by Scott Laird
Last updated: 6:00 PM ET, Thu September 20, 2018
Amsterdam is a city of houses. The city center, which grew during the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th Century, is popular with visitors because it maintains the architectural character of the era. The unmistakably Dutch canal house designs, in a patchwork of colors, veritably scream to visitors "You're in Amsterdam, and nowhere else."
In this tradition, the Pulitzer Amsterdam reads to guests almost like a love letter to the city. Opened by an American businessman in 1970 and expanded over the decades, the hotel was designed from the beginning to showcase the best of the Dutch capital.
In its most recent renovation, Creative Director Jacu Strauss used a mixture of found antique fittings and bespoke furniture by Dutch artisans that evoked the straightforward sensibility of Dutch design in both guest rooms and public areas.
Upon entering, one first notices the flower display, which is actually the hotel's florist. The bouquets are for sale to brighten up guest rooms or evening engagements. Overhead, a grand piano dangles near the window, a nod to the fact that the narrow construction of canal houses means that all furniture bound for upper floors traditionally has to be winched up the exterior and pushed in through the windows.
Heritage portraits and painted Delftware tiles adorn the lobby and front desk. While the hotel comprises several combined houses, the spaces within are still small and intimate.
Guest rooms are uniquely laid out, shoehorned into existing building footprints, but are amazingly comfortable, with a mix of contemporary and historically-inspired furnishings. Stroopwaffels and bottled water greet new arrivals, and mornings are pepped up with a french press of local Stooker coffee.
Le Labo amenities adorn the well-stocked bathrooms, some with soaker tubs and rainfall showers. There's also a good stock of items for occasional needs, from well-rolled umbrellas to additional shopping bags, robes and slippers.
The elevator vestibules are also adorned with eclectic art, and points of interested near the hotel are painted on tiles near the elevators for inspiration. If guests do not wish to rely on these, the concierge team is quick with a restaurant recommendation.
The concierge can also book guests on the hotel's 1909 salon boat for hour-long tours on the canals. Richly furnished in teak, leather, and beveled glass, the boat has carried many celebrities and heads of state in the 109 years of its life, all of which were spent taking tourists on cruises through the city's canals.
Prinsengracht 323 and 325, where the hotel's reception (and my suite) were located, served at one time as a timber yard, brewery, and sugar refinery, as indicated by the placard on the inside of the room. On the Keizersgracht, the buildings were more residential, which today house many of the hotel's specialty suites. The more central Keizersgracht was a higher rent area, so the houses were grander than the more commercial Prinsengracht.
The restaurant Jansz, also on the Keizersgracht, was named for the coppersmith who constructed the series of buildings it occupies. The restaurant's entrance on Reestraat was once a pharmacy, called "De Apotheek" today, where antique medicine jars line the walls of the waiting room.
Jansz specializes in modern cuisine with effusive service with a focus on local ingredients and contemporary cooking techniques. In the mornings, there's an impressive breakfast spread of smoked fish, cheese, yogurt, cereals and pastries, with hot entrees cooked to order.
The buildings are separated by a garden, where there's a good amount of outdoor seating for enjoying pleasant weather away from the bustle of the canals with only the tolling of nearby church bells for punctuation. Pause at Pulitzer is an indoor-outdoor dining space in this area a good place for quick breakfasts, casual lunches, or before-dinner drinks.
Adjacent Jansz, there's a richly masculine space in the form of Pulitzer's Bar, where mixologists and views of the canal are on hand nightly, mixing drinks on frequently refreshed menus with themes like "Ernest Hemingway", "The Great Gatsby" or after the hotel's Le Labo amenity fragrance "Santal 33".
The Takeaway
A good hotel ignites the imagination, and the designers of Pulitzer Amsterdam have left much to inspire. They've created a space that honors both historic and contemporary (and in both cases unmistakeably Dutch) design, with touches that both comfort the traveler and seem to coax out curiosity.
This gorgeous hotel seems to say, "Welcome to Amsterdam. We love this city, and soon you will, too."
The Math
Rates appear to start around €279 per night
Instagrammable Moment
There are nooks and crannies to explore throughout the hotel with art objects worth photographing, but we're told the most Instagrammed place in the hotel is the "Bicycle Wall" (yet another Amsterdam homage)
Loyalty
The hotel is a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts and participates in the group's iPrefer program.
Good To Know
The hotel is a short walk from the Westerkerk streetcar stop.
The hotel's canal boat has limited seating-during peak season it's essential to reserve ahead.
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