Saturday, December 25, 2010

The Grand Amsterdam Hotel

The Grand offers you the comfort and luxury of a world-class Hotel. Ideally located in the heart of Amsterdam's historic center, set between two picturesque canals, just a stone's throw away from the key financial institutions, famous Dam Square and just twenty minutes from Schiphol International Airport.

Our guestrooms have their own unique style, dictated in part by the original layout of the building that has been respected wherever possible. High ceilings and huge windows are features of almost all the rooms giving an additional sense of light and space to what are already some of the largest hotel rooms in Amsterdam. Decorated by Monique Roux in a chic Anglo-French style in colours of salmon or blue with bold stripes or floral prints, each guestroom has beautiful heavy drapery with custom made light wood inlaid furniture.

Roger & Gallet products are gathered together on the black marble vanity in the hotel's chic, bold, black and white Art Deco bathrooms. Full-length bathrobes emblazoned by the crest of the hotel hang ready for use.

One Of Our Fine RoomsAn extensively stocked personal bar offers a wide selection of drinks. Each room is individually air conditioned and also features a personal in-room safe, a colour television with satellite channels and six in-house movie channels, high-speed Internet and a hairdryer. Every morning the complimentary newspaper of your choice is delivered at your room.

Three of the main presidential suites, which are named after three former Mayors of Amsterdam, the Van Thijn, the Polak and the Samkalden suite, were inaugurated by their namesakes on 20th May 1992.

There are also three two-bedroom Royal Suites featuring stunning curved windows overlooking the encircling canals. Named in honour of three famous former guests - William V, Maria de Medici and William of Orange - all offer a separate dressing area, marble bathrooms and a dining area seating from four to six people.

The five star deluxe hotel The Grand Amsterdam is just minutes away from the financial and cultural districts of the city and the main shopping and entertainment areas. Ideally located for both business and leisure it presents a collection of 16 luxury hotel apartments, conveniently offering resident guests additional working and living space and distinguished, complete accommodations, coupled with all the services of the hotel.

All apartments are individual and different, some duplex, and some with separate dining rooms. The collection comprises of a range of one, two and three bedroom apartments, each offering delightful views, over The Grand's tranquil courtyard or the adjacent 17th century canal. Whilst sharing the facilities of the hotel - including restaurant, historical meeting and banqueting rooms and the beautiful garden - each apartment benefits from its added seclusion with private entrances from the canal. The building has its own elevator.

The apartments at The Grand are luxuriously furnished and decorated. They all include a drawing room, bedrooms with private bath and a fully equipped kitchen with microwave oven, refrigerator with freezer unit, dishwasher and washing/drying combination. Every apartment has individually controllable air conditioning, two private telephone lines, a facsimile connection and colour tv with remote control, satellite and in-house movie channels.

The Grand's apartment residents enjoy full use of 'The Spa' with swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna and Turkish Bath. The apartments are unique in Amsterdam in offering a complete range of services, designed to ensure that guests may savour the five star hospitality of the hotel, such as 24 hour room service, security, optional catering of lunches and dinners, concierge and message services, housekeeping and laundry services.

Amsterdam has all the advantages of a big city, with all the convenience and charm of an historic village. It is compact and easily accessible, yet it has a buzzing cosmopolitan atmosphere and an energetic cultural scene.

The greatest pleasures in Amsterdam are often the simplest: a stroll along one of the historic 17th century canals, or a coffee at a waterside café. But the excitement and charm of Amsterdam lies into the variety it packs into its tight web of canals. World-class museums, chic and quirky shops and a large range of restaurants, cosy cafés and trendy clubs are to be found behind the beautiful old façades, all on walking distance in one of Europe's best- preserved historical centres.

In tulip season (springtime) flower lovers can take a coach trip to Keukenhof, huge gardens dedicated to tulips. Trips can be booked from companies on the Damrak (about 21 Euro), or there is a day-trip by train from Central Station (about 12 Euro).

Not far from Amsterdam, in the former Zuiderzee (now the IJsselmeer) is Marken, an island now joined to the mainland by a land bridge. It still has many wooden houses, and you can still see people wearing local costume, not just for tourists. You should at least visit the harbour. There are organised coach tours (about 20 Euro), but for much less money (six strips of a strippen-card) you can take bus 111 from Central Station (times can be got from the public transport telephone information line 0900-9292, 50 cents per minute).

