Spendinf 4 days in Amsterdam in August and looking for a hotel in thr $200-$300 range. Any ideas as to hotel or area? Thanks

We stayed at the Victoria Hotel in March on our way to Tanzania. It was an easy train ride from the airport and then had to only cross the street. The canel tours are just across the street. Breakfast wasn't included, was very expensive, but wonderful.

Just returned from a week in Amsterdam (report to come) and we stayed at the Toren. Closer to $300, but nice. Good area, but a tiny bit far from public transportation.

http://www.thetoren.nl/index.php?lang=EN

There are a lot of very definite opinions about which area is the "best" one in Amsterdam.

We personally prefer the area not too far from the RR station since it is close to transport and the things we enjoy doing the most.

You might want to take a look at the Swissotel which is located right on Dam Square. We found it to be better in some ways than the Krasnapolsky right across the street and the Hotel Amsterdam right next door.

Not as close to the station as the newly-renovated Renaissance, however.

I would have recommended the Victorisa but it gets poor reviews on TripAdvisor.

We stayed at the Renaissance. It was the first time we ever stayed at a big chain hotel in Europe. We enjoyed it -- the rooms were fairly large and very comfortable, and the location was superb. Very close to the train station, walking distance to a lot, and easy public transportation elsewhere.

I choose hotels by location within the city in Amsterdam. Because I so much prefer the Leidseplein, Vondelpark, or Jordaan districts over the central part of the city around the Dam and the train station. As a solo female traveler, that central core simply didn't feel very safe to me.