InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam
The grandest house on the Amstel — a monumental 1867 hotel dreamed up by a reforming physician, still Amsterdam’s most storied address on the river.
At a glance
The Amstel Hotel stands on the bank of the Amstel river, a little upstream of the old centre of Amsterdam. Opened in 1867, it is the city’s original grand hotel, a palatial nineteenth-century building that has kept its place at the top of Dutch hospitality for over 150 years.
History
The hotel was the vision of Dr Samuel Sarphati, a physician and civic reformer who wanted to give Amsterdam a monument to match Europe’s great capitals. He worked with Cornelis Outshoorn, one of the city’s most progressive architects, and the hotel opened on 27 April 1867. Sarphati himself died in 1866, before it was finished.
Grand as it is, the building is only a fragment of the plan: four wings were intended, but financing allowed just one to be built. A thorough restoration in 1992 returned the façade, roof, sculptures and original colours, and reinstated the eight lions that crown its corners. The hotel is today run as the InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam.
What you see
The Amstel is a stately, symmetrical block in nineteenth-century palace style, its ornamented façade and corner lions reflected in the river before it.
Inside, a grand double staircase and high public rooms carry the scale Sarphati intended, opening to terraces on the water.
Cultural significance
The Amstel is where Amsterdam entered the age of the grand hotel, built by a reformer who saw architecture as civic improvement. That it survives — restored to its 1867 colours, lions back in place — makes it the enduring benchmark of Dutch luxury.
Key facts
- Opened: 27 April 1867
- Founder: Dr Samuel Sarphati (who died in 1866, before it opened)
- Architect: Cornelis Outshoorn
- Plan: intended to have four wings; only one was built
- Restoration: 1992, reinstating the eight corner lions and original colours
Practical information & getting there
The hotel is on Professor Tulpplein, by the Amstel, a short walk from Weesperplein metro and Amstel station. Its restaurant and bar are open to non-residents.
Sources & resources
- Amstel Hotel — History: amstelhotel.com/history
- Amsterdam Explore — “InterContinental Amstel Hotel: 10 Facts”
- MforAmsterdam — Amstel Hotel
- Wikipedia — InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam
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