We have booked our flight from Canada to arrive in Amsterdam on September 7 with the plans for staying 2 nights prior to heading off to Brugge. This seemed doable until we realized there was a big conference in Amsterdam while we are planning on being there and can not believe how difficult it is to find accomodations. I am normally a 4 or 5 star traveller but have definitley adjusted expectations and still no luck.
So the question to the group is.... can you recommend a near by town that will be suitable for travelling by train to central Amsterdam? We have looked into Haarlem and the prices seem really high but I assume it is a result of Amsterdam being booked. Any other suggestion?

Try Utrecht, or even as far as Leiden. Both are lovely towns with great sights of their own to see. If you're in Utrecht, don't miss the museum of mechanical clocks and musical instruments. Trains in the Netherlands are excellent and fast. It's not a big deal to travel from other towns in to Amsterdam. Also, if Amsterdam doesn't work out because of the crowds, you could always save it for another trip and go somewhere else as soon as you get there. Further south in the Netherlands, there are Den Haag and Rotterdam, with excellent museums and things to do, and they are close to Delft and Gouda, well worth visiting. Antwerp is lovely, with much to do, and it's convenient for going on to Brugges. Or you could fly from Schipol airport immediately upon arrival to somewhere else on a cheap intraEuropean flight. (When we flew to Amsterdam, we immediately flew on to Rome and didn't see Amsterdam until we came back at the end to catch our return flight.) Schipol airport is so convenient and so easy to reach by train, that people often fly there as a gateway to other parts of Europe.

Hi Sunschein,

If you don't want to stay as far out as Utrecht or one of the other bigger cities, you might try a town called Abcoude. It's just 10minutes outside Amsterdam - not much there, but it's quaint, safe and an easy walk to and from the train station into ADam. Another town you could try to google is Weesp. If you have a map, you will see there are lots of small towns just outside of Amsterdam.

Here's a link to a simple, clean hotel that I have stayed at: http://www.hotelabcoude.nl/

I hope this helps. You will LOVE Brugge!

Have you tried actually contacting the hotels you would like? Many are block booked for the conference - but don't yet have confirmed bookings. Try e-mailing a couple and see - someone else on the forum had the same problem and managed to find somewhere that way. Weesp station is a long way from the town so perhaps Weesp is not a good idea, and is unlikely to have anything with any stars let alone 4.

It was surlygirl who posted and she managed a booking through http://reservetravel.com/.
Good Luck!

Try Zaandam, Haarlem, Amstelveen, Hoofddorp and/or an airport hotel. All with good train/busconnections into Amsterdam.
Also check hotels on Tripadvisor:http://www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g...Vacations.html

Thank you very much everyone who responded. I have tried all the leads including Surlygirls advice (which I had seen a few days ago) and we have decided to reroute to Belgium and try Amseterdam next year.
That said you all have given us some great side trip advice for the next trip.

Thank you again for your quick responses.

Choose a different time for your visit next year!
Have fun in Belgium.

I stay in a hotel in Haarlem and it's very good price for the room - around 35 euros - right on the main square. Hotel Carlton (? not sure if i remember right) i believe - neat breakfast buffet - nice folks - quiet but i'd not sure what you're looking for - it's not the Hilton just clean and comfy.

PalenQ, is it this one?
http://www.carlton.nl/

If so, it's a good deal for Amsterdam, but a lot more than 35 Euros per night.

yes - they have all different rooms - i paid 35 or 39 euros - something in 30s this January - did it online. Had shower in room but shared WC - so was the cheapest room - maybe they have summer rates but web site in January had such prices on them.

nice location right on the main square - in summer you can breakfast outside in chairs in front.