Hotels in Amsterdam

The train from the airport to Amsterdam is only a 15-20 minute trip, why stay at the airport?

I would second the suggestion that you stay in the city and not at the airport. Why would you stay out there? You want to be where you can walk out the door and see the city and find restaurants and see canals. _ Pam

In Roland's defense, hotels at Schipol are significantly cheaper then hotels in the city center. But the Blue Square Hotel isn't any better, it's also located far from the center and will probably also take 20-30 minutes to reach the centrum via tram/metro. Having said that, even though it will probably cost more you should still stay in the city center anyways. Check out these hotels: Avenue Hotel Rho Hotel Ibis at Centraal Station
I find http://www.booking.com seems to have the best rates for Amsterdam.

Have you considered Priceline? Have heard that others have gotten great hotels for good rates. I would not miss that museum in The Hague. Hope to plan a trip just to see the Vermeers-huge fan. The movie, "The Girl With the Pearl Earring" is quite good with Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansen.

To answer your question about The Hague, if you like museums then you must see the Mauritshuis museum. I think it's about a 15-minute walk from the train station and is has some gorgeous 17th-century Dutch art, including Vermeer's "View of Delft" and "Girl with a Pearl Earring."

Thank you, all, for your help. I was unable to get ANY hotel near City Center on the days we want within our budget of 150 to 250 E per night, unless we are willing to pay 500 E per night in some 5 star hotels which still have a few rooms left. There is probably some event in Amsterdam. We have no choice but to book these hotels. We now have decide which to stay in.
I have also heard about "Floathotel" and canal hotels. Does anyone know what these are? Thanks.

You didn't mention when you were going to be in town, but it sounds like you will be there between Sept 8-13 when the annual International Broadcasters Convention is happening. It's one of the largest conventions in the world and as you found out the hotels fill up.
If you still want to stay somewhere more central, I would wait until the last minute and try your luck with either priceline.com or simply going to the TI office at the airport or Centraal Station. They will have a master list of what's available; there's bound to be cancellations.

Exactly, Mr. Schneider, We will be there on the 4th and 5th of September and again the 8th and 9th with 2 days in between in The Hague. We had no trouble with the 4th and 5th.

We last stayed at the Hotel Bema in the museum area super near the #5 tram stop adn the Van Gogh and Riks. It's only a 2 star, but with big rooms, in room breakfast, and a very nice staff. You can check it out on TripAdvisor.
Another, pricer, hotel is the Hotel Filosoof in a quiet are near the park and also close to the museum area where I stayed before they upped the rates to around 150+ Euros a night.

Don't know if this is worth a shot, but check out the Quentin Arrive Hotel and Frederic Rent-A-Bike. I can personally recommend both these places.

Stayed at the Best Western in the museum district. Great location! An easy 30 min bus ride from the airport. When you get off, just walk diagonally across the grass for 5 minutes and boom, you're at the hotel. I got a great deal on hotels.com for $89/night for a double room. Their breakfast was pricey at 12.50 Euros, but discounted if you pre-booked for like 9 Euros.

Look at B&Bs - we stayed at the Flying Pancake (Google it). Don't recall the cost but was not very centrally located. But really not that far at all.

It may be booked since your dates seem to be causing you trouble, but in Sept 2010 I stayed at Hotel Fita and it was perfect. Right across from Van Gogh and super close to an easy tram stop. The owner was fantastic and so was the included breakfast!