Amsterdam - where to stay?

[Iliketulips]

Can anyone give me an idea of location or hotel that might suit us.

Ideally we'd like somewhere close to a canal, which I guess is almost everywhere. Pleasant nearby surroundings for evening and a reasonable choice of decent eateries. In the day we're happy to walk on foot, rather than public transport, so somewhere relatively near key points.

Also, any hotel suggestions would good. I was looking at 4* as it's our 30th wedding anniversary, but we're going in September when prices seem to be high.

Jordaan is a nice area - we had a nice wander and lunch there. We were staying in the town where parkrun was so didn’t stay in it ourselves but we went past the Hoxton which is just down from jordaan. Looked really nice and is canal side. This has been recommended to me but we decided against staying in Ams centre.

I don't have accommodation recommendations but, in case you didn't know, the weekend of 12-13 Sept is what the Dutch call Openmonumentendagen, Open Monument Days.
This is held across the country on the second weekend of Sept each year and means you can visit many tourist attractions/venues free of charge. Could be of interest depending on what you're planning to do. You can search online nearer the time to see which places are taking part.
That said, attractions can consequently be a lot busier than usual, so you may have a long wait or be unlucky in trying to see certain things.
Have a great time whenever you go.

Hotels beside canals tend to be expensive. Stars are not really an indication as to quality for guests. I recommend putting in dates and seeing what you get via The Telegraph travel site. I’ve plucked these for you and some are just stunning and special. Others more standard but fun. Why not look at prices and reviews for what you can afford. Some have restaurants and some don’t. I’ve only chosen canal side ones but many others are available in slightly less desirable areas but the canals are wonderful!

The Clayton, or the old American hotel, is the perfect location. They have the best chips and mayonnaise and are right on a canal.

Some more

Have you been to Amsterdam before, op? I like to stay out of the city and just go for a day visit or two. The train transport is fantastic and imo it's better and cheaper to stay elsewhere.
Have a look at Utrecht or Haarlem if this is an option for you.

Yes yes to the American Hotel. I used to stay there on work trips and really enjoyed it.

I totally agree with this! I came on to recommend the same hotel.

We’ve stayed in The Clayton too and are going back in the summer. You can book a room with a canal view. The dining room is a spectacular piece of Art Deco.
There are tram stops outside which will take you pretty much anywhere though it’s all walkable.

I’d support this. And don’t rule our public transport. The tram system is brilliant.
We stay in Utrecht and travel into the centre by quick, regular and reliably clean train (no eating or drinking anything but water). Seeing the locals be locals is good whenever you go - how can you truly ‘know’ a place by restricting it to the tourist experience?

I agreed with @passmeaglass that I'd look to stay in the Jordaan area. It's a bit less overtly touristy than some of the central areas, a little quieter, but equally you can walk from there to lots of interesting places. Very typically Amsterdam architecture, Lots of great independent restaurants and bars tucked down side streets. We stayed in a canal front Air B&B so not quite what you're after.