Designhotel Maastricht

Maastricht, the oldest city in the Netherlands, had its beginnings as a Roman outpost, fifty years B.C. (crumbling fortifications still surround the city, and disused tunnels form a labyrinth under the western suburbs). And geographically it is something of a Dutch outpost, on the end of an extended finger of the Netherlands, wedged between Belgium and Germany, and about as far from Amsterdam as one can go without leaving the country. The treaty that gave birth to the European Union was signed here - but not all of us are archaeology fanatics or international treaty trainspotters. Fortunately for the rest of us, there is also an extraordinary hotel: the Eden.

In the Netherlands, clean, striking design is no oddity. The Eden is firmly in the bold and modern Dutch style, though with a hint of the Burgundian tradition of the region. Tranquility and calm are the guiding principles, though there are lively splashes of color and the occasional playful detail, like a tulip-shaped chair or throw pillow. The décor and color schemes rotate with the seasons, and even the furnishings are changeable - if you have some reading to do, have an armchair delivered. Room service will even deliver a computer on a rolling desk, should a deadline approach.

These in-house luxuries are important, as Maastricht is not exactly Amsterdam. This is not a hotel where one drops off one's backpack before heading out on the town for a night of red-light debauchery. One is likely to spend a fair amount of reflective time in one's room, or partaking of the hotel's amenities; hence the "tranquility" theme underlying the décor.

La Byb is the reading room/lounge that, in the evening, triples as hotel bar. La Patio is another lounge, this one an indoor terrace, open to the air, ideal for breakfast or a cool evening. And Simply Bread is the sandwich and espresso bar, serving organic foods, salads, and smoothies, and which earns extra points for being (possibly) a pun on the name of a British light-soul group. Overlooking the city from the hotel's rooftop, La Gym is the place to work off the calories from all that Simply Bread, and the Beauty Lounge offers all manner of spa treatments. There is a rather cryptically named Pool of Wellness, which is not exactly the same as a pool of swimming, but close, and probably more relaxing anyway.