Hello,
We will be in Amsterdam for three days in early June 2019 after a cruise, and we are starting to research best hotels to stay in. We must be in one with a normal size elevator.

we are looking to stay in a central area within walking distance to sights and we will Uber if necessary. We are looking for 4star. Any help is always appreciated.

Thanks

Budget?

Why Uber? Amsterdam has excellent public transport and is very walkable.

Uber? Because the OP thinks they will save a lot of money using it.

Taxis, or Uber, are far more trouble than they are worth, given the unbelievable congestion in Amsterdam these days. You can walk twice as fast as a taxi/Uber almost anywhere in the city. And the trams are cheap and efficient and fast.

What do you mean when you say 4-star? The star rating system in Europe does not equate to that in the USA.

What is a "normal size elevator?" "Normal" in Europe is small. If you need an elevator that holds more than 3-4 people or two plus some luggage, what you need is a big American-style chain hotel.

We stayed at the Estherea which is a nice hotel located on one of the canals. It had an elevator. I would recommend wherever you book, emailing the hotel to let them know your room needs to have elevator access. Some of the older hotels might have elevators but quirky layouts may mean some of the rooms might still need to be accessed by taking a small staircase.

You can search hotels with elevators on www.booking.com. One of the filter categories is "Room Accessibility" with the option of "Upper floors accessible by lift." If you apply your other preferences/requirements to your search, such as budget range, guest ratings, location, etc., you should get a reasonably short list of properties to consider.

If an elevator is an absolute deal-breaker, you should make your reservation directly with the hotel and explain the necessity to avoid all stairs. Not only do quirky floor plans in old buildings sometimes necessitate a few stairs between elevator and room (as mentioned by KTtravel), but some hotels are accessed from the street/sidewalk by a flight of stairs.

We stayed here - our favourite neighbourhood and has an elevator

http://www.thebankhotelamsterdam.nl/

Not all Uber users do it for price reasons - easy ordering/payment are also considerations.

I agree with the suggestion to use booking.com and use the filters available on that website (for ammenities, location, pricing). Uber is not the answer in Amsterdam.

We extended in Amsterdam with Viking after a river cruise last August and the hotel they had for us was the Hotel Okura. It is a big 23 story hotel and we liked it a lot. As part of the deal from Viking, breakfast was included for us and it was incredible. Our room was great (it was a corner room on the 9th floor with great views in two directions). It has a very convenient tram line a block away (we bought a 48 hour pass and used it a lot) and it is just a short walk to a great neighborhood (The Pijp). It has a nice canal-view outside seating area where we had lunch once and drinks a couple of times. We did not eat at either of the hotel's really nice restaurants but I think they would be good.

When we found out from Viking we would be staying at this hotel we were a little concerned because it is not a small quaint hotel that we normally like. Even though we liked our cruise stateroom, it was nice to spread out in Okura's good sized room. And it looks like it is far away from central Amsterdam but the tram is so convenient and the Pijp neighborhood was so nice it was not an issue for us. As others have said, no need for Uber, the trams are great.

I posted a trip report (see link below) and if you scroll down to my Sep 5th entry (Day 10 – 8/21 – Amsterdam ) it is the start of our time in Amsterdam. I'm sure you will hear this a lot before you get to Amsterdam but it is true - watch out for the bikes!

L'Ambassade has an elevator. I remember it because we refused a room near it. Lovely hotel.

