Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky review: a grand, stylish Amsterdam stay
The scene is set inside this hotel's belle époque-era Winter Garden: an exclusive jewel box courtyard of palms and peacock colours, accented beneath a 19th-century glass roof. As for the clientele, this is where dapper chaps and well-heeled ladies breakfast late and attend evening high society balls. The lavish restaurant is surely the Dutch capital's best example of turn-of-the-century ambience and both the Winter Garden and its encompassing hotel owe much of their charm to the name above the entrance: Adolf Wilhelm Krasnapolsky, a Polish tailor who arrived in the city in 1856 and set about creating a swinging scene that's lasted until today. But that's not to say Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky is old-fashioned. Yes, it's wonderfully nostalgic, but that marries with Anantara's renowned light touch to make it a classically modern affair, and its rooms and dinner jaunts are a rare and luxurious thing. As for service, it's refreshingly hands-off, unlike so much of Amsterdam's cut and thrust these days.
This article contains affiliate links, which may earn us revenue
Score 8/10If you're familiar with the Anantara brand, you'll know it for its plush hotels in Thailand, the Maldives and the UAE. It's a similar deal here, as there are 402 rooms, the largest of any in the company's globe-trotting portfolio, and they are spread across 55 canal houses, all of which have been geometrically puzzled together like one giant optical illusion from the Dutch mind-bender MC Escher. The silky colour scheme in each of the rooms is soft and neutral — swan white, porcelain, chiffon and chrome. There is also modern ergonomic Dutch design and a spectrum of deluxe and premium rooms that come with oversized windows, rooftop or canal views and bathrooms of ivory marble and polished wood. For the pick of the bunch, opt for the bumper-sized Grand Premium Dam View, with bathtub basking in natural light.
Score 9/10 That Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky has become the focus of chit-chat in the Amsterdam food scene is largely because of the chef Tristan de Boer, born and bred in the city. He is chef de cuisine at the one-Michelin-star White Room, a restaurant as beautiful as the Winter Garden and an ode to the history of the French brasserie. The original restaurant, De Witte Zaal, opened in 1885 and maintains its handsome look with gilded mirrors, marble pillars and striking torso sculptures. Food-wise, it unites the best French ingredients (macarons, ceps, artichokes à la barigoule) with the Dutch kitchen (smoked mackerel, north sea crab, black caviar). Whatever you do, dress up. The hotel's other two talking points are Grand Café Krasnapolsky, a Viennese-style fantasy of cakes, macarons and meringues and a bar focusing on the art of tailoring and created as a hat's tip to Krasnapolsky. Though it's short on subtlety (spot the thimble lights, sewing machine, jumbo pair of scissors, measuring tape edging the counter bar), the Tailor is still fresh and fun for a hotel bar.
• Read our full guide to Amsterdam• Best boutique hotels in Amsterdam
Score 8/10With so much history, this is a hotel that has a lot to say. Cue a hotel archivist who puts on mini exhibitions (free, year-round) and with snippets that you actually want to know about (Martin Luther King once gave a speech here, for instance). There is also a spa (no pool) and a fitness centre with a 360-degree climbing wall. Bicycles can be booked too.
Score 9/10Over the years, Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky has become a monument for locals, with 'Meet me by Kras' becoming a common shorthand. For that reason, there's collective gratitude for its location, right on Dam Square, facing the National Royal Palace, ten minutes' walk from Amsterdam Centraal station and in the mix of the city's loveliest streets. Next door is Wynand Fockink, opened in 1679 and the oldest distillery in Amsterdam.
