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Destinations · Europe · netherlands · Amsterdam · Where to sleep · Trendy

Hotel The Exchange

Author: Anothertravelguide.com0 COMMENTS

Hotel The Exchange

The Amsterdam's new Exchange fashion hotel is one of the most original 'niche hotel' projects of recent years. The hotel is a joint project of the Lloyd Hotel and Cultural Embassy, the Amsterdam Fashion Institute and the Dutch Textielmuseum. The decor of the 61 rooms was designed by students and graduates of the Fashion Institute, dressing them up almost like catwalk models. There are five categories of rooms (1-5), depending on the size. And yet each of them plays out a most extravagant sartorial fantasy regardless of its size - again, like an actual garment rather than an interior. And each of the rooms is completely different and unique! For instance, one of the rooms, inspired by Marie Antoinette, features a giant dress draping down the wall and transforming into a bed. The fabric is a work of art in its own right - a unique material created especially for this room. Another has been squeezed into a gigantic corset, and then there is the one inspired by the fairytale about the Emperor's new clothes - which means only that nothing is quite what it seems in this room. One of the rooms has wrapped itself in a grey speckled sweater from ceiling to floor. Like a regular dress, the unique garment of each room is easily taken off and very simple to take care of - a significant point, considering the fact that it will be worn (used) by countless models (guests). Incidentally, four of the Exchange Hotel rooms feature nothing but naked white walls and a sewing machine: these rooms will accommodate the needs of any visiting fashion designer overtaken by a sudden urge to follow through one of his or her crazy ideas - or perhaps make a minor adjustment to their own clothes, like extend the waist after a lunch at the hotel's Stock Restaurant. The central element of the restaurant is its 'golden bar', a play on the hotel's special location: it is situated opposite the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. The hotel also houses Options!, the tiniest department store in the Netherlands (230 m²) which carries a selection of unique design objects from every corner of the world, as well as the creations of fashion artists and interior designers, both young and well established.

Foto: Hotel The Exchange
Hotel The Exchange logo

The Exchange Hotel is set in one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Amsterdam, housed in three interconnected historical 17th-century buildings. The steep staircase leading from one floor to another is painted in flesh-colour, like a model only getting ready to put on her dress. The tile pattern on the walls imitates the relief of skin. Anothertravelguide.com visited The Exchange Hotel two weeks before the official unveiling when the decorating work was still in full swing at the hotel: the 'dressers' were still busy in the rooms and the whole space was filled with the spirit of a genuinely creative chaos. To quote the brain-mother and co-owner of the hotel Suzanne Oxenaar whom we met amidst all the hustle and bustle, 'Amsterdam is a crazy city, accustomed to insane ideas and equally insane speed of getting things done'. To enjoy the fashion catwalk experience in the full glare of footlights, choose one of the top-storey rooms which offer a fabulous panoramic view of Amsterdam.


Damrak 50, Stock
www.exchangeamsterdam.com

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