Haarlem

The Grote Kerk of St. Bavo (not a cathedral) is in the center of Haarlem and the market square (Grote Markt) is just to the north and east of it. On the square are at least two RS-recommended hotels. It's a few blocks' walk north to the station, where frequent trains run to Amsterdam Centraal station, taking under half an hour as I recall. There's also direct bus service to and from AMS.

We stayed at the Lion d'Or Hotel on the square in front of the station, and liked it fine. We'd been to Amsterdam before, and wanted a base outside the city. The only downside to Haarlem, for us, was that the train from there always put us into the most congested, tourist-centered part of Amsterdam. On our previous visit we'd stayed at a hotel near Vondelpark, where we could walk or get trams to other areas. The hotels on Haarlem's Grote Markt are more central to Haarlem's sights (the church, Franz Hals Museum, and others) but farther from the station. The square might also be noisy in the evenings. I can't speak to the quality of those hotels but others have reported good experiences there.

Hubby stayed for a week at the ML Hotel just behind the Grote Kerk and loved it. Convenient, great food, and excellent service. He says if you're there, don't miss the Saturday Market!

We stayed at Brasss Hotel suites in 2019. Our room was enormous. It is just off the main square towards the canal. We used Haarlem as our base for Amsterdam (it was recommended by a friend who lives in Amsterdam) and it was very convenient to get to Amsterdam. We thought it was a mini-Amsterdam without the drunken and drug affected young tourists staggering around.

We really enjoyed the canal cruise we took and the windmill at Molen De Adriaan is fantastic!

We had an excellent dinner at Ratatouille.

I'm probably one of the few people that were not enthralled with Haarlem. I found it crowded and touristy and filled with Americans. I did love the Corrie Ten Boom museum and a few others, but I was so happy that I chose to stay in Amsterdam.

I have a trip planned for Sept. and am staying in Haarlem (at the Lion d'Or Hotel) instead of Amsterdam. I’m not a fan of big cities, so it was an easy choice for me.

Check out roubrat’s recent trip report. I know she was a little disappointed she stayed in Amsterdam instead of Haarlem.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-the-netherlands-belgium-sept-2022

I have stayed in Amsterdam and Haarlem, and I find Haarlem much more relaxing. It’s a quick and easy train ride from one to the other.

Thanks for all the info and comments. We will be staying in Haarlem. We are looking at an Airbnb or maybe the Hotel Lion d'Or as that is where the tour begins.

We've stayed at two different hotels on the square: the Amadeus and the Ambassador City Centre. The Amadeus is more of a budget hotel; the €98 or so price per night we paid included a good breakfast. The room was small, and at the top of very steep stairs. There was an elevator, but it was only available when the downstairs restaurant was open. The staff was great, and went out of its way to help us when my husband lost his wallet (cash, credit card, debit card!) There's a great public space overlooking the square.

The Ambassador is nicer, with good public areas and 24 hour desk and elevators. The price there was only about €10 more than the Amadeus, but did not include breakfast, which in 2018 was an additional €14.50 per person. We were in Haarlem for a Rick Steves tour, which stayed at the Ambassador City Centre, but we chose to stay at the Amadeus for our pre-tour days.

We loved Haarlem, and would be glad to stay there again. There are indeed a lot of tourists, and a lot of Americans, but we were surprised by the number of Italians we found there. In fact, we ate at several quite good Italian restaurants, run by Italian immigrants.

Do visit the Franz Hals museum, and Teyler's Museum, as well.

I am in the loved-Haarlem crowd. Quiet at night, small and easily walkable, great restaurants, Indonesian, Indian, Italian, and our favorite, https://www.popo.nl/nl/locaties/haarlem/.

We were in the Netherlands in early November. We stayed 4 nights in Haarlem and rode the train to other cities. We stayed at the BnB - Hotel Malts. It was wonderful. Great location and awesome owners who were great to talk to. I highly recommend the city and Hotel Malts.

We loved Haarlem and stayed here:
The stairs are steep and no elevator.
https://www.bing.com/search?q=bambu+sleep+boutique+haarlem&form=APIPH1&PC=APPL