Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Ter Borch Zwolle

The Dutch-based Pillows Hotels chain isn’t notable just for putting its soft, plush stamp on familiar places like Amsterdam and Brussels. It’s also taking us to some of the region’s less-traveled places — like the Dutch city of Zwolle, home of Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Ter Borch Zwolle. And while it’s clear from the exterior that this building has some history — it’s a 19th-century police station, in fact — the hotel inside is brand new. Thus classic architectural style meets contemporary design and modern comfort, a combination which, when it comes to hotels, is more or less the best of all possible worlds.

Pillows’ 41 rooms and suites live up to the name, and then some. Whether in the modern wing or the historic building they’re all as light and bright as clouds, with king beds, fine linens, state-of-the-art soundproofing including double-glazed windows, and, naturally, an encyclopedic menu of pillows. The Living is the centerpiece of any Pillows hotel, a cozy space that serves food, drinks, and coffee by the fireplace around the clock. And here there’s a more formal restaurant as well: Coperto Restobar, serving French- and Italian-inspired cuisine in a modern conservatory space, bathed in light.