[tommy87]

Hello...this summer i'm planning a brief-ish trip to Amsterdam and would be very interested to hear of any other SI or wheelchair users experiences in Amsterdam, particularly hotels and travel?? Preferrably i'm looking for a fairly cheap accomodation, but to shower need a roll in shower etc.... Travel wise was just wondering what travel, if any, is accessible for the wheelchair?
Any advice/responses would be great

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tommy87, on Dec 27 2009, 08:01 PM, said:

Hello...this summer i'm planning a brief-ish trip to Amsterdam and would be very interested to hear of any other SI or wheelchair users experiences in Amsterdam, particularly hotels and travel?? Preferrably i'm looking for a fairly cheap accomodation, but to shower need a roll in shower etc.... Travel wise was just wondering what travel, if any, is accessible for the wheelchair?
Any advice/responses would be great

Hi, we went to Amsterdam earlier this year and stayed at the Ibis Hotel in the city centre. It is right at the top of town and next to the train station so we found this pretty convenient. They have 2 rooms with roll in shower etc. I think we paid around €70 a night there. We were meant to stay in a hostel called Hans Brinker but even after several phone calls and emails, when we arrived the rooms were not accessible, or even doable. So yeah, we upgraded. lol. Other than that, HI Hostels usually post on their website if the hostel is suitable and I found them to be pretty reliable.

If you want to go on the canals I recommend the Blue Boat Company as some of their boats have lifts, which is great.

To get around you can take the tram. Otherwise, its pretty flat and there are bicycle paths everywhere. We caught the train in from Brussels but you need to organise assistance beforehand for this.

Hope this helps,

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[javaftper]

we stayed in ibis city west (Tel : (+31)20/5811111 | Transformatorweg 36 - 1014 AK AMSTERDAM) in november. the staff and rooms there were excellent.

there is a bus stop across the road which has regular buses into the centre which take 10 minutes and have double door access for wheelchairs which is brilliant.

if you book 20 days in advance on the ibis website then you can get a discount- i think i paid about 50 euros a night.

//j

[chickadee]

SCHIPHOL (AMS AIRPORT) HOTELS:

I stayed at both the Hilton and the Sheraton at Schiphol (airport) while I was there at the end of November and early December. It was more centrally located for me due to needing a rental car for part of the trip, and because I went to other cities besides Amsterdam (Utrecht, Eindhoven, Leeuwarden, Den Haag, and Rotterdam). Schiphol is a good base if you're going all around the area, and there is a big mall (with stores and grocery) connected to the Sheraton. The Hilton is very closeby, and is accessed via walkway, lift, and a short distance across a small parking lot. Both of the hotels are expensive (especially considering the US Dollar), but the Hilton is less than the Sheraton. Both hotels have staff that speak perfect English. Trains from Schiphol to Amsterdam Centraal Station leave pretty frequently, and are accessible. One upside with Schiphol is that, granted I had the hotel call the station to arrange for a station master to meet me with a ramp and all that, but the one time I forgot I went to the ticket desk, and someone was quick to help me. Plus, he called ahead to the Centraal Station stationmaster for him to meet me. And besides Utrecht, this is one of the more common points for trains across the country and the EU.

Sheraton - more posh, and much more expensive. Connected to the airport, rail station, mall, and next to the bus station and the car rental area. Parts of it overlook the airport, which is neat if you're a plane enthusiast. Exceptionally nice bathroom, and the porter removed excess furniture without trouble. Downstairs has a restaurant, a gym and shower/changing area (which also have roll-in showers, if you're in a bind), and free internet terminals in the lobby. The shower in the changing room was wonderful when I needed it - which would be 6:30 AM, after my plane had landed. I checked my luggage with the porter, and relaxed, picked up groceries, etc while I waited for the 9 AM (I believe) check-in time. I stayed there for the first 6 days of my time in Holland. Also, if you're travelling with someone, they might appreciate the super long bathtub. My room had both a shower and a tub.

Hilton - I didn't have as good of an experience this time around there, but I only stayed one night, between coming back from Rome and heading to the USA (I stayed overnight in Holland to not wear myself out too much). I had the accessible standard room, which did not have a roll in shower, but rather a tub. I could have paid an additional $130 euro for the special suite that had a tub and a shower, but I was short on cash and decided to make do. The tub had a handheld showerhead, and I asked the porter to take it off the wall and leave it in the tub. After trying to figure out the padded thing/bar situation, I ended up leaning over the tub to wash my hair, and did the best I could with the sponge bath. The bathroom was pretty small, and had a pull-back wood veneer door, which skeeved me out and reminded me of the hospital a bit too much, but I understand that there are space constraints. The toilet had pull-down handles that were... okay. It made me pretty nervous, but I get nervous in bathrooms anyway. The hotel hair dryer was an old-fashioned wall mounted one, and I didn't even bother with it once I finally got the thing down from up high. The sink and very small shelf they considered a vanity was a bit awkward to maneuver into. Additionally, the heat didn't work, and the internet didn't work either. They didn't turn on the heat in the accessible room, and the internet... hmmm... they ended up sending a service dude up to repair the heat, and he came back again to fix the internet, and called the front desk to let them know to comp the internet for the room. Finally, the handicap button for the automated rotating door wasn't working, and I hadn't caught the eye of the front desk for awhile... in the pouring rain (as it does in Amsterdam). They apologized, but I was soaked.

