Hotel Agora

The two-star Hotel Agora, centrally located along the Singel Canal, boasts homey charms and attentive, personal service. With doubles going for €75-159, the Agora isn't cheap, but those extra euros ensure a warm, welcoming stay.

The Agora's 16 rooms, five of which face a canal, are decorated à la "Semi-classic," with attractive green carpets, red drapes, and Old English wooden dressers and tables. Walls don period prints of old Amsterdam. Baths are spotless and new, with fresh tiles, handy amenities, and thermal powered showers. On the top floor, a four-person room boasts an A-frame ceiling and three giant windows overlooking the canal. Next door, a tip-top double is your own private apartment, with dramatic slanted ceilings and a skylight in the bathroom.

Though the front building was built in 1740, the hotel's rear building, formerly stables, dates back to the early 1600s. Over the years, the master house hosted various businesses, including a wedding dress rental shop. Since 1994, the Agora has been run by the welcoming Els Bruijnse and her husband Yvo Muthert. You need only glance at a page in the Agora's gushing guestbook to see that their guests leave quite satisfied–and return enthusiastically.