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At Hotel The Exchange in Amsterdam, Fashion Checks In
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The United States has Alex Calderwood, the risk-taking owner of the Ace Hotel chain with its street art aesthetic, but the Netherlands has Suzanne Oxenaar and Otto Nan. The enterprising art-world duo opened their first hotel, The Lloyd, in Amsterdam in 2004, and it quickly became the go-to place for artists, musicians and designers. In 2010, they opened the pop-up Llove Hotel in Tokyo, a tongue-in-cheek twist on that city's pay-by-the-hour hotels.
Last month, the hoteliers returned to Amsterdam to open Hotel The Exchange on the Damrak, the street that is the grand entrance to the city from Centraal Station. "When we saw those people walking down Damrak like models, we knew what the hotel would be," Ms. Oxenaar said. "We wanted fashion to meet architecture in a completely unexpected way." Working with students from the Amsterdam Fashion Institute and the designers Matthijs van Cruijsen and Ina Meijer, they accessorized each room as if it were a model.
For about $130 to $492 a night (or half that during January), patrons can sleep in the Mattrass Room or Mirjam Bleeker's Crinoline room. Information: 011-020-523-0080 or exchangeamsterdam.com/en.
First Published January 6, 2012 12:00 am
