Narrowed down your Amsterdam hotel search to the medieval city center? This round-up of Amsterdam hotels, personally reviewed by About.com Experts, will help you find accommodations in the medieval Old Town (Binnenstad) that satisfy your travel preferences. Each hotel name is linked to either a succinct profile or an in-depth review. See my Amsterdam Hotel Rates for a description of the hotel price symbols.


$$$, NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky
Dam 9, 1012 JS Amsterdam
Phone: +31 20 554 9111
Website: www.nh-hotels.nl

In 1870, the Polish-German tailor Adolf Wilhelm Krasnapolsky took over the Nieuwe Poolse Koffiehuis (New Polish Coffeehouse) that stood on this spot, and turned into a hotel for the occasion of the 1883 World Fair in Amsterdam. Guests of the five-star Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky stay not only in the lap of luxury, but also in the dead center of the city: the hotel's main entrance is on Dam Square, an address it shares with the Koninklijk Paleis (Royal Palace). Around the corner is the Damrak, a historic street where passers-by need only look past the veneer of tourist traps to find some of the city's most classic architecture. The hotel breakfast buffet is set out in the fin-de-siècle Wintertuin (Winter Garden), a national monument in itself. 

• Number of rooms: 468
• Breakfast: Only included with premium rate reservations
• Restaurant: Grand Café Mathilde serves international cuisine in full view of Dam Square and the National Monument.
   

$$$$, Sofitel Legend The Grand
Oudezijds Voorburgwal 197
1012 EX Amsterdam
Phone: +31 20 555 3111
Website: www.sofitel-legend-thegrand.com
Fêted with travel awards, the five-star Sofitel has all the perks a luxury traveler could want - not least a historic atmosphere. The hotel started out as a convent complex in the the 15th century and, after successive renovations, is now a pastiche of classic Dutch architectural styles, most obviously the influential 20th-century Amsterdam School.

• Number of rooms: 177
• Breakfast: Only included with special rates
• Restaurant: Seafood restaurant Bridges has a Michelin star to its name, as well as murals by Dutch CoBrA artist Karel Appel, a relic of the time when the space served as a canteen for the Amsterdam city hall. The restaurant's Petit Bistro serves typical French bistro fare.
   

$$, WestCord City Centre Hotel Amsterdam (formerly Ramada City Center)
Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 50
1012 SC Amsterdam
Phone: +31 20 207 000
Website: www.westcordhotels.com
This three-star hotel claims an address in the so-called Nieuwe Zijde (New Side) of the medieval city center; its street name refers to the front (voor-, pronounced just like "fore") fortification wall (burgwal) that once protected the inner city. Today, it's a busy city street, full of restaurants, cafés and coffeeshops, and with tram stops at close intervals for convenient intra-city transit. Nearby is the unspectacular but solid TerraZen Cafe, a restaurant in a clandestine alleyway that serves a menu of casual Japanese-Caribbean fusion fare in a homey atmosphere.

• Number of rooms: 106
• Breakfast: Only included with special rates, such as the I Amsterdam Package (includes breakfast buffet and 24-hour I amsterdam tourist discount pass)
• Restaurant: Piazza D'Oro serves breakfast and snacks only.