendenopdefiets.nl/en

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Thehairs1970
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Re: Bike friendly hotel in Rotterdam.

Post by Thehairs1970 »

Why not use air bnb? Many houses flats etc have somewhere for your bike and can be cheaper.
scragend
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Re: Bike friendly hotel in Rotterdam.

Post by scragend »

Thehairs1970 wrote: 1 Feb 2023, 6:00pm Why not use air bnb? Many houses flats etc have somewhere for your bike and can be cheaper.
There aren't as many Airbnb options as you might think in the big Dutch cities. It does exist but as I understand it there are quite tight restrictions on the number of nights a property can be rented out in a year before extra licensing requirements come into play.
JayM
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Re: Bike friendly hotel in Rotterdam.

Post by JayM »

I've been to Rotterdam twice and found everywhere bike friendly.

If you're willing to stay in a hostel, Hostel Ani & Haakien (https://www.anihaakien.nl) is great and has an area for bikes. It won Hostelworld's best hostel award a few years ago!

We found a great AirBnB in a windmill next to Kralingse Plas. In general, Kralingen is a great place to stay if cycling because it's green, lovely and on the cycle route between Rotterdam city and Gouda.
Thehairs1970
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Re: Bike friendly hotel in Rotterdam.

Post by Thehairs1970 »

Not had problems with Airbnb there myself…
JayM
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Joined: 27 Jan 2023, 2:16pm

Re: Bike friendly hotel in Rotterdam.

Post by JayM »

This was our AirBnb place on Plaszoom. I think they have more and less expensive options too:

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/33083907 ... 0996aaa679
JayM
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Re: Bike friendly hotel in Rotterdam.

Post by JayM »

As an aside, we were pleasantly surprised how easy it was to take bikes on the Rotterdam metro (which runs as far as the Hook) but disappointed at how difficult it was to take our bikes on mainline trains. Our journey from Delft to Den Haag Centraal was a nightmare, with restrictive times and revolving doors. In fairness, I think the Dutch have tried to render bikes on trains redundant by providing easy bike rental schemes at the main stations and good town-to-town infrastructure.
willem jongman
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Re: Bike friendly hotel in Rotterdam.

Post by willem jongman »

I am not sure what is meant by revolving doors. All trains have spaces for bicycles, although not necessarily enough. You are only allowed to have your bike in one of these special bikes spaces, but they are indicated on the outside of the train. More recent trains have entrances level with the platform, some older trains will require that you lift the bike a bit. Be quick and efficient getting on and off, because the trains only stop for short periods of time. Most stations have elevators.
On weekdays there are restrictions during rush hours, but not for travelers with international tickets. And you need a day ticked for the bike.
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