Amsterdam Schipol Airport overnight?

[honeyb2]

In need of some advice…the situation is we are two couples flying home from a cruise ending in Athens, Greece. Our first flight from Athens lands around 8 PM and we don’t fly on to Paris until 7:30 AM the next morning. Not a great itinerary but it was the best we could get. Our question/problem is what do we do at the Schipol Airport for 11 1/2 hours overnight? Any ideas would be appreciated. TIA

[irisbax3]

We had a similar situation a few years ago. We stayed at the Ibis Hotel that was very close to the airport.  We were able to get dinner and a few hours sleep. They had an airport shuttle that made getting back to the airport convenient.

[Ine]

There are hotels like Sheraton, Hilton right at the airport and also hotels in the vicinity offering a shuttle to/from the airport. You can check prices and where they are situated on a site like Booking.com 

A stay in town would be great but due to your early departure not recommended.

[cruiseaholic78]

If all you need is a very simple place te relax/sleep etc for a max of eight hours you could also consider this capsule hotel. I have of course not compared hotel prices however you might need less time than 11 1/2 hours as you will (probably) have to get your luggage on landing and check it in before departure. Unless of course your luggage has been checked through.

https://www.yotel.com/en/hotels/yotelair-amsterdam-schiphol

Rosalyn

[Globaliser]

6 hours ago, honeyb2 said:

Our first flight from Athens lands around 8 PM and we don’t fly on to Paris until 7:30 AM the next morning. Not a great itinerary but it was the best we could get.

 

2 hours ago, Ine said:

A stay in town would be great but due to your early departure not recommended.

 

Do you have to take the Amsterdam-Paris flight? If you have further flights on the itinerary, then sadly the answer will be yes.

 

But if you don't have to take that flight and you can safely junk the ticket, then a more attractive alternative would be to go in to central Amsterdam and stay there, and then take the train to Paris the next day. It's about 3½ hours direct from Amsterdam Centraal to Paris Gare du Nord.

[honeyb2]

Thanks everyone! Great ideas and I will check them out. Sadly our flights from Holland America were relatively cheap but not a great itinerary. Athens to Amsterdam to Paris to Dallas/Fort Worth was not my choice of how to "see the world"! I roll with the punches and look at it all as a "great adventure"!

[amet beach]

Here’s another option. Take train direct from airport to Zaandam about 10 minutes and stay at Inntel Hotel, Zaandam less than 2 minutes from train station. Sleep in a soundproof hotel and return early morning by train.

[Ine]

9 hours ago, amet beach said:

Here’s another option. Take train direct from airport to Zaandam about 10 minutes and stay at Inntel Hotel, Zaandam less than 2 minutes from train station. Sleep in a soundproof hotel and return early morning by train.

The 1st train on weekdays leaves from Zaandam ar 05.36  which is too late for the schedule of the poster. That is why I recommend him to stay at a hotel at the airport or in a hotel with an early shuttle to the airport. 

[FreestyleNovice]

A bit late to the party but since OP has not responded:

 

After security: Yotel or Mercure. Land side within (covered) walking distance: Sheraton, CitizenM, Hillton.

All the other hotels mentioned on https://www.schiphol.nl/en/at-schiphol/hotels are by shuttle or own transportation.

 

I would opt for the three on the land side, with the Sheraton as my choice with better amenities (restaurant, bar, closest to the Plaza). Grab your bags from baggage reclaim, shop some snacks and supplies at Schiphol Plaza (Albert Heijn supermarket and many other shops), have dinner at the hotel or something quick and easy at the Schiphol Plaza (recommendation: La Place) you walked through to the hotel and call it a night. https://www.schiphol.nl/en/at-schiphol/eat-and-drink/facilities/?side=landside

 

Unless you might want to do a canal tour at night in Amsterdam, taxis are in front of the Plaza or at the Sheraton doorstep.

[KKB]

On 9/25/2023 at 9:02 PM, honeyb2 said:

In need of some advice…the situation is we are two couples flying home from a cruise ending in Athens, Greece. Our first flight from Athens lands around 8 PM and we don’t fly on to Paris until 7:30 AM the next morning. Not a great itinerary but it was the best we could get. Our question/problem is what do we do at the Schipol Airport for 11 1/2 hours overnight? Any ideas would be appreciated. TIA

 

On 9/25/2023 at 9:10 PM, irisbax3 said:

We had a similar situation a few years ago. We stayed at the Ibis Hotel that was very close to the airport.  We were able to get dinner and a few hours sleep. They had an airport shuttle that made getting back to the airport convenient.

I stayed over at ibis in May--really lovely hotel & well priced.

[3Shelaghs]

Airport hotel, or hotel with shuttle back to airport...dinner and shopping.

[floridababa]

Just booked Renaissance Schipol airport.  Does anyone know if there are restaurants in the area and anything to do?  We will be at hotel from 2:00 pm till the next morning.

Any help would be appreciated

[Dutch_Travelgirl]

10 hours ago, floridababa said:

We will be at hotel from 2:00 pm till the next morning.