Many stated requirements are ambiguous. If I make many assumptions, if you stick with a modern international soulless high rise hotel chain, you might get something you are looking for. Because of the way many hotels are constructed out of previously independent adjacent buildings, even if a hotel has an elevator, L'Ambassade mentioned for example which I have stayed, it does not mean your room can be reached without going through additional stairs after you get off the elevator of certain size.
If you want a "normal" size elevator, you need to define your reference point of "normal".
If you a looking for something in "walking" distance, you need to stay what need to be within "walking" distance as well as your idea of what it means to be in "walking" distance. In my view, everything inside Singelgracht, a radius covering the distance from Amsterdam Centraal to the Museumplein is "walking" distance. This may be too much of a distance for others.
It is not clear why the excellent public transit is not mentioned. It may be that you are not aware of their existence or you don't have one where you live or you don't like using one for whatever the reason. The traffic in the Amsterdam core is very very heavy during the day. If you can walk, it is probably the fastest way to move around in the core of the city unless there is a bus/tram/subway directly connecting where you are going.
As others indicated, the star rating, whichever definition you are using, may be irrelevant. High star rating means they have more services. Whether it is of any acceptable quality or something you like is totally irrelevant. If they offer service, such as 24-hr desk, multi-lingual receptionists, etc, even if they are #$&@, they contribute to the star. I have used (had to use) 4 and 5-star facilities where they treated me like a piece of trash. My most memorable experience was a 2-star hotel run by a young couple. No elevator, no 24-hour desk, little English, no onsite restaurant. What it offered instead was a lovely stay, helpful host, and lovely homemade breakfasts.

Booking.com.

Uber in Amsterdam now increasingly controversial after traffic deaths, caused by Uber drivers "cruising" to wait for pick ups. And you don't need it in any case.

I second the Ambassade. They're very accommodating and have lovely rooms. You should book directly with them and tell them your needs.

You may want to take a look at the Banks Mansion, lovely hotel, helpful and friendly staff, elevator, close to the Flower market (for reference), wonderful breakfast and evening get-togethers in the Living Room, actually the lobby area. We stayed 3 nights a few weeks ago and highly recommend it. We’d return in a heartbeat.

As to Uber, we arrived in Amsterdam after a cruise docked at the PTA. Taxi for 2 was quoted at €40+, Uber was significantly less and arrived within 5 minutes.

We walked all over tho we did purchase 24 hr transportation passes and took trams several times, very easy and convenient.

Enjoy your stay in Amsterdam.

I once stayed at the Marriott by the Liedespleine. (So?). I was quite happy with both the hotel and the location.

I think when the OP says they want a 4* hotel, they mean it. That isn't really that difficult. This whole idea that stars are totally meaningless in Europe, isn't true. They mean exactly what most people think, a gradation of level of "niceness" of a hotel, broadly speaking.

Requiring an elevator and using uber may indicate a mobility issue. Don't rush to judgment.

Exactly. No justification needed for having specific requirements. If you are looking for a good price on a 4* hotel, I would use a service like Priceline Express Deals along with the extension Hotel Canary to help me figure out which hotel it is. Then I would also make sure to choose the zone very carefully.

That said, there are numerous 4* chain hotels in Amsterdam. Personally, I am totally fine with a "soulless" room if it has comfortable beds, good lighting, good wi-fi, a good shower, and if lucky a good seating area. If you use a site like AccorHotels.com, ensure that what they mean by 4* matches with your definition (actually this goes for any site). I stayed at a 3* with a perfect location--Best Western Eden (now Eden Hotel Amsterdam) at Amstel 144. So look in that general area, is my suggestion.

Trams and buses are largely step-free in Amsterdam. And cars are mostly useless in the city centre because of congestion. It's very wise to look for hotels that are near a tramstop of major tramlines. So, near Leidseplein is good, because it connects you to most parts of the city by tram. I've seen Marriott, that's a very good suggestion. There's a good NH hotel next to it.

Even if you were to choose Uber as your city transportation, DON'T opt for a hotel on a canal! Congestion is worse there, so your Uber will likely get stuck, or will want to pick you up away from the canal.

Good tramlines are the #2, #11, #13, #24

Have you considered trying an AirBnB rather than a hotel? My husband uses a manual wheelchair and we have always looked for hotels only and "with elevators/lifts" (and also prefer 4 star ratings, if available...) until last year, when we decided to book an AirBnB in Amsterdam. We loved the opportunity to connect directly with the owner prior to our trip to explain our needs and wants and whether these needs could be met with what they had to offer. With such a variety of options (single rooms to large self-contained houses), we really enjoyed the personal connection and advice from previous guests and their ratings rather than sifting through a myriad of hotel ratings and reviews that we sometimes found less than accurate in terms of accessibility in particular.