Up-and-coming part of Amsterdam gets cool new hotel
Amsterdam is taking measures to dial back mass tourism and its reputation (among some sorts) as a den of iniquity. But for mindful, slow and respectful travellers this means new opportunities to get to know the Dutch capital and its people in a more authentic and refined way.
The Hoxton Lloyd Amsterdam.
The upcoming Eastern Docklands neighbourhood, now home to a new boutique hotel, The Hoxton Lloyd Amsterdam, is a good place to start.
Far – but not too far – from the crowds that descend upon the city’s important museums and the photogenic canals of the Old Centre, the Eastern Docklands is a reimagining of a harbour area built in the late 19th century for trade which fell into disuse.
Resurrected in the 1980s as a residential enclave, its waterfront aspects, public transport links and a strong cultural life have made it a desirable location.
Dockside decor.
Among the heritage aspects of the area is Oostelijke Handelskade, or the Eastern Quay, where the Lloyd building, originally a shipping company HQ when it was built in 1921, did time as accommodation for emigrants, as a World War II prison run by the German occupiers and as a youth detention centre in the 1960s.
Older style made new again.
Declared a national monument, in the late 1990s the city ran a competition to decide its best new use. A hotel proposal won and The Lloyd, an eclectic showcase for top Dutch designers with artistry driving things (at the expense of comfort, some said) opened in 2004.
Design is very much at the forefront for The Hoxton, Lloyd Amsterdam, too, but comfort is the co-pilot.
The new 136-room hotel by Ennismore honours the building’s art deco original features including striking stained-glass windows, panelling and tiling, melding them with contemporary interiors. Neighbouring gallery Bisou curated the hotel’s all-Dutch artwork collection featuring emerging talent as well as established and “rediscovered” artists. The onsite Hox Gallery is a project with another local creative collective, Stitching Kunstwerk Loods6.
The cool bar area.
The hotel’s exterior, too, will continue to be a changing canvas for Amsterdam street artists.
As for lodgings, the non-uniform footprint of the hotel gives itself over to rooms with unique personality, highlights of which include the Tower Room with its own spiral staircase and waterfront views; the Tune Room featuring a grand piano, and the Gather Room, a suite featuring a separate dining area, oversized bed and neon-green bathroom. Standard and more service-oriented Hoxton room categories also apply, catering for singles to groups in bunk rooms.
The Hoxton brand began in 2006 in London’s Shoreditch where a car park was turned into the hotel. Its proliferation has been in line with that: flipping unique buildings into funky accommodation in city neighbourhood areas.
In line with the brand’s “open house” philosophy, The Hoxton Lloyd Amsterdam has inviting eateries to entice locals: the Lobby Bar for a casual coffee, Breman Brasserie opening early, closing late and serving meals accordingly, and Barbue, a cocktail bar that incorporates the Lloyd building’s old ticket office and offers a menu created by Renato “Tato” Giovannoni, whose own establishment, Floreria Antico in Buenos Aires, was ranked fifth in the World’s 50 Best Bars in 2022.
This is the second Hoxton in Amsterdam.
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