Price B&B doubles from £264Restaurant YFamily-friendly YAccessible Y
Mike MacEacheran was a guest of Anantara Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky (anantara.com)
• Best boat hotels in Amsterdam• Best hostels in Amsterdam for a backpacking break
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
a day ago
- Times
Faena Hotel Miami Beach review: the city's most dazzling designer pad
Renowned Argentinian hotelier Alan Faena never knowingly underplays his design hand, so the interiors of this much-loved Miami Beach hotel exude outrageously theatrical The Great Gatsby glamour. Its public areas shimmer with acres of gold leaf, lipstick-red velvets and leopard-print fabrics that create a 24/7 party-time ambience. But this place is about substance as well as style, so there are 179 exquisite — and, thankfully, more subdued — bedrooms, exceptional restaurants with slick service, an impressive spa, world-class cabaret performances in its own belle époque theatre. It also features incredible art, including the £9 million Gone But Not Forgotten installation by Damien Hirst — a three-metre high mammoth skeleton sprayed gold, guarding the hotel's cool pool and its peachy stretch of icing sugar-white beach. This article contains affiliate links, which may earn us revenue Score 9/10While the bedrooms continue the signature pillar-box red colour theme, the in-your-face campness of downstairs is softened by art deco wood panelling and retro furniture, zingy turquoise velvet drapes and carpets, pretty coral-print cushions and leather armchairs. Indulgent touches include brushed gold fixtures, bespoke bed linen and goose-down pillows, and the bathrooms have turquoise houndstooth tiles and covetable Carrara marble, though you will need to trade up to a suite if you want a bath tub. Every bedroom has a balcony and the oceanfront ones have knockout views. Score 9/10 Its flagship restaurant is Los Fuegos, the first North American outpost from the South American open-fire specialist Francis Mallmann. It's carnivore heaven, with irresistible wickedness such as wood-fired beef tenderloin with the creamiest of potatoes in a truffle beef jus, and unforgettably succulent racks of lamb with aubergine and mint yoghurt. Breakfast is also served in Los Fuegos, where there are plenty of oat, egg and avocado dishes as well as meaty options. Seafood lovers will prefer the imaginative fusion of European and Japanese at Pau by Paul Qui, a James Beard Award-winning chef. Its signature dish, called Unicorn, features sea urchin and sweet corn pudding and is as delicious as it looks. Qui also oversees the six-seater El Secreto Omakase dining room for authentic Tokyo-style sushi. At lunchtime, you can get basics such as burgers, poke bowls and pizzas around the pool. • Discover our full guide to Miami• More of the best hotels in Miami Score 9/10The Tierra Santa Healing House spa is a welcoming South American-inspired sanctuary of vibrant colour, flooded with light thanks to its location on the third floor. Its candle-lit hammam is one of the largest on America's east coast and its shaman-inspired rituals are supremely relaxing, while results-driven facials are delivered by A-list therapists using the cult french skincare range Biologique Recherche. There's also a well-equipped gym, a hair salon and daily yoga and meditation classes on the beach. The Faena Theater, which wouldn't look out of place in a film from Hollywood in the Fifties, stages cabaret, dance and live music performances. The pool also exudes retro glamour with red-and-white striped umbrellas and muslin-draped cabanas. Score 8/10Faena's masterplan didn't stop at his extraordinary hotel: he has created his own art district in the surrounding blocks. Across the street is Faena Forum, which showcases groundbreaking art works and Faena Bazaar, which is home to upmarket arty designer stores. Price room-only doubles from £537Restaurant mains from £35Family-friendly YAccessible Y Susan d'Arcy was a guest of Faena Hotel Miami Beach ( • Best things to do in Miami• Discover our full guide to Florida
Times
2 days ago
- Times
Bangkok has a new luxury hotel — next to the city's most peaceful park
Bangkok took the title of the world's most visited city in 2024, with 32.4 million travellers taking a bite of the Big Mango last year. Its recent starring role in The White Lotus season three has boosted its appeal further, and now the Thai capital has the ultimate luxury endorsement: an Aman hotel. Aman enjoys cult status within the hospitality industry. The brand invented the high-end boutique hotel concept almost four decades ago and has since expanded to 36 properties that remain the byword for exquisite taste. Aman is also famous, make that infamous, for charging truly eye-watering prices — just the thought of the £150,000 joining fee and £11,500 annual subs for gym membership at its New York property puts me in a cold sweat. Bank managers look away now, devoted Aman fans from Mark Zuckerberg to Kate Moss gather round: there's an argument that despite rates starting at £830 a night, its new Bangkok property is actually a relative bargain, at