"Perfectly positioned between Amsterdam’s Big Three museums and the city’s chicest shopping street, the Conservatorium (once a music conservatory) combines original fin-de-siècle splendour (decorative tiles and brickwork) and witty references to its past life (a chandelier made of violins) with sleek, clean-lined contemporary design by Italian interior architect Piero Lissoni. Many of the rooms are duplexes under original high ceilings, mostly tightly minimalistic but comfortable and warmed by colourful touches. A vast, bright atrium lounge includes an excellent brasserie, while the smart Taiko restaurant upstairs offers superb Japanese–influenced cuisine. The Akasha spa ranks among the best in town, in or out of a hotel." - Amber Port
