LUXURY Hotel & Spa Guide October 2016
Finding Netherlands We spoke to Nina van het Spijker at the Conservatorium, to find out how they provide a truly unforgettable experience, for all who visit this very fine establishment
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Welcome to Wealth & Finance International’s October 2016 Luxury Hotel & Spa Guide, which promises to thrill you with an unforgettable journey, as we check out a select number of stunning hotels, all of which boast a luxurious ambience. The hotel and spa industry is built around creating unforgettable experiences and providing exquisite escapes from the stresses of everyday life. Bearing this in mind, this special guide highlights The Conservatorium, a high-end luxury lifestyle hotel offering international guests unique access to the very best of local culture alongside amenities, service and design that are simply world class. We spoke to hotel’s Nina van het Spijker, to find out how they provide a truly unforgettable experience, for all who visit this very fine establishment. I trust you have a stress-free and peaceful read, as you revel in the October edition of this stunningly illustrated guide.
What’s Inside... 4. Finding Netherlands - Conservatorium Hotel 8. The Lodge Torrey Pines
Luxury Hotel & Spa Guide 2016
Finding Netherlands
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The Conservatorium is a highend luxury lifestyle hotel offering international guests a unique access to the very best of the local culture alongside amenities, service and design that are simply world class. We spoke to Nina van het Spijker at the Conservatorium, to find out how they provide a truly unforgettable experience, for all who visit this very fine establishment.
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msterdam is world renowned for providing an exception experience for both personal and business travel, what does your hotel do to add to this experience? First of all, the Conservatorium has such an ideal location to enjoy Amsterdam. Located in the heart of Amsterdam’s museum district (Museumplein) on Van Baerlestraat, the Conservatorium hotel is close to The Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum and the Royal Concertgebouw. Also, the luxury shopping avenues, P.C Hooftstraat and Van Baerlestraat, sit right on the hotel’s doorstep as well as the charming Vondelpark.
With eight floors, six meeting and event rooms and 129 rooms and suites, we have a hotel that caters for both business and relaxation. And of course, each room offers cutting-edge technology, flooding natural daylight and signature Piero Lissoni designs. Alongside these amenities, we are proud to be the home of the Dutch chef Schilo van Coevorden, who oversee the Conservatorium’s restaurants and bar. We provide only the best food and service from the Brasserie, Asian contemporary restaurant Taiko and our gin and tonic hub Tunes Bar. The G&Ts are the signature drink of Tunes Bar where guests can choose from a wide variety of around 40 kind of gins and more than 10 different tonics. For rejuvenation and restoration, we offer the Akasha Holistic Wellbeing Centre, which is the largest luxury hotel spa in the Netherlands, spanning over 1,000m². The spa features an organic bar, fitness club, watsu pool, whirlpool sauna and hammam. The lap pool, steam room, sauna and Jacuzzi form an oasis at the centre of Akasha and is enhanced further by mood lighting, restorative sounds and uplifting aromas. Furthermore, seven treatment rooms, including a double treatment Akasha suite, offer signature treatments which marry innovative Western practices with ancient Eastern traditions. There is a private hammam for purifying scrubs and massages and a Vichy shower for cleansing hydrotherapy rituals. Akasha also boasts Amsterdam’s only Watsu pool for tailored hydro-treatments and guided meditation. Amsterdam is a city with so much history behind it. What has been the Conservatorium’s experience of operating in such a city? The first written mention of ‘Amsterdam’ was in 1275, so the city has been in existence for quite some time! Today, with its numerous museums and galleries, the city is now undergoing an arts-led renaissance that is feeding a resurgent appetite for travel to Amsterdam, both locally and from abroad. The Conservatorium is certainly part of this renewal. The building was originally designed by the Dutch architect Daniel Knuttel as the Rijkspostspaarbank (a savings bank) and sparked the regeneration of the Museum Quarter at the end of the 19th century. When the Rijkspostspaarbank had to move offices following a series of mergers, the building was abandoned in 1978. After lying empty for five years, it became the home of the newly formed Sweelinck Conservatorium, consisting of three musical institutes. Some remodelling was required to modernise Daniel Knuttel’s architecture into functional acoustic classrooms. In April 2008, the Conservatorium of Amsterdam outgrew its home and departed to its current location at Oosterdokseiland. In 2008, The Set hotels purchased this wonderful building, motivated primarily by its glorious past. In a vision to restore it to its former beauty, award winning Milan-based designer Piero Lissoni guided the creation of the hotel, whose rich historical narrative is woven with utmost care into its very fabric. The Conservatorium then officially opened in December 2011 and is once again on the pulse of the city’s cultural and architectural heartbeat. Who would be a typical guest at your hotel? We do not really have a ‘typical’ guest as the Conservatorium welcomes all nationalities and is always a mixture of leisure and business focused
