Hotel review: nhow Rotterdam, Netherlands, one for the Dutch design buffs

CHECK-IN

Ah, the charm of the typical Dutch city. Canals criss-crossed with low arched stone bridges loomed over by rows of lopsided lolly-coloured houses, each one teetering towards the water-edge. To that fairytale scene the citizens of the Netherlands' second biggest city may well declare, "what rot". Modern-day Rotterdam, after all, is, aesthetically, the antithesis of post-war Europe with all but a small section of it levelled by ruthless World War II Nazi blanket bombing. Instead of recreating the destroyed city in its pre-war image, Rotterdammers pursued a contemporary building style with the famed port today the embodiment of modern architecture and urban design. Where could be more appropriate, then, to check into than the minimalist nhow Rotterdam? This 274-room hotel is set inside one of the world's most striking skyscrapers dominating Wilhelminapier, a revitalised former docklands area a little removed from the main Rotterdam action.

THE LOOK

This relatively affordable hotel, a member of a Spanish-based boutique-style chain, is part of the De Rotterdam (The Rotterdam) mixed-use "vertical city" complex designed by the renowned and controversial Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. A symphony of concrete, steel and glass, one of the three, 42-storey interconnecting towers houses the 23 funky floors of what is the first hotel for which Koolhaas designed both exterior and interior.

THE ROOM

nhow Rotterdam's marketing slogan is "art, architecture and one hell of a view". True to the assertion, my light-filled, all-white (with selected red offsets) 30 square metres premium room comes with breathtaking skyline vistas framed by the elegant swan-shaped Erasmus Bridge, opened in 1996. With its unadorned concrete and glass look, the room feels a little like it's emerged straight from a Dutch version of The Jetsons (De Jetsons?). Oh, and you'll find the minibar located in the lobby in the form of a nifty self-service, cash-free shop offering all manner of take-out goodies (really, every hotel should have one).

FOOD + DRINK

Peckish? Directly across the street is Foodhallen (we'll let you guess the English translation), an upscale food court-style complex set inside an erstwhile restored heritage warehouse. Further along is one of the few surviving remnants of pre-war Amsterdam, Hotel New York, the former early 20th century headquarters of the Holland-America Line with its pleasant al fresco riverside restaurant beside the Nieuwe Maas River, a northern distributary of the Rhine. Meanwhile, back at nhow, you'll find the easy-going Gastrobar Elvy with its terrace overlooking the river, city and bridge.