least compared with the group's two other urban properties. Rooms in New York are rarely less than £2,000 and those in Tokyo are north of £2,500. In Thailand you'll arrive in style because the rate includes a limousine transfer and fast-track service through Suvarnabhumi airport, where it can sometimes feel like 32 million of those 32.4 million visitors are in front of you in the immigration queue. The hotel throws in a complimentary minibar, restocked daily with everything from champagne to kombucha, and breakfast — the kimchi omelette is delicious. If that sounds something like sufficient bang for your buck, the question is: can this place deliver an authentic Aman experience? Aman, after all, is a Sanskrit-derived word meaning 'peace', and the group's enduring appeal hinges on its minimalist aesthetic and seamless service, conjuring a state of uncomplicated calm in even the most contrary guest. I did indeed feel ridiculously relaxed from the second I stepped into Amanyara's cathedral-like lobby in Turks and Caicos. I was perfectly chilled at the Acropolis-style Amanzoe in Greece and soporifically content amid the airy splendour of Amangalla in Sri Lanka. But peace and quiet in Bangkok, that 24/7 hot mess of belching traffic, human ant trails, go-go bars and general bedlam? Squirrelled away, though, in Pathumwan, the Mayfair of Bangkok, is a wondrous anomaly: Nai Lert Park. It is seven serene acres of botanical beauty and birdsong over which now tower the 36 sparkling storeys of the new Aman Nai Lert Bangkok. It's a promising location to give peace a chance. In the early 20th century Nai Lert, full name Lert Sreshthaputra, was Thailand's answer to Richard Branson, Conrad Hilton, Harry Gordon Selfridge and Willy Wonka rolled into one. He pioneered the city's public transport systems, cut the ribbon on Hotel de la Paix, one of Bangkok's first luxury hotels, opened its best department store and established its first ice factory, paving the way for all manner of sweet treats. Nai Lert's great-granddaughter Naphaporn Bodiratnangkura, who now runs the family business that includes the park, wanted to honour her ancestor's incredible legacy with an appropriately remarkable hotel, so she turned to Aman. Four and a half years and £144 million later and I'm greeted at the hotel's discreet entrance by a welcoming committee that has the poise and grace that ten years at a Swiss finishing school couldn't top. It's April 10, eight days after the launch and just two weeks after the Myanmar earthquake that brought Bangkok to a temporary standstill. I suspect there's a fair bit of swan action behind the scenes, but with an 'Amansanti'(eg staff member) to guest ratio of more than 4:1, there's never any hint of paddling in public. I'm whizzed up to the vast light-flooded lobby on the ninth floor, where the stunning triple-height atrium is anchored by a 12m sculpture, inspired by a century-old chamchuri tree in the park below and adorned with 6,000 gold leaves. It's a wildly impressive but surprisingly warm, unintimidating space. This area sashays into the glamorous 1872 bar (the year of Nai Lert's birth), which serves tea-infused martinis from a 3D-printed miniature replica of the entrepreneur's old water tank, and beyond to Arva, a romantic Italian restaurant where the truffle pasta is worryingly moreish. • Bangkok's best cocktail bars The fingerprints of the architect and interior designer Jean-Michel Gathy, renowned for his artistic interpretation of local heritage, are everywhere. Thoughtful details include the 3,000 spinning tops behind the reception desk that form the Thai numeral one in a nod to Nai Lert, the country's numero uno, tactile barklike bronze light fittings that echo the park's persimmon trees, while hundreds of metallic 'lasagne' sheets are suspended from Arva's ceiling. The 52 suites, on floors 11 to 18, are a masterclass in clean-lined understatement, a symphony of cream, toffee and taupe tones, with warm woods, baby-soft leather furniture and a mesmerising contoured installation, a sort of sexy spin on an Ordnance Survey map, across one wall. While the circular tub in the swanky bathroom is so huge, it probably should have a lifeguard on duty. Most overlook the park canopy. Mine also looks across to apartment blocks where I watch one well-groomed woman 'walk' her fluffy purse pooch on her balcony. Another more harassed female flounces into a hammock on hers while her toddler amuses himself underneath it. The fabulously cool 25m outdoor infinity pool's centrepiece is an intriguing elliptical void through which bursts an ancient sompong tree, thought to be Bangkok's third-tallest tree. Its branches create natural protection that throws every flavour of shade on your standard sun umbrella and contrasts spectacularly with a horizon of high rises. I do miss watching the procession of long-tail boats, water taxis and canal barges glide along the Chao Phraya River available from other luxury waterfront properties such as the Mandarin Oriental, but, in compensation, Pathumwan is close to upmarket dining and shopping malls such as Siam Paragon and Gaysorn Village. • 21 of