Hotel Monastère Maastricht

Of all the various types of historical buildings to be converted into hotels, there might be none better suited than the monastery. To turn a monk’s cell into a hotel room is no great leap, and for all the privacy of the accommodations, a monastery, like a hotel, is also a place for communal living. Hotel Monastère Maastricht is a particularly memorable example: not just any old monastery but a 14th-century one, restored in a way that’s sensitive to its history but not excessively reverent.

In fact there’s a pronounced Parisian accent — at least a visual one — about the Monastère. The 52 rooms and suites actually vary considerably in size and layout, from Small Doubles all the way up to Suites, Family rooms, Triples, and Quadruples. In all of them period architecture meets contemporary colors and design, and the comforts are thoroughly modern.

And while the Parisian accent is just an accent elsewhere in the hotel, in Café Louis it’s the dominant language. This is a French restaurant, full stop, though the ingredients are sourced from Maastricht and the surrounding areas. And this cosmopolitan outlook extends to other areas of hospitality as well: like all of the Vondel hotels, the Monastère affirms that it’s a “straight-friendly” hotel, a bit of irony that underlines just how tolerant the Netherlands, at their best, can be.