Luxury Travel

Conservatorium Hotel Amsterdam (The Netherlands)

October 26, 2022

120

Wednesday newsletters at all times characteristic a lodge or flight evaluate.

Today: Review of the Conservatorium Hotel Amsterdam (The Netherlands)

The Conservatorium Hotel is a luxurious life-style palace, evoking glamour and magnificence for classy, design-savvy vacationers. Housed in a former financial institution and music faculty, the lodge is situated within the coronary heart of Amsterdam’s well-known style and museum district, adjoining to the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Stedelijk Museum, and P.C. Hooftstraat, a road of luxurious retail outlets. With eight flooring and 129 rooms and suites, the lodge gives spacious deluxe rooms as much as a penthouse suite, that includes state-of-the-art know-how and enormous bogs. Access to the lodge’s fabulous spa (with pool) is complimentary. Exquisite meals is obtainable within the Brasserie & Lounge and within the Asian-inspired restaurant, Taiko.

The Conservatorium Hotel options in my high 10 listing of the finest accommodations in Amsterdam.

Have you ever stayed on the Conservatorium Hotel? If so, what was your expertise? Leave a remark.

In this evaluate (extra data and pictures beneath my YouTube video):

PROS & THINGS I LIKE

Set within the coronary heart of the Museum Square district, the Conservatorium Hotel enjoys a elegant places within the Dutch capital, each for leisure and enterprise vacationers. Amsterdam’s crown jewels – the Van Gogh Museum, Concertgebouw, Rijksmuseum, and Vondelpark – are conveniently on the lodge’s doorstep. The metropolis’s most unique buying district – with Cartier, Gucci and Armani boutiques – is simply across the nook. Amsterdam’s well-known canals and cobble stone streets are simply 10 minutes’ stroll away. Around quarter-hour by tram is the Central Station, which has high-speed hyperlinks with Paris (in 4 hours), Brussels (in three hours) and additional afield. The Netherlands’ primary airport Schiphol is just 20 minutes away by automotive; transfers will be organized from €135 and embody a welcome within the arrival corridor of Schiphol Airport.

The Conservatorium Hotel enjoys a wealthy historical past. The constructing wherein the lodge is housed was initially designed by the Dutch architect Daniel Knuttel because the Rijkspostspaarbank and sparked the regeneration of the Museum Quarter on the finish of the nineteenth century. When the Rijkspostspaarbank needed to transfer places of work following a collection of merges, the constructing was deserted in 1978. After mendacity empty for 5 years, it grew to become the house of the newly shaped Sweelinck Conservatorium, consisting of three musical institutes. Some remodelling was required to modernise Daniel Knuttel’s structure into purposeful acoustic lecture rooms. In April 2008 the Conservatorium of Amsterdam outgrew its residence and departed to its present location at Oosterdokseiland. In the identical 12 months, The Set Hotels bought this excellent constructing, attracted by its superb previous, and turned it into considered one of Amsterdam’s finest luxurious accommodations.

In a imaginative and prescient to revive the constructing to its former magnificence, The Set Hotels appointed award successful Milan-based designer Piero Lissonito to information the creation of the Conservatorium Hotel, whose wealthy historic narrative is woven with utmost care into its very material. Lissoni used a recent design language to enhance Knuttel’s Art Nouveau grasp piece. The unique neo-gothic feeling of the constructing was left unchanged whereas new components had been inserted to create a distinction between vintage and fashionable. The inside glass courtyard is indisputably essentially the most putting new design construction. Constructed utterly of glass, it underscores the distinction between previous and new, whereas doing full justice to the unique construction of the historic constructing. The atrium is intimately dotted with lush homely sofas & espresso tables, and has earned the moniker the ‘Living Room of Amsterdam’ by town’s locals

Inside and out, a robust design aesthetic is prime to the Conservatorium Hotel. The constructing’s unique perform as a financial savings financial institution is obvious within the playful particulars so embraced by the Art Nouveau motion. There are stone pigs carved into the staircase to represent piggy banks; spider webs on the tiles within the buying arcade allude to spiders trapping flies to devour later; and the tiles additionally painting bees, which, metaphorically, save shares of honey for the wintertime. Furniture from main Italian manufactures similar to Living Divani, Kartell and Cassina sit prominently in all communal areas whereas accent items similar to classic Asian rugs present a way of acquainted consolation and cement the Conservatorium as the most effective design accommodations in Amsterdam. The lamps within the accommodations are created by Piero Lissoni. He can also be the one who designed the fireplace doorways, desks and host desk particularly for the Conservatorium lodge.

The Conservatorium Hotel options 129 spacious rooms & suites, that are minimal, fashionable and extremely comfy areas. In every room on the lodge, up to date luxuries mix with historic design particulars and a chilled colour palette. During my go to, I used to be upgraded to a phenomenal Royal Duplex Suite. This split-level suite was embellished elegantly and up to date in a soothing colour palette that includes darkish hardwood flooring and beige furnishings. Enormous home windows provided an genuine Amsterdam metropolis views. The suite featured a lounge space, eating desk and comfy work house on the decrease stage. The heat travertine stone bogs, one on every stage, had been geared up with a big rainfall bathe, deep soak bathtub, luxurious designer facilities, rest room LCD mirror TV, and Micro Cotton towels.

