Looking to stay one Saturday night in October rather than catch the late train back to Antwerp. However, most hotels under 200 Euro require a 2 night stay. Any ideas? Can we take the chance of getting off the train and wandering in hotels and asking if they have any free rooms? Thanks in advance.

I would say in Oct, you won't have a problem finding a place at all. Not as many people as in the summer months.

If you use the Hotel booking link on this site (upper right) and enter your one-day search criteria, you should be able to find a few to choose from, should you want to plan ahead.

You can book rooms through the tourist office. There is an office located on the second floor of the rail station near track #2. There is also a busier office located just outside of the Central Station near the local transport office (look for the VVV sign). This is much easier than wandering around from hotel to hotel.

The tourist office will try to book you a room in your price range and will tell you if your price expectations are unreasonable. They can also sell you maps, tours, transport passes and they change money at a reasonable rate. The people behind the desks are incredibly patient and friendly.

Check to see if there is a convention in town the night or nights you wish to stay. If there is a big convention in town, then I'd try booking ahead.

The Ibis and nearby Etap at the airport have a shuttle bus that connects to the airport rail station. They are a good option to the usual high prices in Amsterdam. You can get pricing and availability information at the Accor website.