Amsterdam has its share of historic hotels, but none can boast the legacy of the Doelen. The oldest hotel in the Dutch capital and a designated national heritage site, it’s here in the old banquet hall that Rembrandt’s The Night Watch – one of the world’s most famous paintings – was first displayed, way back in the seventeenth century. While you’ll now find it hanging a ten-minute tram ride away in the Rijksmuseum, a copy of the original is still proudly displayed in the hotel’s Rembrandt Suite.
The entire hotel is modelled after the Dutch master, notably so in the on-site restaurant Omber, where the crockery, menus and even the flowers are all the same shade of deep orangey-brown (apparently Rembrandt’s favourite colour to paint with). The food, we’re told, is influenced by seventeenth-century Dutch flavours, which mostly translates to a lot of pickling and smoking (in other words, delicious).
The lobby could do with a hint of the restaurant’s dark-toned moodiness. It’s almost garishly opulent, coldly lit by a huge crystal chandelier, with ornate gold swirls bordering the walls and enormous vases of flowers, which look somehow a bit stiff and staged. But the rooms and suites are much less stuffy. Our canal-facing suite was the perfect mix of understated and sophisticated, simply decorated with quality furniture, complete with a plush king-sized bed. The best bit? The huge marble-floored bathroom with his-and-hers sinks and a free-standing tub. The Doelen was taken over by luxury hotel group Tivoli in 2023, and rooms are decked out with their trademark fluffy towels, robes and slippers. Bliss.
Location-wise, you couldn’t really do better: the hotel takes up an entire corner of the canal, and it’s minutes away from Dam Square, De 9 Straatjes, and, of course, the Rembrandt House Museum, where the Dutch master lived and worked. The hotel’s sprawling Neo-Renaissance building is just as worthy of a photo as all those classic skinny canal houses (keep that in mind before you get changed with the curtains open).
Neighbourhood
The Doelen is smack-bang in the centre of the canal belt. Walk, cycle or cruise the canals in Centrum, heading west for De Wallen, Jordaan and De 9 Straatjes, east for Horus Botanicus and the ARTIS zoo.
Nearby
- KattenKabinet: For an art collection dedicated to all things cats, housed in a grand seventeenth-century canal house.
- Kaagman & Kortekaas: For wine, oysters and charcuterie in an unpretentious space that locals love.
- Artisplein: A free-to-enter square on the grounds of the ARTIS zoo, where a pretty terrace overlooks a flamboyance of flamingoes.
Time Out tip
It’s all about the canalfront setting here, so if you can get a window seat at the restaurant – or, better yet, a canal-facing room – you’re doing it right.