Interview: Kristel Dom, General Manager of Amsterdam's Canal House

Thank you for your time! How is business?

Business is going really well thank you.  We’re now two years on since opening and feeling rather settled in.

Where are your guests coming from these days?

All of the world!  With a large percentage visiting from the UK and US.

How do they hear about you?

Word of mouth predominantly.  We’ve also received several awards within our first 2 years ("Top 3 European City Hotels" - Sunday Times Travel Readers' Travel Awards 2012 & "One of the 60 best new hotels in the world" - The Hot List 2012, Conde Nast Traveller) which have received much recognition and often feature in international glossy magazines.

What makes Canal House a great small Amsterdam hotel?

Service, design and location. The team at Canal House are always warm, welcoming and knowledgeable without being overly familiar or to the opposite extreme, too formal and cold.  We have very few rules at Canal House, and want you to use it and feel as comfortable as you would in your own home. Centred in 21st century Amsterdam, the design is glamorous and contemporary but recalls the rich history of the buildings and the surrounding area.  I think they’ve done an incredible job preserving the past and yet bringing it forward – it is both beautiful and comfortable. We are located in the heart of the Jordaan on the edge of the Nine Streets – the perfect location to explore the canals and central Amsterdam by boat, by foot or bicycle.

Is there anything about the interior design at Canal House that's specifically Dutch?

The aim was to place the hotel in 21st century Amsterdam, but recall the influences of Dutch art and history. We have used the light and dark palette of traditional Dutch paintings, the silks and velvets of earlier Dutch traders and, in many bedrooms, the modern version of the traditional porcelain washbowl and washstand.  All the surviving original features such as timber beams and ornate ceilings and fireplaces have been retained and restored. We also wanted to reflect the building’s more recent history as a home and hotel.  Many of the pictures and objets from this previous life can now be found along the corridors and landings – some of which have called Canal House home for many decades if not longer still. We wanted the hotel to feel as much as possible as a 21st century Canal House home, but at the same time linked to its past.

One of the most unusual amenities of Canal House is the back garden--did you re-landscape it and is the style of the landscaping more Dutch or British?

The garden at Canal House was designed by the garden designers behind our sister hotel, Cowley Manor in the English Cotswolds.  The hotel itself was designed to echo a traditional 17th century canal house with a 21st century interpretation.  The garden reflects this design philosophy by mixing traditional materials such as the handsome bluestone paving, reclaimed 18th century bricks and clipped box plants.  However, the effect is brought up to date with a grid pattern through the paving, the clipped box in geometric platforms and precisely-engineered water tanks. The garden was completely overgrown and neglected before work started and all the plants except the magnificent walnut tree are new (watch out for the fallen walnuts!).

Are there are any great off-beat shops or restaurants in the immediate neighborhood of Canal House?

The area known as the Nine Streets is right on our doorstep – you could spend days wandering the many antique shops, markets, cafes, restaurants and independent fashion boutiques that line the streets.

What are some of the lesser known Amsterdam sights and experiences that you recommend to your guests?

You have to visit De Begijnhof - hidden between Spui Square and Amsterdam Museum. The Begijnhof is one of the oldest inner courts in the city of Amsterdam. A group of historic buildings, mostly private dwellings, centre on it. As the name suggests, it was originally a Beguinage (a collection of buildings used by an early lay sisterhood of the Roman Catholic Church). Today it is also the site of the English Reformed church. Onze Lieve Heer op Zolder, Our Lord in the Attic is one of the oldest and most remarkable museums in Amsterdam. Behind the characteristic facade of the house by the canal lies a largely original 17th-century home and a completely hidden church. This hidden church 'in the attic' was built during the Reformation, when Catholics were forbidden to hold public services.

How would you characterize Dutch hospitality?

Friendly, helpful, smiley and incredibly honest!  We’re interested in other cultures and almost without exception, speak English, which makes it an easy destination for globetrotters.

Any upcoming projects you'd like to share with Hideaway Report readers?

We’re part of A Curious Group of Hotels, a small, privately owned collection of hotels and restaurants for the culturally curious, which is based in the UK.  We’re currently looking for a new hotel to add to the family in the UK – fingers crossed we’ll have another opening within the ‘curious family’ this year!

Canal House is featured in the March 2013 Hideaway Report.