Hi NicNac1017,

Very exciting that you are traveling to Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Here are some hotel tips for these cities:

AMSTERDAM -- Hotel Wiechmann in Amsterdam seems to be a very well priced and nice, authentic Dutch hotel. I can imagine the prices in October being quite good. You can find information on them at www.hotelwiechmann.nl . Rooms starting at Euro 85 (approx. $110). You can also read the review from 'mab' on Triplog.

There is a new, trendy and clean hostel that looks like fun, if you are up for that kind of accommodation: Stayokay Amsterdam Zeeburg: http://www.stayokay.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=Herbergen.showHomeHB&id=40&lng=2.

Then there is the popular Lloyd Hotel. A centrally located, cool looking hotel with rooms ranging from 1 to 5 stars, so priced for everyone's wallet: www.lloydhotel.com. Nice dining and reading/relaxing facilities!

ROTTERDAM -- A very nice hotel in Rotterdam is Hotel New York, housed in the former head-office of the Holland-America cruise line. Rooms start at a reasonable Euro 105 (approx. $135). Another good site for good deals is  http://www.trav.com/Hotels/Netherlands/Rotterdam . I saw some rooms for Euro 50 (approx. $65) per night.

Hope this helps and that you have a great trip!