SD › Amsterdam › Hotels › Conservatorium Review
Updated: November 10, 2020
See Also
Conservatorium Hotel – Grand five-star hotel in the heart of the Museum Quarter.
This 19th-century former bank and then music conservatory turned five-star hotel is an architectural masterpiece that packs a visual punch. The work of architect and interior designer Piero Lissoni, Conservatorium combines original features such as stained glass and wall tiles with Lissoni’s muted fabrics, clean lines, and bold splashes of color. The hotel’s showpiece is the soaring glass-and-steel atrium/lobby filled with design furniture from Kartell, Cassina, and Divani, where local fashion designers, professionals, and artists meet their clients. The spacious, minimalist rooms are decked out in soothing neutral beiges, browns, and grays, and come with Nespresso machines and complimentary smartphones. Gorgeous bathrooms are equipped with deep, Japanese-style soaking tubs, rain showers, and LCD mirror TVs. On-site dining ranges from refined to casual, and service is welcoming and efficient without being intrusive.
Conservatorium Hotel – Location
- Address: Van Baerlestraat 27, 1071 AN Amsterdam.
- Nearest Tram: Van Baerlestraat.
- Area: Well-heeled neighborhood near the southern boundary of Vondelpark. Across the street from Amsterdam’s Museumplein, Stedelijk Museum, Van Gogh Museum, and Rijksmuseum. Right on the corner of Amsterdam’s most chic fashion street, with the historic canal ring, Leidseplein’s restaurants and bars, and Vondelpark a 10-minute walk away, while the Medieval Center and Centraal Station a 20-minute ride by tram.
- How to Get There: Take the train from Schiphol Airport to Centraal Station, then tram #2 to the Van Baerlestraat stop, a minute’s walk from the hotel.
- Handy to: Van Gogh Museum, Stedelijk Museum, Rijksmuseum, Vondelpark.
Conservatorium Hotel – The Basics
- Ages: Guests tend to be a mix of couples on a romantic break or honeymoon, and business travelers. Children of all ages are welcome, though there are few family-specific facilities. Taiko Bar is 18+.
- View: Good city views from the large windows in the rooms and fantastic 360-degree views from the private rooftop terrace of the I ♥ Amsterdam Suite.
- Private Pools/Jacuzzis: Jacuzzi access available at extra charge.
- Laundry: In-room laundry service.
- Parking: Parking available onsite; €65 per day.
- Extras: There’s a ‘Human Library’ in place of a concierge service; knowledgeable local experts can advise you on all manner of Amsterdam subjects, and organize personalized outings and tours of the city depending on your interests. Several elegant dining rooms are available for private cocktail parties and special events.
- When to Book: Reserve 3 to 4 months in advance for the mid-March to mid-May tulip season, the July and August high season, and the Christmas-New Year period.
- How to Book: Booking.com will have the best rates.
- Phone: 020-570-0000
- Email: host@conservatoriumhotel.com
- Website: conservatoriumhotel.com
Conservatorium Hotel – Amenities
- Pool: There’s a neon-lit lap pool in the basement, with designated pool times for families with small children.
- Spa: The hip Akasha Holistic Wellbeing Centre comes with a hammam, sauna, the city’s only private Watsu pool for Shiatsu massage in water, and numerous luxurious signature treatments such as hot seashell massage.
- Fitness Center: Fitness center, personal trainers, and fitness classes, from yoga and Pilates to boxing and cardio.
- For Disabled Guests: There are 2 adapted rooms suitable for disabled guests.
- For Families: Under-12’s stay free in existing beds; there are high chairs and a children’s menu at the Conservatorium Brasserie and the Conservatorium Lounge; there are family pool times, and babysitting can be arranged at 12 hours’ notice.
Conservatorium Hotel – Food and Drink
- Restaurants: Taiko Restaurant (6.30 pm-10.30 pm) serves elegant, Japanese-inspired cuisine, from sushi, sashimi, and Wagyu beef on the grill to the splurge-worthy 8-course omakase menu (€115). Clean, stylish decor; reservations essential. • $$$$ • Conservatorium Brasserie (6.30am-11pm) is open all day, from the breakfast buffet and the lunchtime salad bar to afternoon tea and the multi-course ‘cultural menu’ in the evenings, popular with concert and theatre-goers. Emphasis on healthy eating and seasonal produce, and there’s frequent live classical music, courtesy of students of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. • $$-$$$.
- Lounge/Bar: Chic Taiko Bar has a transparent bar designed by Piero Lissoni, deep banquettes, and subtle lighting that create an intimate atmosphere. Taiko is renowned for its signature gin & tonics, with over 40 types of gin and 6 types of tonic, and there are Asian-inspired tapas to boot. DJs Thursday to Saturday nights. Open until 1 am Monday to Thursday, until 2 am Friday and Saturday, and until midnight on Sunday.
