13 Best Hotels in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Design-savvy travelers on a budget will enjoy the cosmopolitan vibe, lavish public spaces, and airy guest rooms with their high-tech gadgetry (most things in the rooms are controlled by an iPad), but not everyone will love the sci-fi-like see-through glass tubes that contain the toilet and shower. Tucked away near the financial district, this link in a quickly expanding Dutch chain is popular with suited business types as well as a mix of young and older international guests who mingle informally at the canteenM bar and in the lounges broken down into living room–like compartments. Less social types can also hang out in their rooms enjoying AirPlay or Chromecast casting through their widescreen Smart TVs. There are two other CitizenM hotels in Amsterdam; one is a short walk from Schiphol Airport and the other is centrally located near the River Amstel.

Behind a re-creation of a vintage Amsterdam exterior are seven floors of rooms with all the mod cons and hallways lined with brightly colored contemporary art. Small windows and a color scheme heavy on brown, black, and purple mean that many rooms feel dark. Still, even though the decor won’t be to everyone’s taste, at least they’ve tried to veer away from the usual safe corporate blandness. On the plus side, the beds are supercomfy, with great cushions and Egyptian cotton bed linens.

This bulky, modern hotel, with spacious (though slightly dated) rooms looms over a tree-lined street within walking distance of the upscale boutiques on Cornelis Schuytstraat, the Royal Concertgebouw concert hall, Big Three museums, and Vondelpark. While the property lacks any sort of historical allure, you'll find plenty of charm in the lovely streets nearby. Adjoining rooms, family suites, and free baby beds make this a good choice for families.

Many things about this charming boutique hotel, close to the Vondelpark, instill calm, from the comfy, light-filled lounges and the lovely garden to the soothing guest rooms, which feature works of modern art mixed with more traditional touches like ornamental ceilings. Top-floor suites are especially nice and come with scenic views of the neighborhood, but beware the basement rooms, which tend to be small, damp, and dark. The restaurant, Joost, has a light and airy look and serves seasonal Dutch specialties.

From cleaning products to breakfast cereals, everything in this refined little outpost of design is organic—even the room furnishings are made out of sustainable or recycled materials. The Concertgebouw, major art museums, a large choice of good restaurants and brasseries, and the Vondelpark are all nearby. You can enjoy your own little piece of private heaven in the hotel's tranquil garden.

This privately owned 19th-century landmark off Dam Square offers basic, no-frills guest rooms (with soundproof windows) in the center of the action. Most rooms include unremarkable yet functional furnishings and subdued lighting; less expensive and less distinguished quarters, including tidy singles, are available as well. The hotel's restaurant, Brasserie De Roode Leeuw, is an institution, serving modernized Dutch cuisine in a handsome room with views of bustling Damrak.

Named for the leafy residential street on which it's located, a stone's throw from the Leidseplein, Vondelpark, luxe shopping areas, and major museums, this is a good choice for travelers who want to be near everything but not in the midst of the madness. Owner Arjen van den Hof's zest for modern art shows up throughout the hotel, including in the guest rooms. Some bathrooms have flat-screen TVs and sometimes a Jacuzzi tub. There's also a lounge opening onto a small garden. 

Opposite Amsterdam’s monumental former commodity exchange, close to Centraal Station, three adjoining buildings offer one- to five-star guest rooms designed by students and alumni of the Amsterdam Fashion Institute to “look like models hot off the catwalk.” Views and amenities vary considerably, from lower-price interior-view rooms to bright, spacious units with terraces, but all are unique and funky, with a creative use of specially woven fabrics. The walls of the Eighties Room, for example, are covered with a giant 1980s-style "skirt" and "sweater"; to open the curtains, you zip the sweater upward. Also on the premises is BAR STOCK, known for its all-day breakfast.

Individually decorated (though dated) rooms, a cobblestone street out front, and a busy adjoining square all lend a Parisian flair to this cheap and cheerful little getaway close to Rembrandtplein. There is no elevator, although the stairs are modern and easier to navigate than the steep staircases in many Amsterdam hotels. The hotel is located on a square with lots of late-night bars and restaurants; request a room toward the back if you're a light sleeper.

Convenient, no-nonsense, and with few amenities (elevator, breakfast), this well-known budget choice has another great thing going for it: low rates—especially if you're willing to share a bathroom. Double rooms without private bathrooms start at less than €100, while those with an attached bathroom will run you more. Although guests have complained about the sometimes-surly staff, you're here for the location: near Leidseplein and a short walk to Vondelpark and the museums.

These uniquely styled guest rooms—meticulously decorated with marquetry antiques, Persian rugs, and handcrafted Art Deco furnishings—overlook one of Amsterdam's famous sights, a lineup of seven consecutive bridges across the Reguliersgracht. The proud owners of the 18th-century house scout the antiques stores and auction houses for furnishings, and all have thorough documentation. Top-floor, beam-ceilinged rooms are the smallest and are priced accordingly; by contrast first-floor Room No. 5 is practically palatial, with its own private terrace.

If you're a roving creative type visiting Amsterdam to work as well as play, Zoku is your place; the top floor features a light-filled communal workspace chock-full of couches and tables, perfect for lingering over a coffee while you work, as well as an airy roof terrace and greenhouse, and even private meeting rooms that you can book. The homey rooms are more like micro-apartments, with compact but well-designed kitchens, dining areas, desks, swappable art, beds in upstairs lofts, and even gymnastic rings hanging from the ceiling to do pull-ups, if you'd like. The Living Kitchen offers breakfast, lunch, and dinner for an extra charge, and guests can buy snacks and drinks 24 hours a day at the (Almost) Everything Store. Zoku encourages stays longer than 28 nights with a wide range of extra amenities, activities, and discounts.