Make hotel reservations far in advance for July and August
Reserve a hotel as far in advance as possible for March-August (peak tourist season)
Unique accommodations: house boats. Rotterdam cube houses
Neighborhoods
Central Station
Main transportation hub
Convenient for a 1-2 night stay
High end luxury hotels to low end hostels
Most of the inexpensive hotels and hostels are located in this area
Bars, restaurants, shopping, and nightlife
Most of the sights and museums are not in this area
There are two districts within Central Station
The Red Light District (east) is loud, crowded, and the less safe than other areas at night.
The Shopping District (west) is more quiet at night and hosts some higher end hotels.
Sloterdijk station: a main railway station and metro connection to the city/airport located west of the city. Industrial area with less expensive hotels, but little to do at night.
Dam Square
Very touristy with generally over priced bars and restaurants
Hotels are not as nice and the area is a bit run down
Jordaan
Residential area, very artsy
Not many hotels, mostly B&B's or guest houses
Leidseplein
Nightlife area, hotels, restaurants, bars
Very busy at night and on weekends
Wide range of hotels
Museumplein
Residential area, more quiet at night
Few minutes away from Leidsplein
Wide range of hotels
Rembrandtplein
Middle to upper class hotels
Nicer area than central station and centrally located
Main nightlife area, bars, restaurants, shopping
Not as far out as Leidseplein
Stadseed Zuid
Residential area with many shops, restaurants, and bars