We stayed at 5 hotels on the trip. Here is Marc’s review of each hotel in chronological order.
The Golden Tulip West – Amsterdam
This hotel was a really good choice. Although not in the center of town it was a quick tram ride to it. High end staff and facilities over all. We got lucky and got a corner room that was a little bigger and had windows on both sides. There was construction on the street in front of the hotel but probably why we got the rate we got.
Hotel Home Modern
This is probably the worst of the Hotels we stayed at. (Mind you, none of them were bad.) The room was “itty bitty” small. I mean it was small. But the up side is it was inside the Paris ring and in walking distance to the Eiffel tower. The staff was nice and helpful. But we would not stay there again because the hotel is way too far from a Metro station.
Carot Hotel Bassell/ Weil Am Rhein
By Far the best value we got from a Hotel. Originally penciled in as a possible on a flex day, it turned into a big time “port in a storm” so to speak. Sure the building is old and the furniture has not been replaced since the 70’s. Not kidding there was a stereo (did not work) built into our night stand that was clearly made in the 70’s. But after a long day of driving through Switzerland and avoiding a snow storm, we found this place just what we needed. Had to bail on our Zermatt hotel so we ended up staying here two days. The rate was half of the next best hotel rate we paid. The service was awsome, and amenities wonderful! They had a very nice working dry sauna. We got there Saturday night, so we were able to watch our own Church (Fellowship) online (free wi fii). And generally take a Sabbath from travel. Really good stuff. Tammy liked the “Mexican” restaurant in the hotel. Free Breakfast!
Bayrischer Hof Heidelberg
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Tammy and I were certain this was a 4 star hotel. It turns out it is only a 3. But what a high 3 it is. Old building (been there since 1859) but in great shape and awesome staff that was very helpful and friendly. This was by far our best location for hotels. It is right on the Bizmarkplatz and in walking distance to the river and philosopher’s way. This hotel selection turned out to be even more meaningful when I found out from my cousin Wolf that Mom’s apartment when she lived in Heidelberg in the late 50’s was in an alley across the street from our hotel room window. No bull! I had no idea when we booked the hotel.
Crown Plaza Amsterdam Airport
Selected for its proximity and free shuttle to the airport, we found this to be a very nice selection. It was near a train station that you could use to easily get to the city center within minutes. We were a bit disappointed with their “spa” area. Just a small swimming pool really. In fact the Carot in Basel had a much better spa area. But the shuttle to the airport in the morning was huge.