- Breakfast: Not complimentary. Extensive breakfast buffet available from 8-11 am at the Conservatorium Brasserie; €32 per person; €42 for buffet with 1 hot dish.
- Room Service: Available around the clock from the Conservatorium Brasserie.
Conservatorium Hotel – Rooms
- Room Types: Superior • Superior Duplex • Deluxe • Deluxe Duplex • Corner Suite • Junior Suite • Grand Duplex Suite • Rooftop Suite • Conservatorium Suite • Conservatorium Suite with balcony • Royal Duplex Suite • Van Baerle Suite • Residence Suite • Conservatorium Suite • I ♥ Amsterdam Suite • Penthouse Suite
- Smoking Rooms: Conservatorium Hotel is 100% smoke-free.
- Best Room: The triplex I ♥ Amsterdam Suite has a private rooftop terrace with wonderful 360-degree views of the city – perfect if you’re on a romantic break. Grand Duplex Suite 528 has the best view of Stedelijk Museum, as well as 2 bathrooms.
- For Families: No family rooms per se.
Conservatorium Hotel – Local Transport
- Walking: Across the street from Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum, and Stedelijk Museum. Easy walking distance to Vondelpark, the fashion boutiques along Cornelis Schuytstraat and P.C. Hooftstraat, and the historic canal ring. Walkable to the Medieval Center, Red Light District, and De Pijp.
- Tram: Direct tram connections from the nearby Van Baerlestraat stop to Centraal Station (20 minutes) via the historic canal ring (4 minutes) and the Medieval Center (12 minutes).
- Taxis, Uber: Taxis and Uber charge around €35 from the airport to the hotel. Within the city, Uber rides cost around half of taxi fares. It’s often quicker to walk, cycle, or jump on a tram.
Conservatorium Hotel – What’s Nearby?
Recommended Nearby Tours
- Joy Ride Tours – Intimate, small-group cycling tours of central Amsterdam and the countryside, departing from the Museumplein. Customized tours possible. Start location: 5-minute walk.
- Blue Boat Company – Popular canal cruises. Start location: 8-minute walk.
Nearby Restaurants and Cafes
- Bagels & Beans – Popular café chain. Bagels with numerous sweet and savoury fillings, fair trade, and organic ingredients. Extensive range of fresh juices, herbal teas, and coffee drinks. 2-minute walk.
- Seafood Bar – Casual seafood joint specializing in fish and chips as well as seafood platters. 2-minute walk.
- L’Entrecote et les Dames – Sophisticated French menu, old-world ambience. The entrecote is the star here, followed by crepes au Grand Marnier. 4-minute walk.
- Renzo’s Delicatessen – Get homemade pasta dishes and sandwiches to take away or eat them here, on the tiny mezzanine. 6-minute walk.
- Restaurant de Knijp – Classy French bistro (go for the cold lobster with fries, veal entrecote, or escargots). Open early for dinner – ideal if you’re attending a concert at the nearby Concertgebouw. 6-minute walk.
- La Falote – Wallet-friendly, home-style Dutch dishes such as meatballs, calf’s liver, and stewed fish. 10-minute walk.
- Hosokawa – Slick, contemporary Japanese restaurant specializing in sushi, teppanyaki, and robatayaki dishes. Great onsite bar too. 10-minute walk.
Nearby Bars and Breweries
- Café Welling – Old-school café-bar behind the Concertgebouw, attracting arty and literary types, and post-concert musicians. 5-minute walk.
- ‘t Blauwe Theehuis – Flying-saucer-shaped 1930s Modernist pavilion right in the heart of Vondelpark; come here for a cocktail or coffee and cake. 7-minute walk.
- Gollem’s Proeflokaal – Over 250 Belgian bottled beers and almost 3 dozen on tap, accompanied by Flemish stew and Trappist cheese fondue. 9-minute walk.
Nearby Shopping and Cool Shops
- Coster Diamonds – Blow your budget on diamond jewelry fit for royalty at the oldest diamond polishing facility in the world. Or book a free tour to see the diamonds being polished and cut. 4-minute walk.
- & Klevering Zuid – Hip homeware by own brand, &k Amsterdam, as well as the likes of Marimekko, HAY, and Vitra. 5-minute walk.
- Manwood – Heels, boots, shoes, sneakers, and other stylish men’s and women’s footwear by Dutch designers and several select international labels. 8-minute walk.
- Nikkie – Street-smart women’s fashion design by former Dutch actress Nikkie Plessen. 8-minute walk.
- Pied a Terre – Europe’s largest travel bookshop, with a staggering array of travel guides, maps, globes, and much more. 9-minute walk.
- Ennu – Men’s and women’s fashion from the likes of If Six Was Nine, Rick Owens, LGB, and Ann Demeulemeester. 9-minute walk.
- VLVT – Stylish women’s wear by Dutch designers such as Anna + Nina and ByDanie; also international labels such as Pinko, Boy London, and Lola Cruz. 9-minute walk.
- Buise – Upscale women’s wear, including sweatshirts by Paul & Joe Sister, floral prints by Black Coral, and jackets by Isabel Marant. 9-minute walk.
Nearby Market or Grocery
- ZuiderMRKT – High-end, fresh organic produce market behind the Concertgebouw, with attached food stalls that sell crepes, hot dogs, and Indonesian satay. 7-minute walk.
Conservatorium Hotel – The Hotel

