The Volks Hotel in Amsterdam has had an interesting life so far. For 40 years the building was home to Dutch newspaper ‘Volkskrant’ and then in the Summer of 2013 it was converted into a 172-roomed hotel specialising in affordable accommodation and a some-what quirky decor. It’s not just any old funky-hipster tourist Hotel though, the Volks has become a regular work-space for creative south-east Amsterdam-ers and is now a vibrant part of the local community.
Volks Hotel has a feel-good energy that permeates from the nightclub in the basement (open from 11pm every night except Sunday) up to the Swiss style wooden hot tubs on the roof garden. It’s a good 25 min walk from the centre of town, but the Hotel lives right next to the Metro station and regular routes 51,53 and 54 will have you at Central Station in less than 10 mins.
The ground floor is a large open space; exposed air-con pipes and raw concrete columns, split in half between a long bar (serving great snacks, craft beers and burgers), stage and split level chill out areas. On the right side of reception patrons sip cappuccino’s and tap quietly on shiny MacBooks across communal desks in quiet modernity.
As far as free office spaces go this one is pretty cool, and as long as you don’t bring your own food or drink you can plug in and stay as long as you want. The Hotel is also home to many artists who were here before the Hotel opened and continue to rent low cost studios in the building.
The bar/restaurant on the seventh floor serving modern International cuisine has fantastic panoramic views of Amsterdam and in addition to the 163 ‘regular’ rooms there are 9 special ‘themed’ rooms, available for a small extra charge.
I stay in the ‘Cinema Boudoir’ designed by Maja Markovic, it’s compact, but comfy and full of kitsch movie memorabilia. There is a huge screen at the end of the bed and a projector connected to a Netflix account. There’s also a small complimentary (hidden) mini-bar with snacks and cold drinks, but however like many ‘Budget Hotels’ there’s no tea/coffee making facilities or phone in the room.
Other ‘themed’ rooms at the Volks include a DJ room with HUGE speakers, records and decks (by architect Remco Gonggrijp), a nature themed ‘Cabin in the woods’ (by Gabor Disberg) and a cool Japanese Zen room complete with wooden bath entitled ‘Bathing Bikou’ by Hanna Maring. Details on all the others can be found HERE.
The Volks Hotel has breathed new life into a building rich with journalistic history. If you’re heading to Amsterdam on a budget, the story can only start here.
Rooms available from €79 per night.
For more info visit their very funky website www.volkshotel.com
I travelled to Amsterdam from the UK with KLM for info on flights visit www.klm.com
For up to date information on forthcoming events, accommodation and travel info in Holland follow @visitholland or visit www.holland.com/uk