Top 10: the best hotels near Westerkerk Quarter, Amsterdam
An expert guide to the best hotels near the Westerkerk Quarter, Amsterdam, including the top places to stay for canal houses, curated modern art exhibitions, canal-side views, gloriously-opulent décor and individually styled bedrooms.
Hotel Pulitzer Amsterdam
Amsterdam, Netherlands
9Telegraph expert rating
Back in the 1960s, local businessman Peter Pulitzer had the idea of combining 10 canal houses into a hotel. He was one of the very first to do so. Today, Hotel Pulitzer 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. Prints and paintings from the hotel’s extensive modern art collection decorate the walls. Clean lines and muted colours predominate, and zany design touches (many referencing Amsterdam and its past) delight at every turn. The Pulitzer has one of the most beautiful salon boats in town: a 1920s mahogany vessel, aboard which you can take an afternoon tour of the canals. Read expert review From ￡193per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Mr. JORDAAN
Amsterdam, Netherlands
8Telegraph expert rating
Hip yet homey. The two former canal houses were given a touch of boutique-hotel style (bare brick walls, Sixties/Seventies retro designer chairs, contemporary lamps) while retaining a welcoming warmth, created by soft hues of olive, grey and brown, and a relaxed, cheery atmosphere. Rooms vary in shape and size, as these higgledy-piggledy old houses dictate. Some have lovely canal views, others look out over neighbouring rooftops, a few face internally and there are a couple under wooden attic beams, with windows on three sides. The breakfast room downstairs doubles as a day-time hangout spot for guests, and there's a free espresso machine. It’s situated on a pretty, quiet canal in the heart of the artsy Jordaan district, within sight of the Anne Frank House. Read expert review From ￡74per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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The Toren
Amsterdam, Netherlands
8Telegraph expert rating
Gloriously over-the-top décor and zany touches have transformed these two grand, 17th-century canal houses into a nest of opulence. Expect lots of luscious fabrics, deep purples, rich colours, soft chairs, dark carved wood, subtle lighting and chandeliers. Here and there original features remain – a painted ceiling, carved wainscoting, stucco moulding. Zany features include 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 Toren's location is excellent; situated on an attractive stretch of canal, just around the corner from the Negen Straatjes shopping area. Read expert review From ￡124per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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The Hoxton, Amsterdam
Amsterdam, Netherlands
9Telegraph expert rating
Herengracht is one of Amsterdam’s most desirable addresses, and the hotel's prime spot overlooking the canal puts the top attractions within walking distance, from the Anne Frank House to the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum. The industrial-chic design and Modernism-meets-contemporary décor of the Shoreditch and Holborn properties is in evident, particularly in the public spaces. Battered leather sofas, vintage lighting and Fifties Danish furniture populate a lobby made for lounging. There’s an achingly cool roster of art exhibitions, film screenings and workshops courtesy of the events team at Hoxtown.com. Drinking and dining options are overseen by Soho House Group, so expect expertly-crafted cocktails and a crowd-pleasing menu at Lotti’s. Read expert review From ￡111per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Andaz Amsterdam
Amsterdam, Netherlands
8Telegraph expert rating
Welcome to wonderland. Dutch designer Marcel Wanders has taken the adventures of Lewis Carroll’s Alice as the inspiration for the hotel’s fun and theatrical interiors. Imaginative touches include chandeliers suspended from over-sized bells in reception, high-backed chairs reminiscent of tulip heads and an entrance-way lined with miniature doors. Nods to this being a hotel in Holland include notes of Delft blue in the carpets and wallpaper, cute clogs on the walls, accents of orange and a cheeky red light area (complete with mattress-inspired wallpaper) en route to the spa. There’s also a generous garden with a funky 'Alice in Amsterdam’ -themed mural. The hotel is housed in a former library on Prinsengracht, one of Amsterdam’s loveliest and most atmospheric canals. Read expert review From ￡217per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Ambassade Hotel
