Amsterdam has a well-oiled (and downright oily) network of cheap hotels geared towards the weekend warrior from the UK, France, Germany, etc. These are places that serve as mere drop-off points for your backpack and as way stations for trips to the bathroom and a quick shower, where your fellow guests might include a mouse or two and various arthropods.
The Toren is not one these places. Located on the Keizersgracht canal in the heart of the canal ring, it is a luxurious oasis of a hotel, dripping with class and coolness. It’s pricey, as you’d expect from a four-star design hotel, but for good reason - the staff is first-rate (good service itself being something of a luxury in Amsterdam), the bar/restaurant is perfect, and the rooms are clean, cosy, and hard to leave on those days when the rain ceaselessly pelts the canal outside your window.
Even if you aren’t staying here, the small lounge is worth a visit during the day, when you want a break from the tourist hordes.. And at night you can slip into what feels like a movie setting, what with the candles going and hushed conversations happening on the couches and lush chairs. The only downside is that you might not ever want to leave.
www.thetoren.nl
Keizersgracht 164, 1015 CZ Amsterdam
+31 (0)20 622 60 33
Google map: bit.ly/OkxYLZ
* Jeff is our Been there local for Amsterdam. You can read his profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/amsterdam-local-jeff-funnekotter.jsp and follow his tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/jefffunnekotter
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