Schiphol airport hotel pre-cruise?

[craig01020]

I am planning to stay in Amsterdam for 2 nights before our cruise. I've noticed that hotels near Schiphol airport cost a lot less than hotels right in Amsterdam. Is it crazy to use an airport hotel as a base for exploring Amsterdam?

 

Thanks.

[Ine]

It is up to you what you prefer. . In case you have an airport hotel at Schiphol, you of course  need to buy train or bustickets each day.. Also count the traveltime and more in case your hotel is not at the airport but outside.

I would prefer a hotel in town, so much nicer. Did you check a site like booking.com? They offer a lot of hotels at various rates etc. 

[Globaliser]

1 hour ago, craig01020 said:

Is it crazy to use an airport hotel as a base for exploring Amsterdam?

 

One big advantage of having a centrally-located hotel is that you can stop in at the hotel from time to time during the day. You may want to drop off some shopping, or you may just want to put your feet up and have a power nap. And you have the option of doing this on the spur of the moment. It'll feel much more like home for the couple of days that you're there. In contrast, if you're in an airport hotel (or a hotel in any other non-central location), it'll be a big chunk out of your time just to go back to the hotel and then come in to town again.

[VMax1700]

1 hour ago, craig01020 said:

I am planning to stay in Amsterdam for 2 nights before our cruise. I've noticed that hotels near Schiphol airport cost a lot less than hotels right in Amsterdam. Is it crazy to use an airport hotel as a base for exploring Amsterdam?

 

Thanks.

Not crazy at all!  I done it numerous times.  As Globaliser mentions, City centre is useful for dropping shopping etc, or having your own "rest room" available when required.  Travel to/from the airport hotels does take a lot of time.  Waiting for shuttles at the airport etc.  

If you do decide to stay near the airport do remember to check if the shuttle from the hotel to the airport requires pre booking for early/mid morning departures.

[gumshoe958]

As others have said, city centre hotels will always win for convenience. But Schiphol is blessed with having a fast, very frequent and cheap rail link to the city, although when choosing a hotel do check the location as some may require an additional cab or shuttle ride to/from the airport.

 

The Hilton, Sheraton and Citizen M are all on-airport, but are often very pricey.

But there are several cheaper airport hotels in nearby Hoofddorp which has its own train station. Namely a Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Intercity Hotel and Novotel, all very close to the station so don’t require a shuttle/cab. The trains run four times an hour and take 25 minutes.

[craig01020]

3 hours ago, gumshoe958 said:

But there are several cheaper airport hotels in nearby Hoofddorp which has its own train station.

Thanks! It looks like the Hampton and Holiday Inn Express are closest to the Hoofddorp train station.

[Scottishclover]

To avoid the high hotel costs in Amsterdam, we stayed in Haarlem in a really charming B&B. It was called Hotel Malts. There’s a direct bus from Schipol to Haarlem on arrival and then it’s a 20 min journey into Amsterdam by train, with trains every 20 mins. It was a great choice as Haarlem is very pretty with lots of good eating options. It would be a much nicer alternative than staying at the airport.