I'm looking for advice on the best locations to stay in Amsterdam. My husband and I and another couple are travelling to Amsterdam next June (2025) from London by train (though we are coming from Australia at the beginning of our travels), and will be in Amsterdam for four nights in total. We are two couples in our late 50s+, but very active and healthy, so walking and catching public transport is not a problem at all.
I've been looking at the options and everything seems quite expensive in the city and areas close, but that seems to be the case world wide at present. Is it better to stay in the city itself (& pay the extra cost) or to stay in an outlying suburb or town (which hopefully would be less costly) and travel into the city for one or two days' of sightseeing? We are planning to stay in VRBO or similar accommodation due to the added space it provides, but are open to hotels if they are a better option. I look forward to hearing your advice and suggestions and thank you in advance for all info you are willing to share.

When we visit Amsterdam, we stay in Zaandam and take the train into the city (6 mins. and trains run every few minutes).
Zaan Hotel and Inntel Hotel are our favourites, both 5 min. walk from the train station.
Zaan Hotel Amsterdam-Zaandam - Best Deal: Book Directly!
Inntel Hotels Amsterdam Zaandam - Hotel in Zaandam, vlakbij Amsterdam

We were in Amsterdam for a week last year and stayed in the city -- in the ring area not too far from the train station -- and enjoyed it very much. It gives one a feeling for the city which I don't necessarily get by doing a "commute" of sorts... evening walks, etc -- and that area is especially good for that kind of thing. I imagine a rental would be multi-level since they tend to have built up rather than built out there and the stairwells were narrow IME. Some smaller hotels we stayed in outside of Amsterdam did not have lifts, so you might want to keep that in mind.

We loved it there. If you are interested in the art museums, Van Gogh, etc. or Anne Frank House book your tickets in advance.

I’m like Trophywife, not too keen on the commute to a hotel in the suburbs. Pre Covid we’ve stayed at Brower Hotel a few times, also at some other place I found on booking.com, can’t remember the name.

We spent 4 nights using points at the Hilton near Museumplein in August 2022 and the location was perfect, especially since the museums were our main focus that trip.

Prices are through roof in Amsterdam now, it always was expensive, has become even more so now.

There’s a thread from last month about hotels in Amsterdam, the title was biking and barge tours I believe. You could get some ideas from there.

I have booked a stay in Museuplein in mid July. I stayed in other parts of Amsterdam in the past, revisiting museums is my main focus this trip.
The first time visitors may prefer something in the very centre, as you said Amsterdam is very popular and expensive destination.

Thanks for this advice, looked at both hotels and both look so good, but out of our price range I fear. We may have to reduce the number of nights we stay or even not stay at all, which would be sad, but may be necessary.

No lifts and steep stairs doesn't bother us - but thank you for the heads up. I had noticed all the comments on websites about this and so we're prepared. Not sure what we're going to do - budget is a real consideration for us. But thank you for your info.

That's exactly why I suggested to stay in Zaandam, which is a small town in its own, not a suburb of A'dam .
Moreover Zaanse Schans is pretty close.

By all means, check places in the suburbs -- I don't know your dates for next June but when checking Booking dot com I noticed that a Mercure was available at around 300 Euro. Public transport is excellent there. Additionally, it's still a year away, so keep checking; prices may ease off a bit. I've heard that booking a full year out is not necessarily when you get the best prices, so I try to get cancellable rates and keep rechecking the rates. I wish you well; Amsterdam is well worth several days or longer.

Pre-pandemic we stayed at the Hotel Fita which was relatively reasonable and a delicious breakfast was included. We enjoyed our stay. I believe the family that ran the hotel when we were there no longer manages the property.

What is your budget?

We are staying at the Kimpton de Witt this July. It gets great reviews, hopefully we'll enjoy it. We actually got the IHG Premier credit card just to book this hotel. With the sign-up bonus, you have enough points for 4 nights (stay 3 nights, 4th night free is a benefit of the card). Rooms are 300+ Euro/night.

Other hotels we considered were Park Plaza, Hotel Die Port Van Cleve, NH Leidseplein, and Tivoli Doelen. They were all around 250 eur/night.

Tourist tax is very high in Amsterdam - currently 12.5% of the price of accommodation plus VAT. It is normally included in the quoted price but you need to check. It is one reason rices are high, but the sheer numbers of visitors mean rices have shot up.
It will probably go up again before next year.
Renting Airbnbs and the like is restricted and you must be sure it has a registration number.You pay the same tourist tax rate.

Unless you really really want to stay in the city I would choose somewhere like Haarlem or Utrecht, or anywhere on a trainline into the city. Aim to travel in a couple of days to see the must sees for you, be sure to book them well in advance too, and spend a couple of days in smaller less crowded, less touristy places. Or skip Amsterdam altogether and visit elsewhere in the Netherlands. The country is so much more than Amsterdam.

We stayed in Haarlem for 3 nights and it is very convenient to Amsterdam; we actually went back to Amsterdam for something while there. We also went directly from Haarlem to Schiphol. Everything was very convenient with public transport being so easy.

I was going to mention checking hotel program points programs and if you can find the deal mentioned, that would be helpful. We stayed 7 nights in Amsterdam on Marriott points, so do they come in handy.

Intel Landmark is amazing, its a 20 min tram from the city but 100% worth it

Our plan for a week in the Netherlands is to stay in Utrecht and train it into Amsterdam and elsewhere as needed. This happens in a little less than a month from now; will try to post the effectiveness of our plan. We're spending a whole lot less on our AirBnB than we would in Amsterdam.

Utrecht is an exceedingly nice city with a better vibe than Amsterdam. Fewer stag parties, less edgy, no hordes.....

I always point people to https://livezoku.com/amsterdam/

Well located in terms of public transport, being near the Plantagebuurt is a plus in my opinion

Their lofts give you substantial self catering options

Great rooftop breakfast and coffee spot