Let's admit it: The Dutch are a handsome people — not because of their ample height, high cheekbones or fuzzy bunny smiles, but their sense of design. Surrounded by France, Germany, England and Scandinavia, the Netherlands spins a particularly charming blend of them all that tickles as much as it cools, be it the fashion of Viktor & Rolf, the architecture of Rem Koolhaas, the furniture of Moooi or the graphic design of Albert-Jan Pool.
It's also inside the Pulitzer Amsterdam, a complex of 25 Golden Age canal houses splayed out between the Prinsengracht and the Keizersgracht at the north edge of the fashionable "Nine Streets" neighborhood.
The only major nonhistorical piece is the faux canal house entrance, which dangles the first amuse-bouche, a grand piano, from the ceiling, like the moment in a Road Runner cartoon just before Wile E. Coyote is flattened into a pancake. Step through and the full vision of designer Jacu Strauss unfolds immediately beyond in the reception lounge, installed during the hotel's multimillion-dollar renovation completed in 2016.
The entrance to the Pulitzer Amsterdam on the Prinsengracht.
From gilded frames, respectable couples of the Golden Age look out on a reception area brightened by targeted pops of cottony yellow, blue, violet, mauve and lavender in sofas, foot rests and Persian rugs, while playful Delftware ceramic tiles checkerboard the reception desks. Tribute to the hotel's founder, Peter Pulitzer (grandson of Pulitzer Prize founder Joseph Pulitzer), is cleverly paid in a small, attached library with shelves of books that have won the coveted prize.
Glass and sun replace brick and electric lights on the other side of the lobby, as the room tapers into a narrow corridor that bisects the historical interior courtyard, with a large cafe patio, lawn and garden on one side and a smaller area with four wicker swings on the other.
The restaurant Jansz, which is named after the original owner of four of the Pulitzer buildings, Jansz Volkert, one of the subjects in Rembrandt’s “De Staalmeesters.”
For first-time guests, this is where the network of corridors, stairs and elevators can appear labyrinthine. After a few deep breaths and readings of signs and arrows, it quickly becomes navigable, but probably not before wandering through the dreamily kitsch bar into the restaurant, Jansz. The eatery is named for the original owner of four Pulitzer buildings, Jansz Volkert, who appears in the 1661 Rembrandt painting "De Staalmeesters."
The menu here shows somewhat less art than the rest of the hotel, with down-to-earth fare like hanger steaks, cheeseburgers and lobster risotto but is nonetheless excellent. There's more charm in the morning, though, when delicate Dutch sunlight illuminates the room and breakfast buffet.
Audible gasps, however, are reserved for the five Extraordinary Suites, four of which are decorated according to a theme: art, music, antiques and writing. The first features a 20-foot-by-6-foot, tongue-in-cheek play on Da Vinci's "The Last Supper" by Thierry de Cromieres, and the last, an archway of books that leads to a fairytale writer's den with canal view. If there's a novel in you, this room will pull it out.
Although the rest of the 230 Cosy, Classic, Generous and Family rooms and suites don't match this level of wow, they certainly earn thumbs up with similar textures, colors and quirks of the lobby. Historical wall lines and roof timbers often determine the layout, however, so shape and spacing can change from room to room.
The Pulitzer Amsterdam's bar.
But it's in the sum, not the parts, that the Pulitzer Amsterdam really wins you. In the already magical ambience of Amsterdam, the hotel manages to conjure one of its own that's rich and satisfying enough to devote at least a few hours of your vacation to soak up. Thankfully there are 25 tubs inside ready to assist.
Nightly rates begin at $350 for Classic rooms; rates for suites start at $650.
Visit www.pulitzeramsterdam.com.