Hi,
I have a friend traveling to Amsterdam this weekend, a solo woman traveller and she needs a safe, reasonably priced place to stay for one night. Does anybody have recommendations?
Thanks!

More than a specific hotel I can suggest areas. Avoid the 'central' part of the city around the Dam and train station. Stay instead out in the canal rings, Leidseplein, the Jordaan, or near Vondelpark. These are still convenient but much prettier and less intimidating (in my experience as a solo female recent A'dam first time visitor).

This will be very tough. The annual IBC conference begins Sept 9 thru 14th. There will be extremely limited availability in known or recommended hotels. Your friend may need to search for a B&B or stay outside of Amsterdam proper.

I liked the Jan Luyken, a stone's throw from the major museums, and just around the corner from the best shopping street (PC Hooftstraat). Don't know if it's within your friend's price range, but look it up on www.bilderberg.nl.

Jan Luyken is very nice and in a great area. But it's a little pricey. Right down the street is Hotel Fita, a little less expensive and also quite nice. www.fita.nl

Well, if your friend does end up closer to the Dam and Centraal Station where some of the priciest hotels are she isn't going to be attacked after dark by any means.

That's a pretty big guarantee to be offering TopMan.

If you really mean THIS weekend, she probably won't find a place in Amsterdam. I think it fills up pretty quickly most weekends. She may want to talk to the tourist place as Schipol and see or plan on staying in a neighboring town and just catching the train into Amsterdam.

Oops I forgot my recommendation in Hotel Washington in the museum district. You can look up the particulars in the Fordors Hotel section.

Just stopped in AMS for an overnight layover while flying home from Austria. Hotel I had reserved in advance, which I reserved on venere.com (a website where I've always had luck finding small but decent independent European places with character and affordable prices), turned out to be a dump. Called VIJAYA, it was a series of closet sized rooms up a couple of rickety flights above an Indian restaurant on the edge of the Red Light District! Stay away from this hotel - 65 euros; lesson learned: you get what you pay for. I went out and wandered a few blocks into a quiet safe neighborhood, where I found my oasis: the Radisson SAS. It was 149 euros and could not have been a nicer place. Comfortable bed, air conditioning, fine security, and a good buffet breakfast included. It will certainly meet your needs aggiegirl, though there are probably cheaper places.

Thanks for everybody's comments. I passed on the info to my friend and she gets there today. Actually, she should be checked in somewhere, hopefully!!