Priceline for the area is pretty well impossible, due to the large amount of other hotels available via shuttle. If you don't mind taking a shuttle after dealing with a trans-atlantic flight, and your mobility can swing it (no thank you, I say), then go for it. Most of the hotels near the airport are common chain hotels. Be careful with potentially booking the Mercure (only available within the terminal - meaning, you can't really go in and come out) or the new one... I can't remember the name... but it's basically little pods that make you feel like you're in Japan. If I had more time, I would have gone to check them out to see if they would work.

This post has been edited by chickadee: 29 December 2009 - 03:01 AM

[guido]

Hi - wanting to revive this thread as I need to book a hotel for a friend's wedding in Amsterdam. Funnily enough the Starwood hotels can be expensive and not great for wheelchair access - they spent the money but didn't consult before converting - and IBIS are good, but was just wondering if anyone had anyone fantastic midrange stuff that was a bit more individual?

[guido]

Have just booked this place as it's pretty central, has a choice of prices and rooms, looks interesting and was available: http://www.lloydhotel.com/

Plus the internet search was just throwing up loads of really expensive luxury hotels. Will let you know how I get on. Not going til August anyway.

[guido]

We had a great weekend for my friend's wedding in Amsterdam. The Dutch are such a friendly and calm bunch and have a great emphasis on family and living life for the good bits not just the work.

Amsterdam is FLAT and CYCLE LANES everywhere so getting around is really easy. Though the old parts the houses and shops always have steps up, so are impossible or difficult to get into. Apparently houses used to be taxed on their street frontage, hence they are all tall and narrow - not great for w/c! But new stuff is BIG & OPEN and easy. Taxis are friendly and accommodating, though all start at €7.50 which does seem to get you quite a long way, 2kms I think).


We flew in and out of Schiphol which was easy, and decided to catch a train from the station as it's waaay cheaper than a taxi (about €3.50 per ticket rather than €35-€50 by taxi). But if you are going to do this, you kinda need to book as they have to organise you on and off the train - simple question of a ramp. This can take about 3 hours to happen, which wiped smiles off our faces, but in the end they did it quite quickly, about 15 mins to next train. Because we didn't know where we were going, we had all our baggage and it started to rain, we then caught a taxi, so should have probably bitten the bullet earlier, but hey ho!

Stayed at Lloyd Hotel , which was actually pretty cool. Odd system where you book how many *stars you want. Priced accordingly and based on room space. So 1* you have to share bathroom and loos (not w/c friendly) and 5* obviously pretty lush. We were inbetween and wouldn't have needed anything more.
- Big open room with hard floor
- Really comfortable beds
- Odd arrangement of a screen and then open shower (see photos to explain it!) - will add when girlfriend gets home from work with camera.
- Delicious breakfasts and not excessively over-priced (€10pppd - compares well with other hotels)

Negatives of hotel (minor, not horror stories!):
- wheelchair lift is round the side, and you have to be let in and out: yes it works well, but I like to use the front door as I'm a paying guest!
- no grab bars beside the shower (had my own travel chair so not a problem) or loo - mentioned this to the staff and she said she'd bring it up with management, as easy to do!
- shower head is fixed not handheld so harder to wash your bits (but that's what hotel towels are for, right?!)

If you go to the centre of town you get tourists, beer, hookers & drugs - no, not bad - but not what we wanted this trip!. If you want relaxed, tasty, scenic, enjoyable, wander down the canals on left hand side, likePrinsengracht

1. Screen closed - bigger bedroom space





2. Screen opening to close shower area off from sleeping area



3. Open shower area - oh look what a fabulous travel shower chair ; )



4. Loo a bit disappointing: no grab rails and not possible to shut door with w/c in the way, so you have to sing to cover the noise or send girlfriend out the room!

This post has been edited by guido: 31 August 2010 - 07:16 PM

[Zammo]

I'm going out to Amsterdam with a group of lads in November. My main concern is finding accessible WC's when out and about.
Did anyone find it difficult locating loos?
There is a reasonable chance that we're going to drink a fair amount of beer you see.

[Jok]

I am also going to Amsterdam for Christmas with my daughter who uses an electric chair. I am interested to hear of accessible bars etc.

[sgrunt]

Amsterdam is a real accessible city: everyone use bycicles, and so the town is suitable for wheelchairs too. There are small bridges (not with stairs) but it is normal since itis called the Venice of Holland. No problems in any museum or park, or main attractions. We stayed at the Stopera Ibis Hotel, that was accessible and close to city center (Amsterdam is a little city however). Transports are ok, the airport is ok. I don't remember if we've taken the boat, if you want i can ask to my girfriend that has a better memory. However for people that comes from Italy, Amsterdam is an accessibility paradise, and it is a question of culture.

[guido]

Zammo, on 02 September 2010 - 01:29 PM, said:

I'm going out to Amsterdam with a group of lads in November. My main concern is finding accessible WC's when out and about.
Did anyone find it difficult locating loos?
There is a reasonable chance that we're going to drink a fair amount of beer you see.

If you're drinking in a bar with a load of friends, just catheterise where you are. I mean, it's Amsterdam.. who's gonna be shocked!??



It's a truck load easier than lifting you up or down steps all the time to get to an accessible loo somewhere.


There are lots of accessible parts of Amsterdam, but the centre is full of tall, thin, old buildings with steps. This doesn't make it ideal. Anyone going with a group of friends should be okay. At least when you all get pissed, it won't hurt so much when they drop you.