Not sure what your price range is but I stayed once at the Movenpick near the port - it is right behind the Centraal Station so you could take the train there from the airport and then walk or take one tram stop. It was new, clean, and reasonable (<EUR200)
Normally I stay in the center and I think the best value there is the NH City Centre. That one would be maybe EUR 125 - 150.
I have never stayed near the airport.
I lived there for 18 months but having never cruised from there, I am only assuming that the Movenpick would be convenient. Honestly the city center is not far from the port either so if you end up taking a taxi anyway, you may as well stay in the center and spend a few hours wandering around at least to get a feel for the city.

The Moevenpick right by the port is great, and I've gotten it several times using the "name your own price" option on Priceline for bids in the $70-$80 range. Super modern, comfortable hotel - - great service. PERFECT location for the port.

My next three layovers at AMS I've settled for the Courtyard which is a 10 minute ride from airport for about $65 - - the price is great, but the transit can be awkward (I've been there often enough that I'm comfortable taking the #300 bus and walking 8 minutes).

Have a look at recent wins at www.biddingtraveler.com if you want to save some serious bucks and still have a nice shot at the Moevenpick.

Also, if you don't want to try the Priceline option or have no success there, then the Ibis close to the Amsterdam Centraal train station tends to be good comfort at good value (short walk from the train station, which is only a tram stop or two from the port). Another cheap option there is the Botel, which a boat-hotel close by Centraal, on the water - - it will get you warmed up for the cruise itself.

You guys ROCK! Thanks! dfourh - you seem to know everything about getting the deals. If I have any issues with using these sites you mention, I'll be back with questions. Something UNDER 100 EUR is certainly more in my price range for one night, if possible. Thanks for the tips.

dfourh - Question - using that biddingtraveler site, it seems there are 2 Movinpicks in the same location. Is there an old section and a new section or something like that? Low bid on one of them is in the $60 range and the other is a bit higher. What's the difference? And are there other Movinpicks in AMS that I might confuse with the correct one near the port?

I would highly recommend Hotel De L'Europe as it is very nice in downtown Amsterdam.

Ihenry - is it near any main line - bus, metro or otherwise to get to the Port easily? Will it be under $100 for the night? Do you have a link to their web site?

lhenry - thanks, but at nearly $500/night on booking.com it is about 5 times more expensive than I was hoping to spend for my ONE night in AMS. Pretty little hotel though.

try the Hotel Brouwer. I stayed there in 2008 and loved it.

www.hotelbrouwer.nl/

Casual_Cairo - the Movenpick is the same one, just spelt with or without the umlaut.

In the new Priceline Zone 1 or 2, put in 5* hotel and odds are that you'll get a good hotel right in the center around $100-120 USD. Start with one zone or the other (only stay in zones 1 and 2 per many posters on TA), and start with 5* only. Then you can rebid same day by any change like star or zone. If no luck on 5*, move to 4*.


People on TripAdvisor Amsterdam forum are SO helpful about your topic. if you pop over there, I think that there are literally 600 posts re: getting a hotel in the city center, 4* or 5*, around $100-120 USD nightly. Good luck.


Following TA posters' advice, I got the lovely 5* Amrath, Zone 2, 4 nights for $110 nightly. Have to move after 4 nights as there is no availability Easter weekend at Amrath unless I pay $350++. Have to move for next 3 nights, which isn't ideal, but it's better than paying $300+ nightly for a single room. The 2nd hotel is NH Barbizon Palace, also Zone 2. 5* (though posters dispute that rating for Barbizon).

I am going tomorrow to Amsterdam, for the 1sat time. Working so much, I've had almost no time to plan. Only booked hotels for 1st week of the 2 weeks and bought tx to Anne Frank and Van Gogh to bypass waits and lines. Otherwise, I have almsot no plans.

THE WEATHER IS HORRIBLE NOW! Front just moved in--it was gorgeous through yesterday. Now, for at least the next week, supposedly rainy, windy, freezing cold. Boo hoo.

Happy travels,
Lana

BTW started PL bidding at $90and bid up to $112 for Barbizon, winning it at $112. They would extend at the same rate then, but I'm not sure if I'm staying in AMS the 2nd week yet.

valrowe - Thanks for that tip. That looked like it would have been the PERFECT hotel for my needs, so I wrote to ask about my date. Unfortunately, they say they are completely full that night. I can see why. I'm going to go to that biddingtraveler.com site and try my luck. What the heck? It's only one night. I want to see if I can get into the Movenpick or equal.... I'll let you know what happens. It's kind of exciting as they won't tell you where you are staying until after they make the deal and charge it to your credit card. Kind of grab bag like, it seems.

I got the Movenpick via Priceline last September for one night for about $100. It worked out pretty well (beautiful hotel, great price) though if you wind up getting the hotel and take the free shuttle, note that the train station may still be under construction. I could not follow their directions at as to where to meet the hotel shuttle there so I just walked - only about a ten minute walk from the Amsterdam Central Station.

It hasn't happened yet. Seems I have to use IE for their system, and I normally use AOL. IE was not working last night for me (at least here in Egypt it wasn't working). Will try again today. Will keep you all informed. Thanks!

I just tried using BiddingTraveler again and now it seems you must live in the USA or Canada to use them? Anyone know if this is true? I sent them an email to get their feedback on the issue. AAAARRRRRUUUUUUGGGGGG!

Latest update - I got my credit card fixed with a USA address so biddingtraveler will accept it now, but my bids were rejected. I think it is because my needed night is out by more than 2 months. I suspect the price may come down as we get closer to the date and they have open rooms. Anyone have any feel for that? Should I wait until we are 1 month or less away from my travel date?

It sounds like you need to spend some time to understand how bidding for rooms works on Priceline.

Why do hotels even use Priceline? They do so to fill empty rooms at slower times. When times are busy and the hotel is nearly booked, they are less likely to use Priceline or will raise their rates.

When you bid with Priceline, you need to check the REGULAR rates on the exact dates you will stay. You base your bid price on that going rate: maybe you bid 50% or 60% of that price, something like that. If the rates for your stay are double what they were the week before you should expect to bid more to get a room, if you get one at all.

You won't be guaranteed a specific hotel if your Priceline bid is accepted. You might get the Movenpick, you might get some other hotel. Use the bidding sites like betterbidding.com to find out what hotels have come up in Amsterdam recently and what people have paid for them. I knew ahead of time that the Movenpick was one of the likely hotels I would probably get when bidding for Amsterdam, and I saw others were getting the hotel for about what I bid.

Hotels can adjust their Priceline inventory at any time. Two months out is NOT too early to bid for a room - I have done it many times. But it could be one or more of the hotels in that zone currently has no Priceline inventory, at least at the price you have bid. Maybe they will add rooms next week or next month, who knows? Or it may be you will have to raise you bid. Just because I paid $104 in September doesn't mean that price will be accepted today. Maybe you will have to bid $114 or more. Rates may have gone up.

On BetterBidding.com you can post your dates and ask for help bidding for Amsterdam. You'll be asked to check the going rates for the usual Amsterdam hotel wins first.