Keeping your bike safe in Amsterdam

[Craigster]

Hi

This month I'm off to Holland for a cycle trip and will be staying one night in Amsterdam. I've looked at some of the posts on here regarding Amsterdam and it seems the city is a bit dodgy regarding bike theft. I will be staying overnight, still to book a hotel, and was wondering if anyone knows if there are facilities to keep your bike safe from theft.

Cheers

 

[jay clock]

"A bit dodgy" - in fact very very dodgy. RIng the hotel and make arrangements to bring it inside. Some hotels will have a bike shed or should be able to find a boiler room or siimilar

 

[Craigster]

"A bit dodgy" - in fact very very dodgy. RIng the hotel and make arrangements to bring it inside. Some hotels will have a bike shed or should be able to find a boiler room or siimilar

Cheers mate. I'm looking at a hotel and have emailed them my concerns so I'll see how I get on. I wasn't sure if hotels provided facilities for this probelm.

 

[willem]

I am Dutch, and I would not leave my nice touring bike chained to an Amsterdam bridge. I would not be too happy about the bicycle shed in the Stayokay hotel (i.e. youthhostel) either (though less unhappy than about the bridge). I think you have two good options. The first is to get the bike inside the hotel, in a supervised spot. The second is to use the guarded bike parking (fietsenstalling) at the main railway station. If you point out to them that yours is a special bike, in my experience they are likely to find it a special place.
Beyond this: enjoy the town (the city has so much more to offer than the sleeze that is on many visitor's dirty minds).
Willem

 

[Craigster]

I am Dutch, and I would not leave my nice touring bike chained to an Amsterdam bridge. I would not be too happy about the bicycle shed in the Stayokay hotel (i.e. youthhostel) either (though less unhappy than about the bridge). I think you have two good options. The first is to get the bike inside the hotel, in a supervised spot. The second is to use the guarded bike parking (fietsenstalling) at the main railway station. If you point out to them that yours is a special bike, in my experience they are likely to find it a special place.
Beyond this: enjoy the town (the city has so much more to offer than the sleeze that is on many visitor's dirty minds).
Willem

Hi Willem

Thanks for this. The bikes aren't high spec and cost around £250 - £350. It's just that I've read a lot on here and other places that there is a problem with bike theft in Amsterdam and don't want to take too many chances. I've emailed the hotel, Leidse Square Hotel, I was looking at booking and and they have replied that they have a place at the back of the hotel that we can store them overnight so I'm hoping this should be ok.

Intending to enjoy th town as I've been there for the day before and it looked great. I'm sure it has a lot more to offer than what it's, unfortunately, become famous for.

Cheers

 

[Craigster]

This hotel is pretty good and cheap- http://www.hotelvanonna.nl/. When we stayed there we locked the bike to the bridge railings up the road and left it there for 2 days.

If you stay at the Stayok hostel at Vondelpark, they've got a locked cycle shed, which you get into with your room key card.http://www.stayokay.com/index.php?pageID=3207&hostelID=356022

Thanks for this mate

 

[Speicher]

Willem, what is the centre of Amsterdam like these days? When I was there two years ago, there was a lot of digging and building work going on, particularly by the station and down the main Avenue, (I forget the name) because of the new rail link.

It did not spoil my visit because I could still get around easily on foot, but I would like to return when the building work is finished. They gave an estimated finish date, but sometimes these major projects can take longer than expected. I stayed at the "A Train" hotel, very close to the station.

 

[willem]

Some of the building is still going on (including the much troubled undergound project and the equally troubled renovations of the Rijksmuseum and the Gemeentemuseum), but there will always be some. The historic centre is quite ok, of course, because those are all listed buildings etc. You may want to treat yourself to a visit to the Museum van Loon, an eighteenth century mansion with much of its interior intact (I am a historian, and this is where I take my foreign guests). The Teyler's museum (18th century science) and the Frans Hals museum (17 century painting) in nearby Haarlem are other special treats.
Enjoy, even the weather is getting better,
Willem