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Morning, trying to get a student to the Netherlands for a summer trip next year.
As you can imagine, the prices are a bit steep for that time of year for someone on a student’s budget.
I’m not generally in the hotel points game, so I am not very up on which hotel’s points system would give the best value here – for example, I had a look at IHG (IIRC) but when I did the maths, it didn’t work out that much cheaper.
TIA for any guidance here!
SW
Camping.
When I was a student backpacker I stayed at an Amsterdam camping in the north. Clean, decent and only a short bus ride to the Centraal station.Cheap hotels and hostels in the Netherlands can be so unpleasant.
Camping.
When I was a student backpacker I stayed at an Amsterdam camping in the north. Clean, decent and only a short bus ride to the Centraal station.Cheap hotels and hostels in the Netherlands can be so unpleasant.
Camping isn’t feasible in this student’s situation (health reasons), but thank you for taking the time to respond
Public transport is very good. On a family trip a few years back, we got a far better deal by staying in Haarlem then commuting into Amsterdam by train.
I think you might be missing the points angle here though – these schemes aren’t designed to throw out sweet spots, it’s just sometimes the cards happen to fall that way. Primarily you should be spending points because you’ve accrued them elsewhere.
Thanks @The real Swiss Tony – was just throwing this topic out there there in hope!
I agree, there are too many other important considerations here to be driven primarily by points, but as you say, you won’t get a feel unless you ask.
What I can report is that almost exactly 5 years ago, I researched and booked cheap, safe, clean, responsible accommodation for my student daughter who travelled to Amsterdam with a fellow student for a four night, non-weekend break. It probably wasn’t the cheapest option I could have eventually secured, but at the time I paid £227 for the two of them at the Hans Brinker Hostel on Kerk Str.
The two, young, unaccompanied females felt very safe and well-looked after at the venue, and my daughter raved about the location and its proximity to several attractions that she was determined to see, including the Rijksmuseum.
Personally I considered it a steal for the peace of mind it offered to an anxious father.
Dynamic pricing basically ended the chance of gaining any outsize value on redemptions
But I have found pricing moves around a lot so regular checking of rates and cancelling and rebooking is essential.
But the likes of Expedia will throw up lots of cheap options.
And the usual advice of if you stay further out from the city centres reduces prices a lot too.
And of course it depends on where in the Netherlands they want to go.
You don’t give many clues as to location so let’s guess Amsterdam. Not sure what you’re wanting to do with points – if you aren’t into the game then you presumably don’t have a stash of points to spend anyway, so they’re not really relevant; and if you’re cost conscious then the big international brands are unlikely to be the best choice.
If budget is key then Generator and Meninger hostels will do a bed in a shared dorm for 30-40 Euros. Female only will be available (or there’s an all female hostel in Amsterdam too). Full rooms will be available but you’re probably into 150 Euros at this point. There’s a capsule hotel that will also keep costs down below that while being very well located between Vondelpark and the museum area.Sorry about that – yes the location is either Amsterdam/surrounds or Rotterdam/surrounds – good suggestion above re out of centre locations.
To expand where I can – the student has health needs: mobility reduced at times and another health condition, hence the request for a hotel (private space/bathroom (or as private a space as can be in a hotel)). I will ask what they think about staying in a hostel.
On the matter of hotel points – unfortunately no, I don’t have a stash of hotel points (more’s the pity). I was hoping to pick some up in some of these ‘buy points’ sales I have seen advertised, and use some for this trip. I genuinely don’t know if that’s a good or bad idea in this instance, hence asking for hotel points buffs who know better 🙂
Thanks again for all sage comments and suggestions
SW
If they have mobility / access needs then they need to check very carefully that the hotel can meet them.
Many of the lower end hotels that have been converted from old houses don’t have lifts for example.
Yes, this is very true – thank you @BA Flyer IHG Stayer
Was a few years back and in Utrecht ( maybe a bit nicer and cheaper than Amsterdam ) but it was possible to get access to some university accommodation over the summer when it wasn’t being used. Think some of the uk universities used to do this too but not sure about post covid.
Hyatt is well represented in Amsterdam and buying points in a promotion can often work out good value on peak dates.
On the matter of hotel points – unfortunately no, I don’t have a stash of hotel points (more’s the pity). I was hoping to pick some up in some of these ‘buy points’ sales I have seen advertised, and use some for this trip. I genuinely don’t know if that’s a good or bad idea in this instance, hence asking for hotel points buffs who know better 🙂
In that case: it really is as simple as this. Look at cash prices and make your selections. If your chosen hotel just happens to be part of a points scheme then just before you click “buy”, check how many points the room would cost, go to the points purchase section of the scheme site, and see if it’s cheaper to buy the points; factoring in whatever bonus happens to be on. For it to be cheaper to buy points than just pay for a room is a relatively unusual situation, but can happen where base rooms are available but cash prices have been set particularly high relative to normal (e.g. I partially did it for the Med this August; UK half terms in Dubai and around major sports events would be other predictable examples). The points experts of HfP maybe make it seem more common than it actually is. In your case, with Amsterdam being generally pretty consistently priced throughout the year, and so points costs aligning fairly well with cash prices, the chances of both the best option for you being an international chain points hotel, AND that hotel being cheaper to buy points than book for cash is pretty tiny – it’s not something I’d put any effort into working as an angle; I’d just run the test above should it pop up.
You probably already know this, but I’d still also note that I also absolutely would NOT buy points in a sale speculatively in the hope of catching a room bargain later, just because there’s a 100% points bonus or whatever that has popped up. You’re replacing a currency accepted at every hotel in the city (cash) with one only useful for one or two.
Finding a hotel with reasonable cost and location that aligns with your needs will be the more important use of time. As BAFlyer very rightly points out, bear in mind that this is a city where house fronts and access stairs are so narrow that houses deliver furniture through detachable windows (that’s why all those classic Amsterdam houses have a hook at the top on the front) so a lot of modestly priced hotels/hostels that will be based in these properties may not be suitable by the sound of things.
Now just to prove everything I said is only partially correct, the Doubletree Amsterdam (flat obstacle-free 500m walk from Centraal; modern with good access facilities and accessible rooms available) is £587 for two random nights in an accessible room that I chose next August, yet 120k points will get you that room and can be purchased for £489 in the 100% Hilton Honors promo sale running right now 😀
I think @Neil is on to a really good idea here with university student accomodation if you can find it and the timing works during university holidays.
The rooms in London for instance tend to be small of course, but private, and some of the more expensive ones have private bathrooms. I’ve just checked the University Rooms web-site which I’m familiar with and which covers the University of London colleges. Unforunately, although they do cover a few countries in Europe, the Netherlands is not one of them. However a simple search for ‘university rooms Netherlands’ came up with what looks like it may be an equivalent.
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