Top 10: The Best Luxury Hotels in Amsterdam

by Rodney Bolt, The Telegraph, February 13, 2017

An insider's guide to the top luxury hotels in Amsterdam, including the best for canal views, contemporary interiors, popular restaurants, courtyard gardens, old-world elegance and individually decorated bedrooms, in central locations near the canal belt and De 9 Straatjes shopping district. 

Hotel Pulitzer Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands

9Telegraph expert rating

The Pulitzer sits on an attractive stretch of one of Amsterdam’s most gracious canals, five minutes’ walk from the Anne Frank House and only two or three more to the Royal Palace on the Dam. The hotel runs through 25 different buildings, between two major canals. It is a delightful warren of passages, stairways, sudden open spaces, with many an original feature intact, but with a fresh, contemporary atmosphere. Rooms come in all shapes and sizes. Many have fine canal views, and all come with a potted history of whichever canal house you find yourself in. Modern art from the hotel’s collection finds its way into the rooms, too, and colour schemes are muted pastels and golden beige with luscious touches of lime, yellow and purple. Read expert review. From £204per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.

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Sofitel Legend the Grand Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands

9Telegraph expert rating

Sofitel Legend the Grand is located right in the heart of town. Interiors are decked out in warm colours and witty design touches, creating a contemporary air. Rooms are large, on the whole, for Amsterdam and decorated with the same flair as the public spaces. Done up in natural tones, but with adventurous (though far from vulgar) shades of plum, deep pink and touches of orange. TV in the bathrooms is standard, and the beds are enveloping cocoons. For once, ‘courtyard view’ is just that – a pleasant courtyard, rather than a cruddy back wall – though canal views have more charm. Bridges restaurant is a must – it’s arguably the best fish restaurant in town. There’s an excellent raw bar, too, and Le Petit Bistro, looking out onto a courtyard garden, offers casual classics. Read expert review. From £258per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.

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The Toren Amsterdam, Netherlands

8Telegraph expert rating

Luscious fabrics, deep purples, rich colours, soft chairs, dark carved wood, subtle lighting and chandeliers. Mysterious and womb-like, The Toren is set in a couple of grand canal houses, and seems to suck you back into another world the moment you step through the door. Here and there original features remain – a painted ceiling, carved wainscoting, stucco moulding. There are zany touches, too: crocodile-skin and faux corrugated-zinc wallpaper alongside the flock and damask. The lush décor from downstairs infiltrates the rooms, too, as do the period touches: a four-poster bed, perhaps, gilded ceilings, or an Empire-style writing desk. The rooms are individually decorated, and come in all manner of shapes and sizes. Read expert review. From £109per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.

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The Dylan Amsterdam, Netherlands

8Telegraph expert rating

You enter through a 17th-century arch and gateway, and across a courtyard, which helps give The Dylan its discreet, exclusive atmosphere. Inside, old-world elegance sets the base note (wood-panelled walls, leather upholstery), with exuberant contemporary flourishes (geometric light fittings atop a long, black marble bar). Rooms are spread through two adjacent buildings, and vary considerably in shape and style: some large, with canal views; others cosy, off a central courtyard; some spilt over two levels; others up under the roof beams. Each is individually decorated, though décor follows five different themes, from the coppers, lush velvets, mother-of-pearl and silver leaf of the ‘Loxura’ rooms, to the muted colours and calm lines of the ‘Serendipity’ collection. Read expert review. From £287per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.

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Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands

9Telegraph expert rating

The Waldorf's location couldn't be better; magnificent canal out the front, large garden out the back. Prime period pieces remain - a staircase that rises through 60 metres of gleaming marble and stucco (by the architect of the Netherlands’ grandest royal palace), Rococo licks and curls, 17th-century ceiling paintings. Parts reach museum perfection - such as the Maurer Room, a private dining suite with 18th-century wall-paintings and its interior entirely intact. Then comes an elegant newer layer, where the style is contemporary, but the tone maintained - modern Murano glass lamps and chandeliers; blues and cream colours that give a calm, muted touch; stylish staff uniforms by one of Holland’s hottest designers. Read expert review. From £348per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.

