Hi All,
I'm about to make a work trip to Amsterdam, and could use some advice to maximize my time there. I'll be arriving one morning and will have that day to myself for sightseeing- I'll then have two days of meetings in The Hague. I'm going with a colleague who really wants to stay in Amsterdam, so we're planning to take the train back and forth each day (on my own, I would have stayed at least one night in The Hague, but he is determined to stay put). I'll have the evenings to do some more looking around.

I'm a HHonors Diamond and am getting a rate my employer will pay at both the Hilton and the Doubletree Centraal Station. The Doubletree seems a bit better for the commute to the Hague since I can walk to the train station, but my past experience with other cities is that the areas next to central train stations aren't always the nicest. The Hilton is a bit of a hike from a train station (tram or walk to Zuid, I think) but I'm wondering if it is a nicer neighborhood? With my time I'd like to see some of the touristy things, shop for gifts for the kids, and make a quick visit to the Rijksmuseum. I've never spent any time in Amsterdam, so don't really know which parts of the city have the most activity, nor how easy/hard it is to get around. I'd appreciate any advice on which hotel location to choose so I can make the most of my short time.