These 3 Luxury Netherlands Hotels Will Have You Sleeping Like a Stylish Baby

Unbeknownst to me when booking these luxury hotels in the Netherlands, I was about to run into some financial troubles and would need to begin evaluating every single expenditure down to the penny (sorry Hulu, you’re fired!). But, I only learned this after entering my credit card information and booking non-refundable rooms, so the damage was already done.

I mean, what was I going to do? Be sad and bemoan the sharp vicissitudes of fortune that befell me and completely ignore the fact that I was set to embark on a legendary road trip across the Netherlands with one of my top dawgz?  

As you commonly hear echoed across the country by its constituents, who on average, all seem to tower over me at a modest 6 foot 4, ‘Nee, nee, nee’. Self-loathing and trepidation weren’t even in the cards…at least until the road trip was complete and I was forced to confront the harsh realities of life.

Note: This road trip was filled with lots of George Ezra front-seat karaoke and Low Country-gourmandizing. 

Without further ado, here are 3 luxury, boutique Dutch hotels that served me incredibly well during my road trip across the Netherlands - along with 2 budget Amsterdam hotels for those who are currently in the situation that I’m in. 

Pale Ale Travel Note: I made this comment in my post breaking down 4 must-stay hotels in Poland but it’s worth mentioning again. Most hotels in Europe are not the A.C. refuges that you know and love. Most only allow you to adjust the temperature within 3 degrees Celsius of the control temperature. For me, this is a huge negative. If the hotel had an A.C. setup that differs from the norm, you’ll see me singing its praises below. If not, then…

The Usual - Rotterdam

I’m a man of the modern age and unfortunately, someone who is constantly plugged in and feeling like they need to get a little work done each and every day. So, the moments I spend in my room and/or abode, wherever it may be, are precious (at least to me). 

So, you can imagine my delight when I showed up at The Usual in Rotterdam and realized that it wasn’t just a chic 4-star hotel with rooms big enough to play a couple of games of door basketball with your girlfriend (much to her chagrin), it also doubles as a hospitable coworking space and community for Rotterdam’s creatives. 

On top of a library and dedicated work area, you’ll find a centerpiece bar, meeting rooms, and even a game room, making it the perfect spot for those on business, looking to network, or connect with like-minded individuals (without sacrificing comfort).

Honestly, I’m not a hostel guy. I’ve done them before but also realize at this point in my life, I need my own space (and lots of it). The Usual takes all the best parts of a hostel, i.e. the ease of socializing and communal amenities, and says, “Hey. Wait a minute. You also get an innovative, high-tech, spacious room too.” 

The private rainfall showers were more than a nice touch for this Big Body, who gets nervous anytime he steps in one at his home in New Hampshire, as he’s seen Scream far too many times and knows what happens to angsty millennials when they go to calm down with a steamy (steamy) shower.  

And, they have an ethos I can get behind. “Exposing” all the negative and wasteful aspects of traditional hotels and attempting to remedy them via a sustainable purchasing policy, water-saving showerheads, locally sourced goods, and 100% renewable energy.

For those who want to enjoy all the luxuries/amenities of The Usual at a more affordable price, or just generally travel lighter and don’t need that much room, consider booking one of The Usual’s private capsule-style pods. 

Finally, Rotterdam is a hip, up-and-coming city that I would bet on in the future, so if you’re interested in posting up there for an extended period, consider checking out The Usual’s long-stay studio suite packages.

Pros:

• Located in Rotterdam’s Centrum

• Eco-friendly and truly striving to make a difference in its impact on the hotel industry

• Spacious rooms with waterfall showers

• Extremely work-friendly (meeting rooms, co-working space, etc…)

• Fantastic downstairs bar to socialize 

• Long-stay packages

Cons:

• Unable to open the windows

• May be a bit noisy due to its central location (ex. Loud cars)

Pale Ale Travel Tip: If you’re looking for a first-rate restaurant that sits right on the water in the port of Rotterdam, I wholeheartedly recommend heading over to Putaine. While the waiters and waitresses were dressed like abstract art savants who are clued into the meaning behind a dissected bright yellow triangle painted on a canvas, the food was outstanding - especially the rump steak in gravy with horseradish and parsley.  

