By all accounts, Amsterdam is a metropolis that doesn’t a lot whisper its charms as wink at you suggestively from throughout the canal. The bicycles, the artwork, the stroopwafels the dimensions of vinyl information—all pretty. However for the discerning gentleman who prefers a extra tailor-made expertise (and maybe a lodge room bigger than a brush closet), there is just one handle value noting: the Conservatorium Lodge.
First Impressions: Glass, Grandeur, and Gucci
Located neatly between the inventive grandeur of the Museumplein and the temptation-laden designer row of P.C. Hooftstraat, the Conservatorium provides one thing no different place in Amsterdam fairly manages: a seductive marriage of historic gravitas and fashionable swagger. Suppose: Nineteenth-century financial institution turned music conservatory turned smooth design temple, the place Piero Lissoni has labored architectural alchemy.
The foyer—an ethereal glass atrium populated by leather-based, lacquer, and cosmopolitan chatter—is the place to see and be seen. Order a espresso and fake to examine your emails whereas secretly watching a Dutch vogue editor decimate a croissant with immaculate precision.
The Penthouse Suite: The place Restraint Meets Rock and Roll
Enter, the Penthouse Suite, and let me say: if you happen to’ve ever needed to really feel like a Bond villain and a wellness influencer on the identical time, that is your spot. A wraparound glass dice perched above Amsterdam’s rooftops, the suite offers off the vibe of a modern-day sky palace. Ground-to-ceiling home windows usher within the metropolis’s muted golden mild, whereas thick glass partitions and swaths of tactile supplies (oak, stone, delicate leather-based) converse of a sensuality that’s unmistakably Italian.
It’s as if Don Draper met Dutch minimalism they usually determined to cohabitate peacefully—with wonderful lighting. There’s a eating desk that converts into a personal cinema (due to course there’s), a dressing space full with hair-and-makeup area (supreme for these pressing Instagram Lives), and a rest room so indulgent it might trigger your individual en-suite at house to weep softly out of disgrace. Oh, and the bath? It’s positioned so you’ll be able to admire Amsterdam’s neo-Gothic rooftops whereas considering your subsequent questionable life choice. Divine.
Eating at Taiko: East Meets Finest
Ought to one want to emerge from the Penthouse (I like to recommend it, however solely simply), there’s Taiko. Helmed by culinary savant Schilo van Coevorden, Taiko isn’t merely an Asian-inspired restaurant—it’s, fairly presumably, the finest Asian eating expertise within the Netherlands. Think about silky wagyu beef with simply sufficient umami to smash all future steaks for you. Or the signature “Taiko Rolls,” so delicately constructed they resemble edible structure. Add to this a cocktail checklist that might appeal even probably the most jaded expat—suppose Japanese whisky with shiso and masala chai—and also you’ll perceive why I briefly thought-about proposing to my bartender.
Professional tip: Sit on the chef’s counter for a front-row view of culinary artistry, then slip into the Taiko bar subsequent door for a nightcap that tastes like Tokyo on an excellent day.
Bicycles and Bravado
After all, to really expertise Amsterdam, one should courageous its unofficial sport: biking. The lodge, intelligent as ever, supplies smooth bicycles for company. These aren’t your common rental rides, thoughts you. They’re stunning, upright steeds of minimalist engineering—good for gliding by means of the canal-lined streets like an eco-conscious aristocrat. I pedaled my well past the Rijksmuseum(Rembrandt’s Night time Watch stays satisfyingly ominous), breezed across the Van Gogh Museum(no sunflowers have been harmed within the making of my selfies), and took a leisurely spin by means of the 9 Streets district—the place classic outlets, idea cafés, and perfume boutiques conspire to make you spend with reckless abandon.
A Phrase on Wellness
After my valiant biking exploits, I used to be drawn, fairly magnetically, to the Akasha Holistic Wellbeing Centre. That is no abnormal lodge spa. Akasha is a wellness cathedral—full with a Watsu pool, hammam, 18-meter lap pool, and remedy rooms that scent like eucalyptus and good choices. It’s right here, wrapped in a luxurious gown with a cup of natural tea in hand, that I used to be in a position to reconcile the stress between Calvinist restraint and Mediterranean indulgence. Largely by requesting an extra therapeutic massage.
Artfully Understated, Effortlessly Cool
This isn’t only a lodge—it’s an angle. It’s for many who like their design cutting-edge, their service intuitive, and their experiences only a contact theatrical. It’s luxurious that doesn’t shout, however reasonably speaks in a low, persuasive whisper.
There are locations in Amsterdam the place one would possibly discover a extra “native” expertise, or a funkier vibe, or a grittier canal view—however none the place the synthesis of favor, location, and luxury is so masterfully performed. In spite of everything, what else would you count on from a lodge born of a music conservatory? Simply be warned: when you’ve stayed within the Penthouse and eaten at Taiko, returning to actual life would possibly really feel a bit… pedestrian.
For extra on the most recent in life-style, tradition and journey reads, click on right here.