The train to Castricum takes about 25 minutes and costs approximatly 8,00 Euro return. At Castricum station you can hire a bike (phone 0251-654035 to reserve), and in the station restaurant buy a map and a 1 Euro entrance card to kilometers of bike paths through beautiful woodlands, meadows, and dunes, with access to the beach. This is also the filtration area for Amsterdam's drinking water, so you may also see huge carp swimming in the crystal-clear water of the pools.

The national park Hoge Veluwe has beautiful surroundings, and free bikes at the gates to cycle through the grounds. In the middle is the modern art museum Kröller-Müller with a major collection of works by Van Gogh, Seurat, Redon, Braque, Picasso, Juan Gris, Mondriaan and others. There is an excellent statue garden too. The NS Railways have a day trip that takes you nearby by train (about an hour from Amsterdam), and then by bus to the gates of the park.

There is a group of working windmills along the river at the Zaanse Schans, as well as museums and a cheese factory you can visit. Take the train to Koog-Zaandijk (about 15 minutes), turn left at the bottom of the steps from the platform, and walk straight on right to the end of the street (about 5 minutes). Turn left, and ahead of you is a windmill at the end of a bridge. As you cross the bridge, you can see the working mills on the left. There is a gate at the end of the bridge, on the left.

The Grand Amsterdam has disposal of 19 unique banquet- and meeting rooms, all rooms have daylight and are equipped with ultramodern technical facilities.

Marriage Chamber Marriage Chamber:
Known as the 'First Class Wedding Room' in the former City Hall, it is now available for intimate dinner parties or private events. But people can also still make their vows in this meticulously decorated chamber in Art Nouveau style by Dutch Artist Chris Lebeau in 1926. The Marriage Chamber is visually stunning, with a wall of stained glass windows, as well as coloured ceiling and wall murals depicting aspects of love and married life. All the original 1920's furniture has been restored and reinstalled. The Marriage Chamber features a private terrace overlooking the secluded inner courtyard.

Council Chamber:
Restored to its majestic glory from when it was the Council Chamber of the former City Hall, with wood panelling and glimpses of the city's illustrious past evident throughout the chamber. The same table the Aldermen and the Burgomaster already used in 1926 is now used as the head table for any function. The chamber was the setting for the marriage of Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands who was married here in 1966.

St. Cecilia Chamber:
This anteroom to the Council Chamber can be perfectly used as coffee break room. Exceptionally high ceilings and elegant windows are the hallmarks of this chamber.

Burgomaster's Chamber Burgomaster's Chamber & Alderman's Chamber:
Originally the offices of Amsterdam's Mayor and Aldermen, these two adjoining rooms interconnect, providing ideal space for meeting and private dining functions. Both rooms are overlooking the front canal and the Alderman's Chamber is also overlooking the entrance of the inner courtyard.

The "Princenhof"
The Princenhof, a separate wing with 14 different sized state-of-the-art function rooms is a stylish and practical venue for functions that range from discreet board meetings to lavish banquets. The two foyers in the Princenhof wing offer suitable space for secretary or hostess desks. The wing accommodates a fully comprehensive Business Centre as well.

Amsterdam and water are intimately linked, as they have been for centuries. It was precisely because of all that water from the river Amstel and IJ and the Zuiderzee that the first inhabitants settled here early in the thirteenth century.

Water was also the main reason of Amsterdam's wealth in the 17th century, when it became the most powerful trading city in the world. The canals in the centre, with their beautiful merchant's houses from the Golden Age, are what made Amsterdam really famous. The richly ornamented gables from this period are still to be admired. The finest facades and all the bridges over the canals are illuminated at night.

Amsterdam's canals offer a lively spectacle the whole year round, thanks to the countless boats that tour around the whole day and most of the night. But also the hundreds of houseboats and barges, often beautifully painted, contribute to a beautiful sight. As a visitor, you can witness exciting events on the water, from canal concerts to dragon boat races ands rowing regattas.

Canal trip start from Damrak by Central Station, and Rokin by the Spui. It's worth taking one of the canal boat tours to see Amsterdam from the water. They last about 90 minutes, and take you around the city and through the harbour. If you're feeling energetic, you can hire a Canal Bike from one of the several points through the city (Westerkerk, Leidseplein, Leidsestraat, Rijksmuseum), and choose your own route. There are also electric boats to hire at the Nieuwmarkt on the Kloveniersburgwal, at the corner of Leidsestraat and Prinsengracht, and at the other end of the Kloveniersburgwal near the Munt tower.

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