Review: Kimpton De Witt, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Kimpton De Witt is one of Amsterdam's best-situated boutique-style boltholes.

CHECK-IN

The worst aspect of check-in at a hotel is checking into one several hours before your official check-in time. I'm at the front desk of the 274-room, boutique-style Kimpton De Witt, fearfully early on a Saturday Amsterdam morning and eager to at least offload my luggage. I've recently disembarked from the new Norwegian Prima passenger ship after a week-long cruise from Reykjavik. In order to kill, nay murder, some time, the receptionist helpfully suggests a cafe she knows is open at this hour. Winkel 43, an informed choice and serving the interesting Dutch version of a flat white, is in the old Jewish quarter, an easy stroll over broken beer bottle glass from the Friday night revelries of the night before.

THE LOOK

The room, with its upbeat though more subdued than elsewhere palette of bold greens and bright blues, is full of light.

Of course, there was plenty of time for an initial sniff around at this extremely inviting, contemporary Old Centre hotel which, it declares, "pays homage to Amsterdam's rich artistic past and golden present". Described as a "modern approach to luxury", Kimpton De Witt, set in a street-fronting 1980s building (formerly a Crowne Plaza) with sections dating to the 17th century, is bursting with colour in keeping with its jazzy brand values. Opened in 2017, this was the first Kimpton property outside the Americas for this ever-expanding brand, which also made its Sydney debut earlier this year.

OUT + ABOUT

I'm here for one night only with a plan over the coming week to see more of the Netherlands beyond the again popular and previously visited Amsterdam. Exploiting the city's brilliant proximity to other appealing places, and with plenty of free time, I head off to Haarlem, a mere 15 minutes by train from Amsterdam landmark Centraal Station, a short walk from the hotel. Haarlem is a much smaller, more manageable medieval cobblestone-paved streets city which is flanked by skewiff gabled houses and has its own canal charming network. If you choose to stick to Amsterdam, the Kimpton has complimentary bicycles for guest use, though this remains an excellent city for walking despite its entitled and sometimes temperamental cyclists.

THE ROOM

When I eventually get to it later in the day on return from my Haarlem sojourn, the view from my comfortable "Essential King Room" is literally of a brick wall, with a few street and laneway glimpses. But somehow the room, with its upbeat though more subdued than elsewhere palette of bold greens and bright blues, is full of light and on the opposite side to the potentially noisy main street facing the hotel. Its eclectic furnishings include mid-century pieces filled with quirky knick knacks, adding a pleasingly homey note, while the walls of the compact bathroom are wrapped in eye-popping geometric blue and while wall and floor tiles.

FOOD + DRINK

The surrounding, ever-so-slightly seedy but safe old town neighbourhood is scented with the aroma of hashish from so-called coffee shops and from on-street consumption. Eating and drinking places of varying quality and type are ubiquitous in this lively area and there's the option to hang out inside the more calming confines of the Kimpton De Witt for a meal or drink (or both). The pedestrianised laneway-side Celia, decked out in buttercup yellow, serves California-inspired dishes in its restaurant proper and drinks and snacks at a more casual long bar space. Elsewhere within the hotel, between Celia and the lobby, is Super Lyan, a groovy cocktail bar bathed in psychedelic purple light.

THE VERDICT

My one-night stay isn't quite enough to explore all of what Kimpton De Witt has to offer. But it is time enough to realise that this is surely one of the city's better and best-situated boutique-style boltholes.

ESSENTIALS

Rates from $A398 a night. Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 5, 1012 RC Amsterdam, Netherlands. Phone [phone], see ihg.com

Anthony Dennis was a guest of InterContinental Hotels and visited the Netherlands courtesy of Norwegian Cruise Lines and British Airways. See nlc.com; britishairways.com

SCORE

Four out of five

HIGHLIGHT

The location close to Centraal Station is a huge plus though if you have a lot of luggage like me it's best to cab it rather than walk it.

LOWLIGHT

An initial front desk quote for the cost of a vehicle transfer between Amsterdam and the Dutch city of Utrecht (long story), was quite a bit less than the driver's final amount.