Best Luxury Hotels in Noord-Holland

The wellness centre here was voted the Netherlands’ Best Hotel Spa of 2020 and rooms come with Hermès branded products. The building itself has served many purposes as an ex-city hall, monastery, royal lodge and Admiralty. Inside, French interiors by Sybille de Margerie, complement an Art Deco extension and grand features dating back, in parts, to the 16th century. Dinner and organic wines are served in the Bridges restaurant, or garden bistro, with afternoon teas in the library lounge. Do take advantage of a local tour on the Sofitel’s private salon boat, horse-drawn carriage or one of its bicycles – a highlight of any stay here.

Erected in 1896, De L’Europe sits beside the Amstel River on the site of a late medieval fortress. State-of-the-art technology, local heritage and classic design are melded into a five-star style. Elite suites are housed in the Dutch Masters Wing, named after the nation’s illustrious painters and with its own private entrance. The hotel is partnered with the Rijksmuseum, displaying fine art replicas from the likes of Rembrandt and Frans Hals. Haute cuisine is served in the critically acclaimed Bord’Eau restaurant, with alfresco summer dining at Hèt Terras. Freddy’s Bar mixes some of the best Bloody Marys in Amsterdam. And there’s a 4,300-square-foot Le Spa by Skins Institute, with a canalside indoor pool.

Made up of an impressive six canal side 17th and 18th Century townhouses, the Waldorf Astoria is a simultaneously sprawling but precise construction which oozes elegance from the moment youstep in side to the moment you leave. Suites are spacious and bright and tasteful as is the rest of the hotel which is often decorated with the building’s freeholder’s own contemporary art collection. The Guerlain Spa opens up into one of the city’s largest private gardens, full of luscious green grass and, in spring, 5000 tulips. The hotel’s restaurant is a two star Michelin tour de force called Spectrum which has to be experienced to be believed.