as briefly announced on the facebook page of this blog, i am currently getting a taste of the more luxurious side of things in amsterdam.

first and foremost this means i am currently residing at the new waldorf astoria in the city center. opened just six weeks ago in a total of six conjoining 17th and 18th century town houses (and therefore quite an intriguing architectural puzzle), this hotel gives you the sensation, rare and exquisite, of seeing the old and the modern in holy matrimony.

of course the rooms come with pretty much everything you could dream of: while general manager roberto payer explains the absence of private jacuzzis as a result of customer research (“98,9% of the women we asked said they did not want any bubbles”), the quality of the beds is terrific, bathrooms are spacious (and come equipped with salvatore ferragamo cosmetics and the fluffiest bathrobe i have ever come across) and the partnerships are outstanding: 3-michelin star de librije owners jonnie and thérèse boer are behind the creation of tonight’s dinner hotspot, the hotel’s restaurant librije’s zusje (and have let their former chef sidney schutte make the move here), while the spa is run by guerlain as of paris’s prestige. on top of that, the bel etage is connected to the lobby by one of only two fully wooden double staircases in the city.

what else? lunch at restaurant anna, tunes and hoofdstad brasserie, visits to newly opened stores by tesla motors and gassan diamonds jaeger-lecoultre, and, o jolly, a canal cruise on private saloon boat de stern. full coverage of all the glory will, eventually, be found in bold the magazine. until then please…

on saturday i will shift back into urban traveler mode to attend the re-opening of the tivoli in utrecht, while on sunday i will enter the clouds again. more of that soon enough.