Luxury Hotel & Spa Guide 2016
Company: Conservatorium hotel Name: Nina van het Spijker, Marketing & Communications Manager Email: nina.vanhetspijker@ conservatoriumhotel.com Web: www.conservatoriumhotel.com Address: Van Baerlestraat 27, Amsterdam, 1071 AN, The Netherlands Telephone: +31205700000
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travellers. As the hotel is situated right between the museum district and the residential Oud-Zuid area, many locals also visit on a frequent basis, which turns the hotel into the ‘living room’ of this area. Regardless of the who the guest is, we always provide them with the very best service. At the Conservatorium, a personal ‘host’ is assigned to each and every guest. The host department is a new concept, a fusion of concierge and guest relations, providing an individual service to our guests. Our hosts can take care of bookings and arrangements, give an insight into the city, offer in-the-know advice and even introduce guests to the locals. The host is the guest’s ‘local friend in town’ and this signature service provides an unparalleled window through which guests can experience the city. Moreover, the Akasha Holistic Wellbeing Centre welcomes hotel and day guests, but also Akasha members who can enjoy the spa every day of the year. Akasha offers the local community the chance to join our private members club, and only a limited amount of these exclusive memberships for individuals and corporate clients are available. What has made your hotel so successful throughout the years? The Conservatorium offers a new experience of exceptional hospitality in the Netherlands. This is mainly due to our staff, and valuing the great work they do every day. If we make the staff happy, they will make the guests happy and all will have an unforgettable experience. Every day our staff try to not only fulfil the wishes and needs of the guests, but provide them with exceptional service. The hotel offers guests an experience that is at once locally-oriented and world-class, all under the roof of a building with unique heritage. At the Conservatorium, we have developed a culture that combines excellent service and great design. It ensures that guests always receive discreet, personal attention, and that their needs are both anticipated and fulfilled. In this, we are committed to ‘changing the language’ of luxury and service. We have passionate and energetic colleagues who can quickly appreciate and embrace this very vibrant culture – and who are motivated to deliver great service and can express it in an atmosphere of spontaneity and authenticity. As an employer, the Conservatorium puts great emphasis on development of our people, creating a positive culture and living our values. We support ongoing education and personal development so that all colleagues are continuously trained in protocol and service. To what extent do you think that hotel and spa industry is built around creating unforgettable experiences and providing exquisite escapes from everyday life? Our hotel reflects the city and seasons into its daily activities. In every season, there are different culinary experiences, wellbeing workshops and cultural offers available. During the festive season the hotel is decorated with a large Christmas tree, while in April the hotel is dressed with over 1,000 tulips in all the public areas, inspired by and in celebration of the annual Tulip Festival in Amsterdam. What makes a guest return to your hotel again and again? Again, the service we provide at our hotel is something we take tremendous pride in. We have something called ‘The Human Library’, which is a select group of people and representatives who assist the host department on providing excellent and unique service to our guests from shops, guides, restaurants to unique individuals who can, together with our guests, explore Amsterdam from a complete different view. With the busy Christmas season coming upon us, what are your plans for the coming months and beyond, aside from putting up Christmas tree in Amsterdam? We have many things in store for the future, but our main goal is to build an online customer experience that is just as successful and comparable to the offline in-hotel experience. We are very happy to inform you that our new website is finally live, which you can visit at: www.conservatoriumhotel.com. Next to the new and fresh design, the site is also very user friendly when being visited from a mobile device (smartphone or tablet).
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