Citybreak at the Hotel INK Amsterdam by MGallery



This design boutique hotel, newly opened in 2015, is the perfect venue for a citybreak during the week-end. With a trendy decoration, yuppies and young couples will feel in their element. Design is not the only value of the hotel. Once you enter in the lobby, you immediatly know that you are in a special place. INK Amsterdam is housed in the former offices of the Dutch newspaper  « De Tidj », the equivalent of « The Times ». The architects of Concrete, who designed also CitizenM Hotels and some W Hotels, have created a concept with the print-industry heritage in mind. Inspiring details everywhere will transport you to the journalism environment. Stories, ink and time are the three themes that inspired this Design Boutique Hotel concept.





Location
The INK Hotel has a very good location. Walking distance to central station and major attractions of the old city center,  no cab is needed to arrive at the hotel. Everything can be done on foot, unless you want to experiment the real way of life of locals and try a bicyle !
Lobby area
The wall of the entry is decorated with giant letterpress blocks, first step into the newspaper world. Then, you will be greeted by a very friendly staff dressed up with blue G-star clothes. For sure, you are not in a classy and boring hotel J. The staff is really kind, they know how to welcome you in a warm and friendly way, but always keeping the right distance they must have with a client from a 4* hotel. Instead of being a formal counter, the reception is behind an open desk, like the ones you would find in a newspaper office.


     

The lobby area is under a glass ceiling rooftop that leads you to the restaurant and the bar.  The hotel always connects the inside to the outside. In the center of the hotel, you will find a tree surrounded by an orginal wood bench. An old timber attached to a bicycle, very smart dutch touch by the way, will display snacks and fruit juices. A healthy way to start the day if you do not have enough time for breakfast !
     

If you go a bit further, you will discover a lovely white inner courtyard. This patio with comptemporary black chairs is a piece of heaven within the busy city.

Design  guestrooms
I had the priviledge to stay in an executive room with a very pleasant room size, especially for an european city. The designers has arranged the room in a way that gives the feeling of far more space with comfortable and minimal furnitures. One of the quote of the hotel is : « Where stories are yet to be written ». If you feel the soul of a journalist, help yourself ! The room is equipped with a place to write : a wooden desk with pots of pens and notepads !





    

But what is the most important element in a hotel room ? The bed, of course ! We slept in a very comfortable king size bed, which really was a gift after days of walking around in the city.
The walls look like old blackboards that transports you back in time (for me the time when I was at school !). They are covered with black and white drawings from the local artist Jan Rothulzen : a map of Amsterdam showing the INK Hotel location, the city major attractions and some related stories.


Like in all contemporary hotels nowadays, bathroom is doorless and completly opened to the room. After a busy day, you will have the chance to relax in a big rain shower, one of the must have in my hotel wish list ! The bathroom is also equipped with design elements such as appearing light bulbs and tissu silver boxes. Walnut wood, bass and marble have been used to create an elegant and weelbeing atmosphere.


     

Pressroom Restaurant and Bar
Pressroom bar and restaurant is a modern testimonial to the former printing house. Walls and shelves are decorated with traditional typewriters, glass ink bottles , pots of blue pens and rolls of prinitng papers.  

The bar is a very contemporary element with illuminated distilled liquor bottles on a floating shelf. Cocktails and drinks can be served in the Library lounge, where you will find cozy leather sofas and colorfull cushions around a modern open fireplace. The lounge is decorated as a Library with books arranged by colours. The place is quite intimate and not too crowed during the day. Nice spot if you want to rest or do some work.  It becomes then very lively in the evening with local Amstardammers and urban travelers who gather around the bar and the DJ corner.


Thanks to this up-to-date property, I have discovered a sound that fitted completly with the atmosphere of the hotel: Wax Poetic with Norah Jones.  Click on the picture to Watch the video clip :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbsV56QBX_A
                              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbsV56QBX_A

We tasted the house cocktail, called Pressroom cocktail, which comes with a light « Amouse-Bouche » as we say in french :) If I remeber well, this amuse bouche was kind of pop corn and sweet corn melted in an orange sauce, very tasty ! The cocktail was a savant receipe of grapefruit and gin, delightful !
If you are walking around the city trying to find a nice restaurant with good food and not too pricy, you might have some difficulties in Amsterdam. This is just my point of view, I know french travellers are not easy to content with food ! We arrived quite late on the first evening and decided to have diner at the Pressroom restaurant. Waiters were really kind. They take time to chat a bit with you, explain you the choices the restaurant has to offer and reply to other questions you might have on the city ! After looking for restaurants for the other evenings on the Internet and in the city, we were quite disapointed. We finally decided to have all our lunches and diners at Pressroom. Very good quality of the meals and affordable prices have convinced us ! I remember having the soup of they day with green beans and a ceviche as main course. This was delicious and healthy. Local ingredients are melted with an international style.  Smoked eel , quinoa salad with flowers and sweet-and-sour vegetables, Dutch Limburgse mustard will definitly be part of your meal !
Design being a masterpiece of the INK Hotel concept, the kitchen is completly opened to the restaurant. Impressive brass pans will bring a little vintage touch.




What I really appreciated was the little alcoves next to the windows with a view on the old cobblestones  of the city.  This is perfect for an intimate and romantic diner. 
     

Conclusion
Great location, very welcoming staff that makes the difference, confortable rooms with a contemporary decoration, unique place,  history and design, good value for money. All the buckets of my wish list are checked ! The INK Hotel Amsterdam highly contributed to an unforgettable getaway !

To sum up, I recommend the INK  Hotel Amsterdam for :

- Great location
- Welcoming staff
- Contemporary decoration
- Very good restaurant



Hotel INK Amsterdam by M Gallery
Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 67,
1012 RE Amsterdam,  Netherlands
+31 20 6275900
http://www.sofitel.com/fr/hotel-1159-ink-hotel-amsterdam-mgallery-by-sofitel/index.shtml

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