the best hotels in Bangkok With such great Thai food on the doorstep, the hotel has decided not to compete. Apart from the excellent Italian cucina, the Aman also has Hiori, a lively teppanyaki restaurant with a carefully curated list of sakés and Japanese craft beers, and Sesui, an intimate eight-seat omakase counter where I'm entranced by the two chefs as they create 19 tiny courses of perfection before my eyes, including surgically sliced goldeneye snapper, delicately flavoured black throat sea perch and matcha ice cream. Wellness is a central pillar of the Aman ethos. In Bangkok it has partnered with the Hertitude Clinic, responsible for tweaking Thailand's rich and famous, to offer jet lag-slaying cryotherapy and IV infusions, while the main Aman spa menu offers a lullaby to blissful sleep. I have to peel myself off the treatment bed after my jasmine-scented Lert Siam massage. I don't have time for the three-day detox devised by the tennis star Novak Djokovic, Aman's recently appointed and first global wellness adviser. His programme includes Pilates, yoga, a circulation-improving beating with birch sticks and … flower meditation — you make a garland to lay at a spirit house in the park. • 10 of the best things to do in Bangkok Djokovic is undoubtedly a brilliant athlete but he's only ever one dodgy line call away from an on-court hissy fit so I'm not convinced he has ever made a floral tribute for the gods. But if he manages to remain in a state of uncomplicated calm at Wimbledon this year, I'll take that back and give thanks to Aman. This article contains affiliate links that can earn us revenue Susan d'Arcy was a guest of Aman Nai Lert Bangkok, which has B&B doubles from £830 ( Fly to Bangkok
Metro
3 days ago
- Metro
Europe hit by deadly heatwave with temperatures over 40C in holiday hotspots
A man tries to cool a girl with water during their visit to the Parthenon temple atop the Acropolis hill in Greece (Picture: Reuters) Temperatures have soared across several parts of Europe with several major holiday hotspots hit by sweltering heatwaves. Spain and Greece have both seen temperatures reach 40C today, with some areas expecting further rises in the coming days. On the Spanish island of Majorca a 34-year-old Dutch man hiking with friends collapsed and died of heatstroke near Soller, reports local news site Ultima Hora. Authorities have asked people to stay inside to prevent further cases. Meanwhile a massive wildfire broke out south of Athens, with four villages evacuated as a result. Some 130 firefighters and about two dozen water-dropping planes and helicopters battled the blaze in the Palaia Fokaia seaside area, the local fire department said. The fire, which broke out within a populated area, was fanned by strong winds and TV footage showed at least one home burning. Authorities in Athens banned outdoor activities for builders and delivery staff from 9am to 2pm today and advised against unnecessary travel. People watch as a wildfire burns forest land on Chios Island, Greece (People: EPA) Workers had the option of switching to remote working to avoid possible heat exhaustion, while air-conditioned facilities were provided for the elderly. Tourists were less comfortable, however. 'We are all from Pennsylvania and we have never really experienced a heatwave like this before,' Antonia Lasen told Reuters. 'At the Acropolis, we were all very hot and it was a little bit slippery to walk up, and the combination of the heat and the marble, I think it was hotter because of the cement, it was like a cement jungle almost, which is very hot.' France has been dealing with a heatwave for more than a week already, with four regions in southern France placed under an orange alert on today – the second-highest warning. Much of Europe is experiencing scorching temperatures Temperatures reached up to 39C inland. In Italy, the health ministry issued its top red alert for 21 cities this weekend including the capital Rome, Milan and Venice, where Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos is getting married today. People were advised not to go outdoors between 11am and 6pm, and to seek shelter in air-conditioned public places. In Portugal, the national meteorological agency IPMA said the heatwave would hit from Saturday, with temperatures passing 40C in the south of the country as well as in the central Tagus and the Douro valleys in the north. Meanwhile in the UK, temperatures are expected to rise to over the next day, potentially peaking at 35C on Monday. An amber health alert has been issued by the UK Health Security Agency which covers London, the East Midlands, South East, South West and East of England. The warning, which is the second most serious after a red alert, started at midday today and runs until 6pm on Tuesday. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. Arrow MORE: Migrants could soon be deported to France from the UK in a 'one in one out' deal Arrow MORE: What £40,000,000 could pay for instead of fund Jeff Bezos' wedding in Venice Arrow MORE: This country will be underwater by 2050 — and citizens are entering a bleak competition to escape
