Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht

Andaz Amsterdam Prisengracht is a rare treat for the hotel junkie: the work of one of the world’s top designers, at home on native soil. The designer in question is Marcel Wanders, maximalist man of the moment and a whimsical design hand if ever there was one, and his studio shares a neighborhood, the Jordaan district, with the Andaz. This also puts the hotel amidst Amsterdam’s central canals, within very easy range of all the shopping, eating, drinking and museum-going you could want — for even the most nerdishly enthusiastic hotel-design geek eventually needs to step out and see the city.

Whether or not you’re a sucker for touches like the moonlike orbs hanging from the glass-roofed lobby-atrium, you’ll have a hard time making the case that any comfort has been sacrificed in pursuit of the hotel’s quirky aesthetic. The Andaz hotel group has found a niche in markets from Wall Street to Xintiandi by way of a simple insight: even the stiffest business traveler can appreciate (or at least handle) the occasional outsized design gesture, so long as you take care to stock the rooms with the sharpest screens, the cushiest beds, the most workable oversized desks, plus freebies like wi-fi and soft drinks and snacks.

Another Andaz specialty that lightens the mood: no lines at the check-in desk. When you arrive, you’re handed a tablet that guides you through all the formalities. You can take your time with it in the lobby, drink in hand, or breeze through the process on the way to your room. And yet for all the signature touches of Hyatt’s high-end boutique brand, there’s no mistaking this hotel for any other — let’s just say that given the combination of Marcel Wanders and the picturesque Prinsengracht, you’re not likely to forget for a second that you’re in Amsterdam all the way.