A Comprehensive Guide to Amsterdam's Canal House Hotels

 

 

Amsterdam has an allure because of its reputation as a haven of lawful sin. The Netherlands has never had time to punish such petty things as anabaptists (half a millennium ago) or marijuana (today). They have been too preoccupied with constructing dikes and dams and preventing their land from sinking into the sea. This city is claimed to have been the birthplace of liberalism itself. The original stock market as well. Furthermore, the Dutch mercantile Golden Age only served to solidify the abandonment of some moral subjectivities in favor of collaboration, if the concept of gedogen—the official non-enforcement of certain laws, most famously applied to coffee shops and red light districts—has its origins in the ancient Dutch war against the sea.

Achievements

Amsterdam had achieved unheard-of levels of commercial success by the 1600s. However, a significant portion of appart hotel Amsterdam riches remained in the hands of the merchant class, whereas other European towns spent the century constructing Baroque palaces and castles for aristocrats and royals. With the help of spices and other wealth from all around the world, these locals embarked on a huge project to make their flourishing metropolis even bigger for themselves. Because of this, Dutch Baroque architecture was more restrained and sober than the gaudy, ornate style that was popular throughout the continent. This is clear from the city's well-known canal houses, where form and utility have to coexist.

The warehouse

The canal homes served as further than just residences. At the same time, they served as warehouses for various types of inventory. According to one city historian, Russell Shorto, a merchant with a canal mansion "could sail from China or Japan to Appart hotel Amsterdam and enter his front parlor and the bosom of his family almost without touching solid ground." The items carried home would be stored on the upper floors, and a hook at the top of the structure—which can still be seen if you look up practically anyplace in Amsterdam—would lift them off the boat to avoid the small, hardly usable staircases that provided additional interior room for the house.

Architectural Area

The houses they constructed during that time are still standing. Hardly any architectural form is more closely linked to its location. At night, the small, occasionally crooked canal buildings create a strange vision of the softly flowing canals with their elaborate facades and charming gables reflected in the dark water. They have only become better with time. The canal houses, each offering a glimpse into Amsterdam's history and present, are now situated on the most desirable real estate. There is no better location for a tourist to experience the essence of the city.

The majority of traditional canal house hotels

The three main canals are surrounded by our most traditional canal house hotels, which are all within a 10-minute' walk of one another. In order to best attract affluent traders, the Prinsengracht, Herengracht, and Keizersgracht were dredged by hand for the city's well-planned growth in the early 1600s. Built alongside over 3,000 canal residences for the prosperous and upwardly mobile merchant class, the Prince's, Gentleman's, and Emperor's canals wind around the city.

 The Hoxton, Amsterdam

These hybrid personal and business spaces are now characterized by large rooms, backyard gardens, and deep plots that have been used in incredibly inventive ways. The unquestionably beautiful façade is self-evident. What distinguishes them are their peculiarities. You get the strong impression that you're being assessed upon check-in at The Hoxton in Appart hotel Amsterdam, which is made up of five canal houses connected together. Indeed, you are. The fifth floor's low ceilings swiftly deport any visitor taller than the typical 17th-century merchant. You will notice some sloping irregularities in the flooring underneath you as you move through its hallways. 

As a result, Hoxton's rooms range from attics with original beams to bigger areas with timber herringbone floors, which allude to the former mayor's residence in one of these historic structures. All of this is not to argue that the Hoxton or any other canal house Appart hotel Amsterdam feels shabby. The expansive, shiny, contemporary lobby stretches the breadth of the enormous front building with the public areas for which the brand is renowned, including a lively restaurant that is frequented by both residents and visitors.

 

 

Amsterdam Pulitzer

Under the thick veneer of upscale comfort, allusions to the city's past are prevalent at the Pulitzer Amsterdam, a labyrinthine complex of 25 interconnected residences and the city's largest canal house hotel. The chambers celebrate the glitzy past of the Golden Age, and the constantly shifting hues of the walls and carpets serve as a winking clue each time you pass from one ancient canal home to the next. The Extraordinary Suites are rooms that draw inspiration from the hotel's past inhabitants. One such character is the Book Collector, whose room is filled with so many volumes that some of them create an arched doorway. Historical links are easier in other spaces.

The Background of Buildings

The founder and designer of Canal House, Jessica Frankopan, says, "I wanted to capture the history of the buildings, but also of the trade that made the Netherlands so successful." Her hotel is adorned with portraits and paintings that go in well with the somber and reflective décor created by Dutch designer Marcel Wanders in the 20th century. "I wanted it to have the same opulent feel as the illustrious 18th century when textiles were being imported from all over the world."

Every canal house offers a distinctly modern experience. However, in certain locations, the city's roots are preserved by the house's foundation alone. It isn't exaggerated. A mound of wooden stakes hammered into the damp peat, created by immigrants in the 17th century who were fuelled by beer and boisterous time-keeping songs, rests beneath the canal dwellings, which are built on mud and sand scooped out from the new canals. 

Conclusion

When you sit at the Canal House Hotel and look out over the garden from a table laden with croissants and stroopwafels, it's hard not to picture yourself as a 1600s bourgeois Amsterdammer, your cabinet brimming with souvenirs from all over the world, your canal outside serving as a gateway to exotic and distant locales. Because despite all of the architectural beauty and history, each canal house has one thing in common: simplicity. 

 

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