Outside of Amsterdam: Cheaper, Quieter, and the Best B&B
Haarlem, The Netherlands
After a long flight from St. Louis, Missouri, to Amsterdam, we found the rideshare pickup point and our Uber driver drove us to Haarlem in 30 minutes. When he dropped us at the end of a street closed to traffic, he waved in a general direction and said “It’s down there.” We made a few wrong turns, but we found our place and rang the bell. Henk met us at the door and carried our suitcases up the narrow stairs. When he picked up my granddaughter’s, he lifted it with one finger and said, “You don’t have anything in here!” That was my first clue about his sense of humor.
I don’t know what made me think of checking for B&Bs in Haarlem. I probably heard some travel blogger mention that it was a 10-minute train ride from Amsterdam and was supposed to cost less than the big city. I liked the idea of a quiet place to relax and regroup after sightseeing all day.
Hotel Malts came to the top of several lists and had outstanding reviews. I was especially drawn to the comments about how well Henk and Annemarie took care of their guests. Since I would be responsible for a 15-year-old, I didn’t mind the idea of having an extra set of parental figures looking after us.
Henk led us to the breakfast room and offered drinks before giving us an excellent overview of the area. He said there was no reason to visit anywhere else because we’d found the best city. Haarlem had it all. Then he showed us maps of the region and explained that Amsterdam and large portions of the Netherlands are below sea level, including the airport. They pumped out water to reclaim areas for settling. I finally understood why they say “God made the world and the Dutch made the Netherlands.”
He gave us a map of Haarlem, pointing out the train and bus stations, and he circled good places to eat and good shopping areas. He wrapped up by explaining that “lekker” means good. He said you’ll see “lekker” everywhere. “Everything is lekker.”
The next morning, I asked Henk some questions about the train, which he apparently thought were dumb. “Will we see signs for Utrecht?” I asked. He said, “In the Netherlands we just get on a train and hope it takes us to where we want to go.” He also told me if we needed help, to “smile and look stupid.” I must have been coming across as more anxious than I thought because he used his hands to gesture “settle down” and said, “Just breathe. Breathe.” So, maybe not a parental figure, but a brother-type who knew how to give me a hard time and make me smile.
Breakfasts every morning were amazing: fresh squeezed orange juice, croissants and other pastries, yogurt parfaits, eggs, cheese trays, cappuccino, and more. Henk and Annemarie were always available with a smile, answers to questions, and just a general check on how things were going. Our fellow guests were from all over. I met couples from Australia and the U.S., and heard German, French, and Spanish while I ate breakfast. The gathering room was always available for relaxing and having tea or coffee. This was a far better experience than we would have had at a Marriott in Amsterdam.
We didn’t have a lot on our agenda for Haarlem, but ended up spending quite a bit of time there. We enjoyed the Grote Markt, the main square with historic buildings. The church there has an organ that was played by Mozart as a child. We walked past the Corrie ten Boom House, visited Teylers Museum (the oldest museum in the Netherlands), had an amazing “rice table” at the Indonesian restaurant, Flamboyant, and shopped in the neighborhood around Hotel Malts.
If you want to visit Amsterdam, I highly recommend Haarlem as a base of operations. I might agree with Henk: no reason to visit any place else. Haarlem is the best.
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Tips & Recommendations
Consider staying in nearby towns instead of in the heart of a big city. Check a map to see if there are options that would be an easy commute for your itinerary.
Check reviews. Look closely at photos. You can often tell if they’ve used strange closeups or weird camera angles to disguise less-than-desirable rooms. Look for trends in the reviews. What do guests mention consistently? Does the review sound heartfelt and genuine? People who’ve had a good experience are usually enthusiastic.
We did see “lekker” everywhere. Here’s an explanation of how to use the word.