Amsterdam, Netherlands
9Telegraph expert rating
The Ambassade has more the conviviality of a mansion belonging to a relaxed and welcoming family, than the hauteur of a grand hotel. It is a favourite among Dutch and international publishers, and has a devoted following among authors, most of whom leave behind a signed copy of their work, to add to a collection that now numbers in its thousands. On a quiet stretch of one of Amsterdam’s grandest canals, the Ambassade comprises eight houses ranged along the Herengracht, with two more stretching back to the Singel. Inside, it's a network of interconnecting corridors, little flights of stairs between changing levels, and a wide variety of rooms (many with canal views). There’s an abundance of antiques (mainly Louis XV/XVI), and museum-quality art throughout. Read expert review From ￡106per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Hotel Estherea
Amsterdam, Netherlands
9Telegraph expert rating
Old Amsterdam meets opera-set bordello. There are patterns on every fabric and different paper on every wall. Fake cherry blossom, real orchids, and crystal chandeliers with frilly shades fill three adjoining canal houses. This is where the family-run touch really shows, with genuinely friendly, spontaneously helpful staff. There are more than 90 rooms, of varying sizes and with different décor. One is done up floor-to-ceiling in Delftware blue and white; another panelled and draped in russets and browns. Most have bold wallpaper, piles of cushions, comfy sofas or armchairs. It’s situated on one of Amsterdam’s oldest canals, in the heart of the Negen Straatjes – the ‘Nine Little Streets’, a hip shopping, café and restaurant quarter. Read expert review From ￡152per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Hotel Sebastian's
Amsterdam, Netherlands
7Telegraph expert rating
This former canal house is now the more modest sister of opulent Hotel Toren. It still picks up on the design of its sister, with its rich purple, red, gold and blue colour scheme, but has a hipper, more contemporary touch, and is less opulently ornate - more relaxed and modern, attracting a younger crowd. It is a three-star hotel, but boxes above its weight in terms of style and room facilities. Rooms are decorated in rich, dark colours, livened up by zany wall hangings; Staff are generally young, friendly and helpful, and are well-informed about Amsterdam. Nearby you'll find the Saturday Farmers’ Market on Noordermarkt, the picture-postcard Brouwersgracht (just over 10minutes' walk from the Dam), and Museumplein (about a quarter of an hour by tram). Read expert review From ￡78per night Check availability Rates provided by Booking.com
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Kamer 01
Amsterdam, Netherlands
9Telegraph expert rating
This 16th-century canal house, in an excellent canalside location in the centre of town, has been renovated with imagination and flair. Original features remain (wooden beams, old brickwork, a spiral staircase), and are enlivened by bold colours and inviting fabrics. Designer classics (Le Corbusier sofas in the bedrooms) rub cheeks with stately antiques. But underlying all this is a sense of home. It’s a place where you can feel completely relaxed, as a personal guest. Up under the rafters, the Blue Room, done up in alluring film-star-eyed blue, has an impressive canal view and a cheeky round bed. The Red Room, one floor below, is a womb of rich warm colours, with a super-comfy king-size bed. It also has a canal view. The Dam and Flower Market are five minutes' walk away. Read expert review From ￡232per night
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Hotel Brouwer
Amsterdam, Netherlands
7Telegraph expert rating
The 17th-century Hotel Brouwer was owned by the same family for three generations, going back to 1917. The warren of 20 rooms became more spacious accommodation with just eight bedrooms, each with an en-suite bathroom (an idea unheard of in earlier days), and the canal-house fa?ade was restored to its former elegance. This is a great choice if you're thinking of visiting for that busy short break, when you are going to be popping in and out, dropping off shopping or that museum poster, picking up another jersey, or having a quick shower-and-change before heading out again for dinner. It's all about the location; Brouwer is on one of the main canals, right in the heart of town - convenient for nightlife, shopping, museums… pretty much anything you want to do in Amsterdam. Read expert review From ￡99per night