Amsterdam, Netherlands

Hotel website -- The very heart of beautiful Amsterdam, between Central Station and Dam Square, is the home of the sophisticated full-service Renaissance Amsterdam Hotel. A deluxe property with a uniquely pleasant, informal atmosphere. The hotel is within walking distance to such attractions as Anne Frank's House, the Royal Palace, shopping district and the famous diamond factories. And, if business is on your agenda, no where will you find a more unique location than the 17th century, domed Renaissance Koepelchurch Convention Centre, connected to the hotel via an underground passageway. The facility is one of Netherland's most historical conference venues.

My views on this hotel: the location is fantastic, and I highly recommend staying near the Centraal Station. Because I walked to all my destinations, I found it easy to get back to the hotel at the end of the day because all street signs, no matter where you are, direct you towards the Centraal Station. I'd classify the Renaissance Hotel itself equivalent to a clean 3 star motel in the US. This is because (1) the rooms are smallish and the carpeting is dark. 4 and 5 star hotels can afford to have lighter (and therefore cleaner looking) carpeting (2) there are no facilities. You have to pay to use the gym. I guess it's business oriented, since it has lots of meeting rooms and a large conference centre.

Reservation for 2 at 7pm.

My view: the steak is nothing to write home about. In fact, I've had better steaks in Australia and the US. The Dutch pea soup is fantastic, though. Very tasty (and probably very sinful, with the sausages and bacon fat in it). I don't think that it's worth coming here for the steak. May be worth trying a lamb dish here (or in any restaurant in Amsterdam, for that matter). I've had great success with all the lamb dishes that I've ordered in other restaurants.

My view: this was a very small bar but I did enjoy the experience very much. We were the only tourists there that night, and they did have the widest selection of beers ever! Belgium fruit beers included. Very nice.

I think that we only got to see a wing of this museum as the rest was closed for renovations. So we covered this within 30-45 minutes. We were probably so quick because we're not art enthusiasts. Highly recommend (actually, you MUST) buying tickets in advance from your hotel (or look for a hotel that sells it! I know that Renaissance and De Poort Hotel sells it). There was a really long queue for those who didn't have advance-paid tickets. We breezed by because we bought it. Crazy!

Opening hours:
Monday through Thursday 9am - 1am
Friday 9am - 3am
Saturdays 10.30am - 3am
Sundays 9.30am - midnight

Frommers page 159.
Opening hours Tuesday through Sunday 10am - 6pm. More like a Disneyland for teenage beer lovers. Had things like a DJ booth where you could have your 15 minutes of DJ fame etc. You get 3 beers and a souvenir (bottle opener), though. And the giftshop has fun stuff to buy.

Opening hours:
Saturday through Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 10pm

Once again, buy your tickets at the hotel first.

No reservations made. Closed on Mondays. Probably 8pm dinner. This was by far the BEST restaurant we ate at. The food was excellent and in workable proportions so we were able to have a 3-course meal (I can usually only have a 2-course meal). I had fish and Richard had lamb -- both were superb. Menu changes daily. Highly recommend coming here. In retrospect, I wish I had had dinner here every night!!!

Opening hours:
Sunday through Thursday 9am - 1am
Fridays and Saturdays 9am - 2am

My view: not a "great cafe" in my opinion. It has a great view of the intersection (great for people watching) and that's what most people do, as all the tables at the terrace are positioned to face the road, but that's about it. I ordered the royal selection of snacks -- not so good. Waitress was too cool and aloof for my taste.

Opening hours 9am - 9pm daily. Cannot buy tickets from hotel so you have to queue for this. The lines are shorter towards the end of the day. So go after 5pm.

Reservation for three at 6.30pm. Food was only ok. Very casual (think brown cafe) atmosphere. Owner of the restaurant was very very nice.

Frommers page 163

Opening hours:
Sunday through Thursday 10am - 1am
Fridays and Saturdays 10am - 2am

Reservation for one at 6pm.