Conservatorium Hotel Amsterdam

From Amsterdam’s old music school to a conservatory of a different kind; the Conservatorium is a radical repurposing of the city’s Sweelinck Conservatorium building, transforming its soaring institutional spaces and ornate century-old construction into a contemporary design hotel, one with plenty of personality and plenty of space to express it in. And the fact that it’s one of very few luxury hotels in the city center — it’s in the Museumplein, just off the P.C. Hoofstraat shopping boulevard — certainly doesn’t hurt its case.

Of course there’s more to the Conservatorium’s appeal as a luxury hotel than just its style and location. The double-height classroom and studio floors naturally lend themselves to split-level loft-style rooms and suites, and soundproofing, naturally, was a concern from the very start, not just a matter of an extra pane of glass here and there. And the hotel’s interior style is a welcome surprise, if somewhat subdued, as surprises go — rather than showcase Dutch design’s most outré experiments, the Conservatorium opted for Piero Lissoni, whose pared-down contemporary elegance suits this classic building to a tee.

The Akasha spa and wellness center adds treatment rooms, copious gym space and an 18-meter lap pool to the Conservatorium’s offerings. There’s meeting and events space to rival any of the big-chain business hotels, and the Conservatorium’s food and beverage selection is outstanding as well. Chef Schilo van Coevorden heads both the casual Brasserie — all-day light bites in the lofty internal courtyard — and flagship Taiko, a lustrous black bento box of a restaurant featuring an array of local, seasonally sourced produce in show-stopping East-Asian dishes.