Hotels in Amsterdam?

I am wondering if anyone has any good recommendations for hotels across from Central Station in Amsterdam. I am thinking that I want to pay between $40 and $80 a night. I want some where clean for me and my husband with breakfast and not a hostel.

I am looking for names of places, not just websites listing 200 Amsterdam hotels. Thanks

Unfortunately hotels in Amsterdam are a little pricey (it is a small city with a lot of tourists). It helps to book in advance because rooms fill up fast during the summer.

I go every year and I like to stay at the heemskerk (http://www.hotelheemskerk.com). It is a 15 minute walk from centraal station right by the museumplein, where the great museums of amsterdam are - The Rijksmuseum (where there is a fabulous collection of Vermeers and Rembrandts) the van Gogh museum, etc. It is very quiet there but close to the action in the center. The best part about the hotel is the staff - Norman will sit with the guests every morning at breakfast, and will help tourists plan their days, and help point them in the directions of really cool things to see in Amsterdam. Also, some rooms have hot tubs.

I generally avoid staying in the central station area because is is noisy at night from the red light district. If you do prefer to stay there, , the NH Barbizon is double your budget ($150-200/night) but it is very nice. There are plenty of other super-luxe hotels (I've always wanted to stay at the Hotel L'Europe, though you could probably skip the Krasnapolsky).

Your best bet is to check the hotels on http://bookings.nl (click on the british flag for english) - there are some real gems to be found there if you do a little legwork. For example, the Singel Hotel looks pretty nice and it is right on a canal. It is a short walk (3-5 min) from Centraal Station (but in the direction away from the red light area) and is 99 euro/night. Around Singel street there are lots of nice shops, especially for hip clothes.

It is nice to stay in a traditional Dutch style hotel instead of a high-rise - they are cheaper and more authentic but they have a lot of stairs to walk up which is tough after a day of fun. The VVV tourist office (right outside of centraal station) can find you a nice hotel when you arrive in Amsterdam that fits your budget, but you may have to take public transport to get there (not recommended for your first trip to amsterdam - especially if you visit the coffeeshops!).

A final note - something very nice for you and your husband to do in Amsterdam is to take a wine and cheese canal cruise - they leave every night from the port on Spui (pronounced "Spow" in Dutch) which is right next to Cafe Luxomberg if you need to ask for directions.