Is Sloterdijk a good place to stay in Amsterdam?

Sloterdijk is a practical base if you want a cheap, modern room with fast links to the centre and the airport. Trains from Amsterdam Sloterdijk reach Centraal in a few minutes and Schiphol soon after, and the metro and trams stop at the station too. It suits budget travellers, groups, business visitors and anyone with an early flight.

The area is a business park rather than a neighbourhood. Around the station there are office blocks, wide roads and large hotels, many of them with their own bars and restaurants. The residential streets of Bos en Lommer are to the south, and Westerpark, with the cafés, cinema and restaurants of the old Westergas gasworks, is a short ride away.

The downside is that there's nothing to see or do on your doorstep. In the evening the streets around the hotels are empty, there's little choice of places to eat nearby, and every trip into the city starts with a train, metro or tram ride. It's not the place for a romantic canal-side stay.

What makes Sloterdijk worth considering is value and speed. Rooms cost a fraction of those in the centre, the station is among the best connected in the city, and a hotel here can get you to the Dam or Schiphol quicker than many places that look closer on the map.