Conservatorium Hotel, Amsterdam - review

Cathy Hawker explores this stunning five star hotel 
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Cathy Hawker7 June 2017

A 19th century bank turned 20th century music school turned 21st century member of The Leading Hotels of the World, the Conservatorium in Amsterdam is one of three Set Hotels along with London’s Cafe Royal and the soon to open Lutetia in Paris.

The five-star hotel opened in 2011 with 129 rooms and suites over eight floors, swiftly earning a solid reputation for its contemporary design, spectacular public spaces and professional yet warm customer service.

Where is it?

The Conservatorium has bagged a prime location in Amsterdam’s mighty Museum District, a two-minute stroll from the cultural highs of The Van Gogh Museum and the moody Rembrandts in The Rijksmuseum. The prime fashion and design district PC Hooftstraat is one street away, the Vondelpark, one of Amsterdam’s most beautiful parks is within five minutes walk and the historic canal district is an easy ten minutes away.

Style:

Tune's bar has a super chic style
Conservatorium Hotel Amsterdam

Italian maestro Piero Lissoni designed the eye-catching overhaul, adding an industrial-chic edge to the triple-height metal and glass lounge and brasserie. His skill at combining the historic details of the building with this modernist glass box ensures the hotel is flooded with light and has made this area a hit with locals too who call it “the living room of Amsterdam.”

The lounge is filled with Asian rugs, Italian modern furniture and design icons including Corbusier-style chairs and leather studded Barcelona benches. Bedrooms are calm and minimalist, heavy on pale greys and beige, remarkably understated on first sight yet pleasingly comfortable helped by top quality tactile fabrics and linens and Japanese-inspired bathrooms.

Facilities:

The buildings history and Lissoni’s standout architectural design mean that the Conservatorium’s public spaces are exceptional but so too are the facilities. Akasha spa has seven treatment rooms and connects to an indoor pool and impressively extensive gym. There’s a collection of rooms for private use and an upmarket shopping gallery that includes Bonebakker, the Netherland’s oldest jeweller.

Outside a bank of cycles are lined up. These can be hired for private use or used to join in on the Conservatorium’s own guided city tours - possibly a safer option for anyone unused to Amsterdam’s silent trams and frequently confusing cycle lanes.

Extra-curricular:

An open-plan concierge desk encourages you to pull up a seat and research options with the knowledgable staff but really you are spoiled for choice of things to do in Amsterdam. Immediately outside the main entrance three of Amsterdam’s stellar museums’s await (Van Gogh, Rijksmuseum and Stedelijk - book tickets online to avoid the queues). Then there is the Anne Frank House, leisurely canal tours, architecture and art to discover and outside of the city in season, the famous tulip fields.

All day dining at Brasserie
Conservatorium Hotel Amsterdam

Food and Drink:

Conservatorium's Brasserie is open from breakfast to dinner with a generous buffet and a la carte menu. It includes a large table for guests - either solo or pairs - who want to eat communally. On the first floor overlooking the Stedelijk Museum Taiko is a buzzy and clearly popular Japanese restaurant in the former drum school of the Music School serving contemporary Asian cuisine.

Gin was invented in the Netherlands so pay a fitting tribute by visiting Tunes, the contemporary bar with resident DJ and smoking lounge where the skilled bar staff will explain the complexities of the 40 - yes 40 - gins on offer.

Which Room:

A look into the junior suite
Conservatorium Hotel Amsterdam

Lissoni inherited a building with palatial windows which complex local planning rules would not allow him to divide. The happy result is that 40 per cent of rooms and suites are over at least two floors.

There are 16 room categories altogether from Deluxe rooms right up to the expansive Signature Suites. A blow the budget favourite is the I Love Amsterdam Suite over three floors including a private rooftop terrace providing a 360 degrees view of Amsterdam.

Best for:

Everyone. The Conservatorium is a favourite with business people during the week and tourists at any time while the fabulous public spaces are a popular meeting place for all of Amsterdam. Families are well catered for with a choice of adjoining rooms.

Details

Double rooms start from €620 per night. Conservatorium Hotel, Van Baerlestraat 27, Amsterdam conservatoriumhotel.com

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