Peak dates, when the whole city is out at once
A peak date is a night when the whole city is out, such as King's Day or the Amsterdam Dance Event, and any booking on it carries a deposit of half the fee.
A handful of dates each year fill Amsterdam from end to end. On those evenings, every booking carries a deposit of half the fee, whatever its length and whoever makes it, including a returning guest who would normally pay everything at the door.
Which dates
- King's Day, on the twenty-seventh of April;
- Pride, with the canal parade in early August;
- the Amsterdam Dance Event in October;
- the stretch from Christmas to New Year;
- a large conference week, which the house names when asked.
What else changes
The figures do not change: an hour is still 180 euros and the overnight still 1,250. The arrival window stays at forty to sixty minutes from confirmation. What changes is everything around the booking. Trams are diverted or crowded, taxis are scarce, streets near the celebrations are slow on foot, and therapists who keep evening hours are asked for earlier in the day.
How to plan for one
Write earlier than usual, with a named hour, while the choice of who is free is still wide. Plan your walk back as a slow one. Eat properly and slow down on the drinks well before the evening ends, because a long day of celebration is where courtesy is tested hardest. The note on King's Day evening walks through one such night, and the cancellation rules for a peak-date deposit are the ordinary ones on the booking terms page.