ROOM KEY

A New Amsterdam Hotel is a Haven From the Crowds

Just off Dam Square, one of the city’s busiest, is a new hotel that is practically a fortress of calm.

It may be a contender for the most beautiful city in Europe, but Amsterdam is often anything but zen. Stepping out of the central rail station and along its canal-side streets, you’re often in a throng.

With all that chaos, those crowds, the cavorting, it can be hard to imagine a moment of peace and quiet in the center of Amsterdam. But just off Dam Square, one of the city’s busiest, is a new hotel that is practically a fortress of calm. That hotel, Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky, is the latest subject of our column on exciting new hotels, Room Key.

The 402-room property has its origins in the middle of the 19th century when an immigrant tailor, Adolph Wilhelm Krasnapolsky, slowly turned his popular restaurant across from the royal palace into a hotel spanning multiple buildings. Over the decades the hotel would change hands and undergo a variety of refreshes until it ended up today in the hands of Anantara, the luxury arm of Minor Hotels, a large hotel group originating in Thailand. Since it first burst into Europe in 2017, the group has rapidly expanded, adding properties in Rome, Nice, the Algarve, Budapest, and more. Less than a year ago it unveiled its update to the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky.

After walking past its guard-like doormen one enters a hotel that is thoroughly modern (announced, perhaps, by the electric-blue entryway carpeting) with historic pockets it is eager to celebrate. The lobby and hallway to the guest rooms are decorated in polished black glass, columns and recessed chandeliers that resemble sexy industrial vents, and chrome sculptures by Ronald A. Westerhuis. Just off the lobby one can find the variety of food and beverage operations housed here–the sleek Grand Café Krasnapolsky and the Champagne Room facing the square, the opulent and historic the White Room offering fine dining from former three-Michelin star chef Jacob Jan Boerma, and, the feather in the hotel’s cap, its restored Winter Garden with its fabulous glass roof, black-and-white marble floors, and elaborate murals on its walls.

The surprising highlight, though, and one that should not be missed, is the Tailor Bar. Named in honor of Krasnapolsky, the bar operates around a conceit that at first sounds overly contrived, bordering on kitsch—bespoke cocktails inspired by textiles throughout history. But as one sips on delightful concoctions (the Accord Royale, made of Remy Martin 1738 Cognac, Verjus, SUIT UP! Syrup, Perrier Jouët Champagne, Bittered Sling Moondag Bitters, was our favorite) and listens to bartenders explain how Persian textiles or tartan or jeans influenced what they put into it, it actually makes sense and is tremendously fun.

Part of the hotel’s luxury offerings include its Thai spa, which overlooks the summer garden and has a traditional sauna, steam room, and infra-red sauna. It also sports a new and extensive gym, which comes with a rotating climbing wall.

Contributing, unintentionally, to the feeling of seclusion within the hotel’s walls is the warren-like setup due to it being spread over a couple historic buildings. In our case, a couple of elevators, one or two twists and turns, and we were at our suite overlooking the canal. (The signature suite is the Palace Suite which, as you may have guessed, looks out over the palace.) The journey to the room was almost a relief, as each step removed one further from the madness until reaching the spacious haven in the room. The rooms themselves are decorated in what I’ll call Norman Foster-esque “luxury neutral” with a variety of grays in a variety of materials and textures. Best of all, even though they’re mere steps from all the bustle, they were exceptionally quiet.

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