So this is a bit long over due but i still wanted to share with you some insight and images into a recent stay that me and Carlos has at the Lloyd Hotel in Amsterdam.
About a year and a half ago a good friend and Motel designer Claire moved with her boyfriend to Brussels. I'd been meaning to visit for ages but as with everything time seemed to disappear but we managed to sort out a date and i made a little surprise weekend for me and Carlos starting in Brussels with Claire and Ian and then travelling up to Amsterdam for two days to go and see a band we love The Black Keys. Sadly as the date got closer the gig got cancelled to an injured drummer but this wouldn't put a dampener on anything we were still excited for a fun weekend away!
After a great few days in Brussels we made our way by bus to Amsterdam, i managed to get a bus for €7.00 per person through Euro Lines - I had wanted to get the train but it was nearly the same time and then price was more than the return flights!! The journey ended up being quick and easy and completely worth the saving of the money!
We'd booked in for a night at the Lloyd Hotel in Amsterdam and having known someone who has stayed there and looking at all the online pictures we were really excited to arrive and see our 5 star room!
When we arrived in Amsterdam we got a short tram 5 minutes (i think 4 stops) away and arrived a short distance from the entrance of the Hotel.
The building was established in 1918 in the eclectic style, designed by architect Evert Breman, commissioned by the Royal Holland Lloyd (KHL). The KHL did use the hotel as advertising, to recruit clients for passengers heading to South America. When it was completed on June 1, 1921, it had cost eight times more than originally estimated, contributing to the subsequent bankruptcy of the KHL.
From 1921 to 1936 the building was used as temporary accommodation for immigrants, mostly poor Eastern European Jews. In 1936, the KHL went bankrupt and the building was purchased by the City of Amsterdam. Subsequently, from 1938 it was used as a shelter for Jewish refugees from Germany and during World War II, the building was used as prison. After the war it continued to function as an adult prison, and later became a juvenile detention center in 1963. The name "Lloyd Hotel" is named after this centre 'T Nieuwe Lloyd'
In 1996, a competition was held to decide what the building would best be used for. The designer Suzanne Oxenaar and historian Otto Nan presented a design for a hotel, a "cultural embassy" of culture in Amsterdam. In order to enable the building to be used once again for its original purpose as a hotel, the architectural agency MVRDV was commissioned to realise the design. One to five star rooms are connected to the main hall at the centre of the building, where there is an exciting interplay between communal and private spaces. The interior design is a collaborative effort of, among others, Claudy Jongstra, Atelier van Lieshout and Richard Hutten.
We were fortunate enough to be given a guided tour around a selection of the 1 to 5 star rooms with our lovely guide Suki and both Carlos and I were amazed at all the rooms quality and design!
