I was satisfied with my stay at the Crowne Plaza Schiphol on the last night of an Amsterdam vacation. Although a few miles from the airport it has a free shuttle leaving at the top and bottom of the hour 6 a.m. through midnight. I booked a 21-day advance purchase through the Six Continents website for €69 but this was off-season and in 2003. The advantage of staying here (or near the airport) is that most flights bound for North America leave in the a.m. and when staying in the city centre you have to get up before 6:00 in the morning to catch your flight. This cuts short your last night in mecca. You may also want to consider the Victoria which is a 4* hotel in a prominent building across from Central Station. The room rate includes 2 r/t train tickets to Schiphol. This can sometimes be booked for under €100 but I personally did not like the staff at this hotel. Try bookings.nl for hotel deals in Amsterdam. If you like beer be sure to check out In De Wildeman (Indewildeman.nl) which has been ranked one of the best pubs in the world by beer gurus Michael Jackson and The Juiceman.