THE NETHERLANDS - Best of Europe 2014 - page 1345

$$$ Hotel Fita has 15 bright rooms in a great location—100 yards from the Van Gogh
Museum, an even shorter hop from the tram stop, and on a corner with no car traffic. The
decor may not be the latest, but all the amenities are there—including espresso machines
in every room—and the welcome is very warm (Sb-€109, two small ground-floor Db-€139,
Db-€139-169 depending on size, Tb-€205, free Internet access and Wi-Fi in lobby, free
laundry service, Jan Luijkenstraat 37, tel. [phone], fax [phone], www.fita.nl ,
[e-mail] , owner Roel de Haas).
$$ Hotel Filosoof greets you with Aristotle and Plato in the foyer and classical music
in its generous lobby. Its 38 rooms, some across the street from reception, are decorated
with themes; the Egyptian room has a frieze of hieroglyphics. Philosophers' sayings hang
on the walls, and thoughtful travelers wander down the halls or sit in the garden, rooted in
deep discussion. The rooms are small, but the hotel is endearing (Db-€110-130 weeknights,
€130-150 Fri-Sat, bigger “deluxe” rooms-€20 extra, suites-€60 extra, prices depend on sea-
son and don't include 6 percent tax; breakfast-€15, free Internet access and Wi-Fi, 3-minute
walk from tram line #1, get off at Jan Pieter Heijestraat, Anna van Den Vondelstraat 6, tel.
020/683-3013, fax [phone], www.hotelfilosoof.nl , [e-mail] ) .
$$ Hotel Alexander is a modern, newly renovated 32-room hotel on a quiet street.
Some of the rooms overlook the garden patio out back (Db-€135, prices soft in winter—call
or check their website for best deal, breakfast-€10, free Internet access and Wi-Fi, tel.
020/589-4020, fax [phone], Vondelstraat 44-46, www.hotelalexander.nl ,
[e-mail] ).
$$ Tulips B&B, with a bunch of cozy rooms—some on a canal—is run by a friendly
Englishwoman, Karen, and her Dutch husband, Paul. Rooms are clean, white, and bright,
with red carpeting, plants, and flowers (D-€85, Db-€120, suite-€150, extra bed-€30, dis-
counts for longer stays, cash only, prefer 3-night stays on weekends, includes milk-and-
cereal breakfast, no shoes, no elevator but not a lot of stairs, free Wi-Fi, south end of
Vondelpark at Sloterkade 65, 7-minute walk from trams #1 and #2, directions sent when
you book, tel. [phone], [e-mail] ,

www.bedandbreakfastamsterdam.net ).
$$ Hotel Hestia, on a safe street, is efficient and family-run, with 18 clean, airy, and
generally spacious rooms (Sb-€83-93, very small Db-€101-107, standard Db-€128-148, Tb-
€158-176, Qb-€188-206, Quint/b-€218-236, can be less in winter—check website for best
price, Roemer Visscherstraat 7, tel. [phone], fax [phone], www.hotel-hestia.nl ,
[e-mail] , Arnaud).
$$ Hotel Parkzicht, an old-fashioned, no-frills, dark-wood place with extremely steep
stairs, rents 13 big, plain, and somewhat frayed rooms on a street bordering Vondelpark (S-
€49, Sb-€59, Db-€79-92, Tb-€120-140, closed Nov-March, no elevator, free Wi-Fi, some