The Conservatorium Hotel’s musical historical past and central location are symbolized in its three distinctive signature suites. The Concerto Two Bedroom Suite has the tall grandeur of a music room; the I Love Amsterdam Suite is a triplex with spectacular views of town from its non-public rooftop terrace; lastly, the Penthouse Suite is a good-looking house with floor-to-ceiling home windows taking within the majestic Conservatorium constructing and Amsterdam past. The Penthouse has non-public elevator entry, a classy eating room with in-suite kitchen and it’s attainable to order the whole sixth ground privately along with the Penthouse Suite to create a non-public Penthouse Wing.

When the Conservatorium was reworked right into a grand lodge, its cultural significance to town of Amsterdam was maintained. Regular musical performances are held on the lodge as we speak. The lodge frequently collaborates with the Conservatorium van Amsterdam music faculty and collectively they began the Expression of the Art Award collection. Each 12 months, college students from the jazz division are invited to compete on the lodge. A jury is current to announce the winner, who’s awarded with a financial fund to encourage and assist their musical profession. Rosey Chan is simply one of many musicians who’s carefully related to the Conservatorium Hotel; the classically educated pianist has carried out every part from recording movie scores to creating experimental multi-media items throughout her profession.

The lodge’s cultural dedication goes past music. It has an ever-changing roster of up to date artists displaying their work within the lodge foyer. These artists vary from rising expertise to globally established names similar to Banksy and Scholten & Baijings. Some suites are additionally embellished with works by artists. These items are rotated steadily and are proven alongside publications on the main points. The everlasting artwork assortment within the lodge has been curated by architect Piero Lissoni, and consists of every part from reproductions of historic Dutch masterpieces to model new commissions impressed by the Conservatorium’s cultural and musical historical past. One of essentially the most spectacular artwork works is a dangling violin set up within the lodge’s entrance corridor, which pays homage to the lodge’s previous historical past as a music faculty. Another spotlight are the excessive definition scans from actual Italian and Flemish seventeenth and 18th century work which adorn the lodge’s wealthy historical past hallways.

The Conservatorium Hotel’s spa, named the Akasha Holistic Wellbeing Center, is split into 4 totally different areas impressed by pure components. The wellness experiencer is enhanced by temper lighting, restorative sounds and uplifting aromas. Seven therapy rooms, together with a double therapy Akasha Suite, supply signature remedies which marry progressive Western practices with historical Eastern traditions. There is a non-public Hammam for purifying scrubs and massages and Amsterdam’s solely Watsu pool for tailor-made hydrotreatments and guided meditation. The 18m (60 ft) lengthy swimming pool gives an oasis of calmness and serenity throughout the bustling metropolis of Amsterdam. The spa additionally options a powerful fitness center whose innovative know-how consists of LifeFitness gear. There are additionally some non-public studios devoted to 1 on one periods or personalised courses throughout the disciplines of Yoga, Pilates, Tai-Chi and meditation.

The Conservatorium Hotel has an illustrious, century-long previous the place society has at all times gathered collectively. This is very obvious as we speak in its two elegant eating places, each managed by Dutch chef Schilo van Coevorden.
- The restaurant Taiko takes its title from the Japanese for ‘drum’ as it’s situated in what was as soon as the percussion division of the previous music faculty. Taiko redefines up to date Asian delicacies with genuine dishes manufactured from native, seasonal merchandise. Guests are served scrumptious signature sashimi and beef from the Binchō-tan grill. Taiko Bar, alongside, Taiko Bar interprets the subtle nightlife of world cities similar to Bangkok, Tokyo and Shanghai into the intimate, cosy setting of an Amsterdam neighborhood pub.
- The Brasserie is situated within the lodge’s central atrium. Flooded with pure daylight beaming down from the glass ceiling and thru the floor-to-ceiling home windows, it’s a convivial assembly place for each lodge visitors and Amsterdam society. When the climate is good, the magnificent atrium foyer extends onto a courtyard terrace. The Brasserie gives up to date breakfast and lunch daily, dinner on Mondays, and a brunch with a reside jazz efficiency on Sundays.

The Conservatorium Hotel is Green Globe licensed, at present holding Platinum standing. Green Globe is a worldwide group that audits its members based on internationally accepted sustainability standards. The Conservatorium lodge has been independently audited and awarded certification to the Green Globe International Standard for Sustainable Travel & Tourism for a number of years now, and is the primary lodge in The Netherlands attaining this milestone. Important sustainable practices had been built-in into the redevelopment of the constructing from the beginning. The lodge makes use of a thermal vitality storage system and reuses water from its swimming pool within the sprinkler system. The property additionally intention to cut back the quantity of waste as a lot as attainable and provides preferences to reusable sustainable gadgets, avoiding use of plastic containers for instance. Executive chef Schilo Van Coevorden and the lodge’s meals & beverage division intention to advertise native natural elements and restrict the usage of elements from endangered species of meals.

