Amstel Intercontinental

Hotel description

There are plenty of places to stay in Amsterdam if you’re among the fun-seeking youth that regularly descend upon this town, but if you’re a member of the Dutch royalty, you stay at the Amstel. The Amstel is a breathtakingly grand place, with an old-fashioned, almost stuffy air that, in this permissive party town, can be quite refreshing. There are doormen, colonnades and massive chandeliers. There’s an architecturally spectacular lobby, with towering arches and terraced galleries. Over your breakfast buffet, a maitre d’ presides in formal attire and butlers on every floor iron your morning paper.

The out-of-the-way location (about 10 minutes from the center of town) is made more attractive by the fact that the Amstel has its own port, all mahogany and brass. And since the 1992 renovation, when the 100-plus rooms were converted into 79 larger, more luxurious ones, they’ve added a pool, a jacuzzi, a steam room and cold plunge and a spa. But the pool is perhaps the nicest of these new innovations—tastefully tiled to recall a Turkish bath, heated, with a view of the Amstel river to boot. And you’ll get a kick out of the rooms—closets that light up every time you open them, and showers that many people swear are the best in Europe. A massive showerhead sprays you with water pressure five times the ordinary—you’ll think you’re standing in your own private waterfall. But greater than the showers, greater even than the imperturbable 24-hour butlers, is the food. Amsterdam’s food is usually considered to be the territory of all-night chip shops.

La Rive, however, with its two Michelin stars, serves up roast turbot and creamy tuna that French chef Edwin Kats calls “as near as food can get to sex.” Royal splendor, well-mannered ambience, great food. Not exactly what Amsterdam is known for, but maybe that’s precisely why the Amstel is so welcome—whether you’re a crowned head, a right-wing politico, or a rock star.