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Hotel Okura Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands

8Telegraph expert rating

A sophisticated Amsterdam hotel located on the outskirts of the city with excellent proximity to the business district. Interiors are uncluttered. There's a large lobby coloured in beige and brown tones, and subtle nods to Japanese design are ubiquitous. Natural wood integrated into minimalist spaces with low-bearing furniture features heavily. As the heart of the hotel, the lobby offers a tranquil area for guests to relax. The smart and sensibly designed guest rooms at the Okura utilise space well, and large windows allow tons of natural light. With 23 floors, many rooms allow fantastic panoramic views - an unusual feature, as Amsterdam’s architecture is notoriously low. Between the five restaurants at the Okura, the hotel holds four Michelin stars. Read expert review. From £163per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.

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Seven One Seven Amsterdam, Netherlands

8Telegraph expert rating

Seven One Seven brings you as close as you can get to the experience of living in a stately Amsterdam canal house without actually owning one – the place to come if you really want to give yourself a treat.. The rear part of the property dates from the 17th century, its elegant canal frontage being added in 1810. All very grand, yet with a homely, domestic touch – this even runs to afternoon tea laid out in the library, and an evening glass or two of wine. Eight palatial rooms come replete with period décor. The two executive suites at the front of the house have enormous windows, with prime views of the Prinsengracht canal. The remainder, at the rear, are also charming, looking out over a courtyard garden. Read expert review. From £280per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.

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InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands

7Telegraph expert rating

Built in 1867, the Amstel is every inch a classic grand hotel, a gracious old lady who can comfortably take her place alongside the Ritz, Reid’s on Madeira or Raffles in Singapore. Yet it is by no means stuffy or overwhelming. The lobby is welcoming, and though gleaming with marble has a large dash of Dutch gezelligheid (“warmth” or “conviviality”, an agreeable national trait). Rooms are furnished with classic taste, and the odd period touch – the best are those with a view over the river to the old part of the city. At river level, a 15-metre indoor pool is part of a well-equipped spa, and La Rive, the waterside restaurant on the River Amstel, has long been ranked one of the best in town. Read expert review. From £290per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.

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Conservatorium Hotel Amsterdam, Netherlands

9Telegraph expert rating

Italian interiors architect Piero Lissoni is the star here. He has transformed the weighty 19th-century building (once a bank, and for many years the Sweelinck music conservatory) into an uplifting expanse of contemporary design. Wall-tiles, stained glass and many other features of the original structure remain intact, beautifully restored, but it is Lissoni’s trademark clean lines, muted fabrics and cheeky flashes of colour that set the tone. The spacious, glass-enclosed lobby-lounge surpasses any in town for drink, meal (it includes a brasserie), or coffee stop-off. The building’s multi-role history means rooms vary in size. The most alluring rooms are those in parts of the building that had imposingly high ceilings, now transformed into spilt-level rooms and suites. Read expert review. From £275per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.

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De L'Europe Amsterdam Amsterdam, Netherlands

8Telegraph expert rating

A historic grand hotel with a contemporary make-over, on the banks of the river Amstel, in the very heart of town. Parts, like the Promenade lobby-lounge, retain chandeliers and other classic touches, elsewhere you’ll find strong lines and startling colours. High-quality copies of Old Masters (selected with the help of the Rijksmuseum) abound. Afternoon tea in the Promenade, a drink at Freddy’s Bar, or lunch on the waterside terrace attract visitors and well-heeled Amsterdammers alike. Rooms come in bold colours (think vast expanses of scarlet, ice blue, mustard yellow) with a solid, geometric, contemporary style. Coco-Mat double-layered mattresses offer heavenly comfort, bathrooms are big and marble-clad. Read expert review. From £232per night. Check availability. Rates provided by Booking.com.

This article was written by Rodney Bolt from The Telegraph and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.