Any help would be appreciated

Are you sure you want to stay that entire time in your hotel? There is nothing to see and do in the immediate area, no restaurants. 
Why don’t you just head out into the city? Take a canal cruise, walk around, visit a museum etc. 
Amsterdam is only a very easy and short train ride away from the airport. 

Edited January 15 by Dutch_Travelgirl

[floridababa]

We have been in Amsterdam tons of times. This time it is just a stop over from Zurich to catch flight to USA. Don't want to be far from airport. Would like to be able to walk around and have restaurants for lunch and dinner.

Any suggestions??

Thanks

[Dutch_Travelgirl]

Well, my suggestion would be to stay in the city right next to either the train station or a bus stop of the #397 airport bus. Anything is better than a sterile hotel area still many miles away from the airport. 
The Renaissance Schiphol Airport hotel may have the name of the airport in its name, but it’s not very conveniently located to get to the airport. If you check a map you’ll see that the runways are right between you and the terminal building and you can’t cross those. So you need to take a taxi or the complimentary shuttle bus to get to the airport. 
If you’re willing to take an airport shuttle to get to the airport, you might as well stay in town with all its restaurants and take the 15 minute train to the airport. 

[floridababa]

We will have too much luggage for tbs train. Just looking for something to do for afternoon and night. Have been to Amsterdam so many times and have done great trips. Just need to be able to relax and people watch with an area that has some restaurants. Not a fan of eating in hotel restaurants.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

[Dutch_Travelgirl]

I’m sorry but I don’t know what else to suggest you. The city of Amsterdam has everything you are looking for, but for some reason you don’t want to go there. You don’t have to take all your luggage with you into the city. You can store your luggage in a locker and just take a small suitcase. 

Schiphol Airport and it’s immediate surroundings doesn’t have an area with restaurants etc where you can relax and people watch. It’s a sterile area with offices, warehouses, parking lots etc etc

[Globaliser]

2 hours ago, floridababa said:

Don't want to be far from airport. Would like to be able to walk around and have restaurants for lunch and dinner.

 

1 hour ago, floridababa said:

We will have too much luggage for tbs train. ... Just need to be able to relax and people watch with an area that has some restaurants. Not a fan of eating in hotel restaurants.

 

It sounds like you have a number of mutually inconsistent requirements.

 

The only other thing that I can think of is to pick an on-airport hotel instead, so you have easier access to the facilities in the airport. That could get you out of the hotel restaurant, although I wouldn't be confident that the landside restaurants in the airport would really be any better.

[Dutch_Travelgirl]

17 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

although I wouldn't be confident that the landside restaurants in the airport would really be any better

Indeed. The landside restaurants at Schiphol Airport are fast food type places like Burger King, Starbucks etc. 

[FreestyleNovice]

23 hours ago, Globaliser said:

 

 

It sounds like you have a number of mutually inconsistent requirements.

 

The only other thing that I can think of is to pick an on-airport hotel instead, so you have easier access to the facilities in the airport. That could get you out of the hotel restaurant, although I wouldn't be confident that the landside restaurants in the airport would really be any better.

 

This.

 

As written by @Dutch_Travelgirl, the Schiphol Oost area has literally nothing to offer. It really just is a few hotels, lots of (airline) office and hangars and warehouses. Nothing in the direct vicinity, you will be bored within five minutes and the only restaurant would probably be the hotel restaurant.

 

I would like to suggest the terminal hotels, there are a few better dinner options at the Plaza than the mentioned fast food like Italian at Per Tutti, La Place etc. See https://www.schiphol.nl/en/at-schiphol/eat-and-drink/facilities/?side=landside

 

If you would like to stay off the airport and given the shuttle time for the before mentioned hotel I would suggest looking into some of the smaller (non chain/family/mom-and-pop run) hotels in place like Aalsmeer or Hoofddorp city center. Aalsmeer has some nice bistro restaurants but less lodging. Hoofddorp is more modern with more hotels. Nothing out of the ordinary or special but you will be in a real neighbourhood instead of an airport lot with those. A wider selection of restaurants, an evening stroll, perhaps to visit a  shop or get some snacks/groceries, etc. If you like Marriot you might want to look into Courtyard by Marriott Amsterdam Airport, Hoofddorp. Although not in the nearby center it has a good offering of on site restaurants, a park and nearby restaurants. 

 

Another alternative to the airport Plaza is the A4 highway "brugrestaurant", bridge restaurant(s) with modern hotel. Food offer is a bit more truck stop/fast food than the airport but with a shuttle and the hotel offering more facilities (i.e. a more reasonable sized pool, fitness, etc) it might be worth consideration if you are looking for efficiency.

 

There are some hidden gems like a beach hotel at Zandvoort, hotels with a view of the Dutch landscape, lakes or tulip fields or quaint old city towns like Haarlem, Leiden within 20 minutes driving time but you will need to elaborate before  we go into that. Feel free to ask anything but please, please skip Schiphol Oost. Even if you have been to Amsterdam the outskirts of Amsterdam have more to offer and meet your requirements than that deserted piece of the airport.. 

[floridababa]

Thank you so much