Kruisherenhotel Maastricht

"Imagine driving up to the local church, and asking for a room for three nights, breakfast included. The residents of Maastricht in the Netherlands can do just that at the Kruisherenhotel, a 15th century Gothic church and monastery converted into luxury accommodation, with 60 rooms.  The stone structure was home to the Crutched Friars, or monks belonging to the order of the Holy Cross, who wrote, bound, and copied books. After the French siege of the city in the 18th century, they were forced to leave and the space was converted into military barracks. At later stages, it also served as a research center and accommodated shops in its once-holy interiors. It was opened in its present avatar in 2005, after the Camille Oostwegel Chateâu Hotels & Restaurants took it over and restored the interiors with the help of Dutch designer Henk Vos, and lighting artist Ingo Maurer. The nave was repurposed to make space for the reception, restaurants, a library, and other amenities, and the cloisters became a terrace for guests to use. The exquisite detailing and decor of the original structure were retained wherever possible, making it a unique place to spend a night." - ATLAS_OBSCURA

"The Kruisherenhotel is a reflection of this southern Dutch city’s ever growing vocation as an international arts center. Famous for its fine-arts-and-antiques fair, Maastricht has an increasing number of contemporary art galleries, too. So not only is there demand for the Kruisherenhotel’s sixty luxurious rooms created out of a former 14th-century church and cloister by Dutch designer Henk Vos, but the same high-brow international audience is also receptive to funky decors and furniture by a brand name designer, in this case by German Ingo Maurer. The reception area and a wine bar occupy the original nave and apse of the church, while a superb open-walled breakfast room and library fill an upstairs mezzanine. The edgy mix of ancient and avant garde continues in the rooms, too, with oak parquet floors, Artimide lamps, chaise longues and sofas, and, in some, statement type works of modern art. There are, however, some drawbacks to this place—service is in-your-face snotty and they nick you 25 Euros a day for parking and 30 Euros for breakfast. This irritations to one side, just as long as you don’t end up in one of the dark attic rooms, this place is a tongue-in-cheek good time, and if you can swallow the price, breakfast in a dazzling experience, since the nave is filled with light from stained glass windows and the buffet is copious and imaginative."