Cycling UK Forum

Does anyone know if there's any hotel/s in central Amsterdam that are particularly good for storing a bike safely?

I'll be getting into Amsterdam Centraal station from Zurich at approx half 8 at night in June with a fully loaded tourer, so don't really fancy leaving it to chance on the day. I have a ferry back from Rotterdam 3 days later so figure it's a good chance to get a full day or two in in the city as a tourist. All of my previous trips to Amsterdam have been in hostels/tiny hotels which doesn't help me much here.

It might just be best for me to e-mail a couple of places, but any recommendations would be great.

Treat yourself to a better hotel, they may let you take bike to room or have underground secure parking.

I normally scrutinise the pictures and reviews on the booking sites. You can often get an idea if the hotel may have enough space, or luggage storage, secure parking, etc.

I usually use Booking com and Agoda (which are actually the same Dutch company but have different options).

simonhill wrote: ↑11 Apr 2022, 8:22am I usually use Booking com and Agoda (which are actually the same Dutch company but have different options).

Agoda has gone bonkers recently and demands scans of your passport and both sides of the card (so they get the signature strip numbers?) to book anything with a credit card. I avoid it! https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/504937

Has this happened to you? For Europe?

I used them quite a lot over last 2 months in Spain and no problems. I do have my card registered with them, however, so no need for verification of that.

I did mention in a recent post about paying for a Spanish train ticket online that I was delayed by the new card payment verification scheme. I can see this being an ongoing hassle.

Airbnb want to see your passport when you register and when I booked a place in Cadiz, I had to send the owner a copy of my passport.

simonhill wrote: ↑11 Apr 2022, 10:46am Has this happened to you? For Europe?

Yes, for an EU country. I did not comply, not least because it is against the credit card terms. I booked elsewhere.

I didn't find your Spanish train ticket post. What was it?

This seems to be nothing to do with accommodation check-in. Other travellers report having to additionally show passports at check-in.

I agree, I wouldn't give p/c of back of my card. I have refused to do this previously for a visa application.

The train ticket was on the EU Phone Roaming thread - another reason to have a phone.

Sorry to hijack the post. If anyone wants to follow up on documents, I suggest a new post. Nonetheless I reiterate that booking sites are a good source for sussing out hotels.

simonhill wrote: ↑11 Apr 2022, 1:10pm I agree, I wouldn't give p/c of back of my card. I have refused to do this previously for a visa application.

The train ticket was on the EU Phone Roaming thread - another reason to have a phone.

Still didn't find it. Maybe the mods removed it for some reason.

Sorry for my part in the post hijack. But I still say to avoid agoda and definitely don't send them pics of card and passport.

So trying to help with the query: cycle.travel suggests Swissôtel on Dam Square, NH City Centre on Spuistraat and Conscious Hotel Vondelpark as the most central bike-friendly hotels. A quirkier option is the Antonia Houseboat. Cheaper bike-friendly options include the Stayokay Stadsdoelen, Ecomama and Sleep Inn hostels. I've stayed in other Stayokays and they've all had locked-room/garage bike parking, but I can't be sure about that one.

Bowak wrote: ↑10 Apr 2022, 10:10pm Does anyone know if there's any hotel/s in central Amsterdam that are particularly good for storing a bike safely?

I'll be getting into Amsterdam Centraal station from Zurich at approx half 8 at night in June with a fully loaded tourer, so don't really fancy leaving it to chance on the day. I have a ferry back from Rotterdam 3 days later so figure it's a good chance to get a full day or two in in the city as a tourist. All of my previous trips to Amsterdam have been in hostels/tiny hotels which doesn't help me much here.

It might just be best for me to e-mail a couple of places, but any recommendations would be great.

If you're not wedded to the area around Centraal - the RAI centre in Oude Amstel is about 20 mins away on a bike and has hotels for 50,000 trade show delegates within walking distance. As the shows are off at the moment, there's a lot of deals to be had. Most have bike storage, or allow bikes in the rooms. Tourist stuff is about 15 mins away on the Metro.

You could keep it in a guarded bike parking, such as the one run by the Dutch train company at Amsterdam Centraal station: https://www.ns.nl/en/door-to-door/bicyc ... orage.html. It's only around a euro a day, and there's a guard there are all times.

There will be others around the city - and many Dutch towns and cities - the Dutch word to search for is: fietsenstalling

I would use staffed bike parking. I see bohrsatom provided a link to one.

Some years ago, I used one that I think was 1.20 Euros per day when I used it, but that was a while ago, and I imagine it's gone up. At the time it was run by MacBike, who also did rentals. I had a little look on their website & couldn't find anything about bike parking, so I don't know who runs it, now.

There's a hotel that overlooks the station too. I think it's an Ibis, but I've never stayed there. You could call and ask them.

Vorpal wrote: ↑12 Apr 2022, 8:50am
There's a hotel that overlooks the station too. I think it's an Ibis, but I've never stayed there. You could call and ask them.

Yes there is an Ibis near Centraal.

Ibis are supposed to be cycle friendly, there're threads on here somewhere with inf on them.

I've only ever had good experiences with this hotel chain in Europe, not the cheapest around but consistent and good.

all the best,

Keith

We stayed at the Owl Hotel. A small hotel in a quiet residential area a few minutes walk from the Rijkmuseum and other galleries, and Vondelpark. Also the start of the city centre is just a few minutes walk.

I found it on booking.com but contacted them directly re bike storage as there was reference on a booking.com review to having arrived on a bike. We were expecting to store the bike in a shed in the garden but as it was the end of the season it was full of garden furniture. We left the bike in the garden but it was very secure with locked gate access. I was happy to leave an expensive tandem there for a few days and would stay again with a bike even if the shed wasn’t available.

We had cycled from Stockholm and Amsterdam proved the hardest place on the trip to find accommodation with suitable bike storage. We wanted to stay near the centre and even a hotel with claimed green credentials and underground parking expected us to leave the tandem outside on the street. It might be easier with a solo bike but it was a relief to eventually find the Owl Hotel. Good luck with cycling in Amsterdam, it was certainly a challenge on a loaded tandem.

I don't know Amsterdam, but in big cities I have sometimes stayed outside near to a good transport link. This saved cycling in the city; was often cheaper accom; more likely space for bike; possibly more pleasant location to stay.

Public transport (metro, etc) into city then walk; tram; or hire bikes.

Sorry for the lack of replies until now - and thank you for the ideas. I've got a nice list now of places to look into and contact

I'll definitely have a look at the staffed bike parking link as that's not something I knew existed, plus the individual hotels mentioned.

Out to roughly Vondelpark is the approximate radius I aim to stay within.