Eclectic Hotel Copper & Co - Middleburg

First, if the room I stayed in at the Eclectic Hotel Copper & Co in Middelburg was my apartment back in Hong Kong, I’d feel like I was a king (or queen) every time I came home from a long day of taking it on the chin. This isn’t a hotel room, it’s your very own slice of heaven. 

While I absolutely loved The Usual in Rotterdam, Eclectic Hotel Copper & Co was the first room I’ve stayed at in a long time where I could realistically see myself staying for the long term. Although, I’m not sure Middelburg, in the Dutch Bible Belt, is in the market for a penniless highly (un)-skilled, mid-thirties American at the moment. 

Eclectic Hotel Copper & Co is an amalgam of the old and the new in Middelburg, a city once at the forefront of the Scientific Revolution. 

The exterior, a renovated, sleek copper and white-streaked brick fortress (once a mansion), filled with rooms (ranging from 1-bedrooms to apartments and a penthouse) that feel as if you’re stepping into a showroom of whatever high-end furniture store is located near you - everything perfectly fitting together like a contemporary/avant-garde jigsaw puzzle. 

Its positioning along the canals, a reminder of the city’s humble origins and heritage (and Dutch heritage). 

Pale Ale Travel Note: Copper is an homage to the olden Middelburg days when it was commonly used!

Eclectic is apropos and breathed to a T here. 

My room was so big that it even had its own little corridor to the bathroom, which jutted out with a balcony overlooking Stationsstraat, a small road that connects you to the city center. 

Finally, what blew me away about this room was the natural light. Whoever designed it, knew exactly what they were doing when it came to allowing just the perfect amount of natural light to permeate the room at all times. There’s no better way to wake up (in my humble opinion). 

If you’re a high roller, consider booking Eclectic Hotel Copper & Co’s penthouse, which includes a rooftop terrace, sauna, and whirlpool! 

Pros:

• Located a stone’s throw away from the City Center

• Canal views for some of the rooms!

• Spacious rooms that are more comparable to 1-bedroom apartments

• Balconies overlooking quaint little streets and the canals

• Juice bar downstairs (the only downside is that it’s so healthy, they don’t serve coffee)

Cons:

• Not all rooms have canal views (however, this isn’t really even a serious negative)

• DIY check-in and check-out (sometimes this gets a little confusing for me)

Pale Ale Travel Tip: Surprisingly, the best thing that I ate in the Netherlands wasn’t actually an “authentically Dutch food.” That’s the beauty of travel right there. Check out this post I wrote breaking down the number one thing I ate while in Holland. It was also the blog post that started this whole newsletter as well!

The Nox Hotel - Utrecht

After a full night of partying at my Dutch buddy’s wedding on the Belgium/Netherlands border, which involved sleeping on a deflated mattress in a failing teepee, this Big Body was in dire need of rest. I’m not sure I’ve had a better afternoon’s AND night’s sleep in the last 5 years than I did at The Nox Hotel in Utrecht. 

I spent so much time here, just trying to regain sanity and shake off the…shakes, that I actually can’t tell you too much about the city of Utrecht, other than that they also love their bicycles and the kebab pizza I devoured here didn’t quite hit like the one I had in Middelburg. 

I can, however, tell you that The Nox Hotel is so elegant that it’s almost innocuous and easily missed once you arrive outside, as its eggshell white and beige-hybrid exterior covered in tangled vines makes it look as if it could be another one of the country’s world-class museums. 

The feeling is no different once you step in the door and are greeted by smooth dark blue walls, jagged floor-to-ceiling windows, and walnut floor tiling. The rooms, styled to elicit feelings of the Moon and Final Frontier (and your ascent) with comforting circular patterns, high-tech gadgets, marbled bathrooms, and a capsule-esque feel yet on a larger scale.

My room, a ‘New Moon’ situated similarly to a loft, with stairs that lead you up into your personal slice of ‘space’. 

Pros:

• Located in the heart of Utrecht

• Large beds

• Espresso machine

• Strong Wifi and a flat-screen TV with Chromecast (you can see why I didn’t leave the room)

• Personal parking lot (this was especially useful since we were on a road trip!)