The Conservatorium Hotel is managed by The Set Collection. The Set Collection additionally has a number of different accommodations in its portfolio: Café Royal in London, Lutetia in Paris, the Mamilla in Jerusalem, the Opposite home in Beijing, the Upper House in Hong Kong, the Temple House in Chengdu, and the Middle House in Shanghai. The three founding accommodations of The Set (Café Royal, Lutetita and the Conservatorium) are situated within the cultural coronary heart of their vibrant cities. They have for many years attracted individuals who drive change and creativity and are locations the place established and rising concepts come collectively to form the longer term. Matching the spirit and tempo of latest life, The Set accommodations are explicitly designed to allow new discoveries and to seize the hearts and minds of visitors within the course of. These are locations folks love, wish to return to and to inform others about. Simply put, they rank among the many fashionable grand accommodations of our time.

CONS & THINGS TO KNOW

The Conservatorium Hotel’s breakfast – served within the Brasserie Restaurant – is comprised of a superbly offered buffet and scrumptious à la carte dishes. Although breakfast on the lodge can be a wonderful begin of the day for many visitors, it turned out to be a large number throughout my journey due to a really massive tour group who took over the whole breakfast restaurant from 8 to 9 am. As a consequence, not one of the different lodge visitors may very well be seated within the restaurant throughout that point (since no tables had been accessible), inflicting frustration amongst lodge visitors and stress among the many clearly overwhelmed employees. Since I couldn’t postpone my breakfast to a later time, this meant I missed out on breakfast on one of many two days I used to be on the lodge. The administration might have anticipated that there was going to be an issue throughout breakfast with such a big tour group, but they didn’t take any motion to implement a easy operation (e.g. seat the tour group of their second restaurant or supply in-room breakfast to the people of the tour group). On the opposite day of my two-night keep, I had breakfast at 10:30 am (breakfast is open till 11 am) however I used to be disenchanted to seek out out that the employees was already eradicating components of the buffet by that point. I do consider although that my disappointing expertise with the lodge’s breakfast service is an unlucky and uncommon anomaly that isn’t consultant of the lodge’s regular breakfast service.

I encountered some (different) service points throughout my keep which mustn’t have occurred at a 5 star lodge of this caliber. For instance, at check-in, I used to be instructed on the reception desk that they had been understaffed and so they couldn’t accompany me to my room (one thing that’s apparently a part of the lodge’s routine check-in process). Unfortunately, this turned out to be reasonably problematic because the lodge’s hallways are a labyrinth at first sight and they’re dimly lit so it’s not simple in any respect to seek out your room by your self (it took me greater than quarter-hour). Also, one night time, the turndown service employees entered the suite with out knocking on the door, which was a reasonably disagreeable expertise (apparently, they thought I had left, however even in that case they need to nonetheless have knocked the door previous to coming into the room).

The lodge’s signature restaurant, Taiko, gives Asian delicacies in a classy setting. During my dinner at Taiko, I ordered the multi-course tasting menu, which was undoubtedly composed of high quality elements and superbly offered, however I used to be not solely satisfied by the style of some dishes. For instance, the American lobster on the menu was tasteless because it was drenched in a peanuts sauce. Of course, this can be a matter of non-public preferences, and based mostly on the restaurant’s very favorable on-line evaluations, plainly most different visitors rave concerning the meals’s unique and spice flavors. Nonetheless, I couldn’t assist however assume how good it might have been if the lodge can be residence to a Michelin-starred restaurant serving genuine Dutch delicacies (true to the constructing’s wealthy historical past) as an alternative of an Asian impressed eatery.

MY VERDICT

Location: 9/10
Design: 9/10
Pool: 9/10
Rooms: 9/10
Food: 8/10
Breakfast: 5/10
Spa: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Value for cash: 9/10
Overall expertise: excellent 8,6/10

TIPS FOR FUTURE GUESTS & SAVE MONEY

Save cash: get complimentary VIP perks when reserving through Virtuoso (e.g. improve, every day breakfast, early check-in, late check-out, and $100 USD meals & beverage credit score).

Save cash: learn right here my suggestions for getting the perfect deal at a luxurious lodge just like the Conservatorium Hotel Amsterdam (and/or obtain many free perks).

Read my suggestions for making ready your journey in time.

BEST TIME TO VISIT

Amsterdam is finest visited between April and May (spring) or September by November (autumn), proper earlier than or instantly after {the summertime} excessive vacationer season. You’ll deal with fewer vacationers, take pleasure in considerably delicate temperatures (town’s climate is notoriously finicky), and likewise expertise Amsterdam because the locals do, at its laid-back finest.

HOW TO GET THERE

Amsterdam can simply be reached by airplane, prepare or automotive. For these coming by airplane, the lodge is situated a 20 min cab experience from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS). Check the Wikipedia web page of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol for a constantly up to date listing of airways that provide direct flights to Amsterdam.

PHOTOS

Below is a choice of my pictures of the Conservatorium Hotel Amsterdam. To view extra pictures (together with breakfast and dinner), click on right here.