Amsterdam - Amsterdam Bruges and Brussels - page 169

frame, velvet-curtained rooms are an opulent splurge (tiny Sb-€115,
Db-€200, deluxe Db-€250, third person-€40, prices bump way up
during conferences and decrease in winter, rates do not include 5
percent tax, breakfast buffet-€12, air-con, elevator, Internet access
and Wi-Fi, Keizersgracht 164, tel. [phone], fax 020/626-
9705, www.thetoren.nl, [e-mail]). To get the best prices,
check their website for their “daily rate,” and in the “remarks” field,
ask for the 10 percent Rick Steves cash discount.
$$$ Hotel Ambassade, lacing together 59 rooms in 10 adja-
cent houses, is elegant and fresh, sitting aristocratically on the
Herengracht. The staff is top-notch, and the public areas (including
a library and breakfast room) are palatial, with antique furnish-
ings and modern art (Sb-€195, Db-€195-235, spacious “deluxe”
Db with canal view-€250-275, Db suite-€275-375, Tb-€235-275,
extra bed-€40, see website for specials, rates do not include 5 per-
cent tax, breakfast-€16—and actually worth it, air-con, elevator,
Internet access and Wi-Fi, Herengracht 341, for location see map
on page 176, tel. [phone], www.ambassade-hotel.nl, info
@ambassade-hotel.nl, Roos).
Simpler Canalside Hotels
$$ Hotel Brouwer is a woody and homey old-time place. It's
situated tranquilly yet centrally on the Singel canal and rents eight
rooms with old furniture and soulful throw rugs (Sb-€60, Db-€95,
Tb-€120, cash only, small elevator, Internet access, located between
Central Station and Dam Square, near Lijnbaanssteeg at Singel
83, tel. [phone], fax [phone], www.hotelbrouwer.nl,
[e-mail]).
$$ Hotel Hegra is cozy, affordable, and inviting, with 11
rooms filling a 17th-century merchant's house overlooking the canal
(S-€50, Ds-€70, Db-€105, Ts-€115, Tb-€145, breakfast-€5, Wi-Fi,
just north of Wolvenstraat at Herengracht 269, tel. [phone],
www.hotelhegra.nl, Robert).
$$ Hotel Hoksbergen is a welcoming, well-run place with
a peaceful location where hands-on owners Tony and Bert rent 19
rooms (Db-€98, Tb-€143, 5 apartments-€165-198, fans, Wi-Fi,
Singel 301, tel. [phone], www.hotelhoksbergen.com, info
@hotelhoksbergen.nl).
$$ Hotel Chic & Basic Amsterdam has a boutique-hotel
feel, even though it's part of a Spanish chain. With its mod utili-
tarian design and younger clientele, it provides a break from all
the lace curtains. Located near Central Station, it offers 25 mini-
malist, bathed-in-white rooms (you can change the color based
on your mood). Rooms with canal views are pricier and breezier
(Sb-€95-130, Db-€120-155, €20 more on holiday weekends,
always free coffee, fans on request, tangled floor plan connecting