Cons:

• Breakfast at the downstairs hotel restaurant may be on the more expensive side

Pale Ale Travel Note: The hotels on this list really felt like the peak of my “hotel staying” career, so I don’t have many (or any) negative things to say about them at all. 

2 (Bonus) Budget Amsterdam Hotels 

Serving as my launching and return point were these two budget hotels - an absolute godsend in the most expensive hotel landscape in all of Europe. 

Hotel Amsterdam Inn

I need to preface that the Hotel Amsterdam Inn isn’t disability or elderly-friendly as it requires an ascent up an extremely steep set of stairs. Or, if you like hitting the bottle occasionally like this Big Body, it can make for a treacherous return home. 

Simply put, this is the hotel that you book when you don’t want to mortgage your home and want to stay right in the center of the action/within striking distance of everything you want to do in Amsterdam. It still clocks in at a considerably higher price than its rooms and amenities feel worth it but being located in Leidseplein, a bustling nightlife and gastronomic hub that’s technically located within the confines of Amsterdam’s Centrum, you’re paying for convenience here.  

The rooms are equipped with nothing bigger than a twin bed (at least from my experience and research), the showers are cramped, and there’s no air conditioning. 

However, I didn’t hate it one bit and found myself able to ease into a comfortable Amsterdam routine thanks to its location. 

While the hotel doesn’t have A.C., they do provide a fan. I found this to be more comfortable than in some of the hotels I stayed at in Europe where I was unable to adjust the temperature by more than 3 degrees Celsius. At least with a fan, I could open the window, point the fan at me, and stand a better chance of cooling down. 

The only problem is that keeping the window open throughout the night did result in being occasionally woken up by late-night partiers and the occasional pigeon that would get a little too close to entering my room.

Maxhotel Amsterdam Airport Schiphol

Amsterdam is so prohibitively expensive when it comes to hotels that I will emphatically argue it’s worth it to stay at any one of the affordable airport hotels and simply take the tram and/or bus into town every day. While the hotel landscape will have you contemplating whether you should begin donating plasma, the city is incredibly convenient and easily accessible via public transportation. 

So, unlike most major cities and tourism hotspots, where staying at an airport hotel feels like a resignation and as if you’re taking yourself out of the “action,” that’s far from the case in Amsterdam.

For a fraction of the price of even the aforementioned hotel (Hotel Amsterdam Inn), you can secure a clean, functional, and comfortable room (with very, very strong A.C.) at Maxhotel. That means more money to spend on bitterballen, museums, and whatever else it is that you plan on doing in Amsterdam. 

The hotel staff were extremely friendly and helpful, the rooms were spick and span, the bathroom was surprisingly spacious, and there are more outlets than you can shake a stick at. I enjoyed this hotel so much that I stayed for a total of 3 nights (2 before my trip to Poland and 1 before I flew back to Hong Kong). 

I’m not even saying all these because of just how predatory Amsterdam’s hotel industry is. I genuinely enjoyed staying here and think it’s the perfect option for those who, like me, simply can’t afford most places in Amsterdam’s Centrum. 

Pale Ale Travel Tip: When in Amsterdam, make sure to check out these two killer smashburger joints that had me howlin’ like a wolf at the moon with the primal instinct they brought out in me. Also, this Dutch milk bar and its croquette sandwiches definitely need to be on your radar as well. 

The Netherlands Isn’t Just Amsterdam

While Amsterdam is right up there as one of the most expensive cities I’ve ever booked a hotel room in, things get exponentially more affordable the farther you venture outside. For the same price of a dorm room in Amsterdam, you can secure a night (or several) in the above luxury, boutique hotels. 

Also, I think most Dutch will tell you that Amsterdam isn’t the truest representation of what everyday life in the Netherlands looks like and that getting out there to explore the nuance, beauty, and personalities of less-frequented cities (or towns) is recommended.

So, let this be a call not to confine yourself to the Centrum of Amsterdam on your Netherlands trip. You deserve to treat yourself while you get a taste of what the Netherlands truly has to offer.

If you have any questions about these boutique and luxury hotels in the Netherlands, or embarking on a road trip across this wonderful country, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at [email protected]. 

Travel well everyone,

Big Body