The fitness center is open from 6.30 am to 10 pm, with fitness classes ranging from boxing to Pilates.

The basement pool is open from 6.30 am to 10 pm; family times for kids aged 3 to 16 are 10-11.30 am and 2-3.30 pm daily. It’s also the city’s only private Watsu pool; Shiatsu massage in water is one of the treatments on offer.

Daily yoga classes of varying intensity are held in the yoga room.

The sauna is part of the Akasha Holistic Wellbeing Centre, open 6.30 am to 10 pm.

Designed by architect and interior designer Piero Lissoni, the soaring glass-and-steel atrium/lobby is filled with design furniture from Kartell, Cassina, and Divani.

Open all day, the Conservatorium Brasserie specializes in healthy dishes and seasonal produce, often accompanied by live classical music performed by the students of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam.

The outdoor terrace is a popular extension of the Conservatorium Brasserie, busy on warm and sunny days.

The Taiko Bar is open until late (2 am on weekends), and is particularly renowned for its gin-based cocktails.

Elegant, Japanese-inspired cuisine is on the menu at Taiko Restaurant, open nightly for dinner. Make reservations.

The compact Deluxe Duplex rooms feature mezzanine beds and comfortable work spaces.

The Van Baerle Suite looks out over Van Baerlestraat, and its bathroom comes with a stone oval bathtub.

Heavy wooden beams and a king-sized bed are features of the atmospheric Rooftop Suite.

The Rooftop Suite come with a triangular marble bathroom, deep soaking tub, and separate rain shower.

The spacious Penthouse Suite is one of the most high-tech; guests can customize every aspect of its ambiance using a dedicated iPad.

The palatial Concerto Suite bathroom is equipped with an oval stone tub and separate rain shower.

The striking, signature Concerto Suite overlooks the quiet courtyard; preferable for light sleepers.

Deluxe rooms are more spacious than Superior, look out over lively Van Baerlestraat (less ideal for light sleepers), and the bathrooms come with deep soaking tubs as well as rain showers.

The minimalist, triplex I ♥ Amsterdam Suite boasts a king-sized bed in the loft with monumental wooden beams.

One of the two bathrooms in the I ♥ Amsterdam Suite comes with a deep marble tub.

View of the city from the private roof terrace that is part of the I ♥ Amsterdam Suite.

The atmospheric Junior Suite up in the loft comes with a deep soaking tub in the bathroom.

The 6th floor signature Penthouse Suite looks out over Rijksmuseum, and its spacious living area is filled with art and precious porcelain.

The smallest of the rooms, Superior rooms are mid-sized by Amsterdam standards, look out over a quiet side street, and come equipped with state-of-the-art in-room entertainment and rain showers.

The hotel is just across the street from the Museumplein, the square featuring Amsterdam’s trio of heavyweight art museums.

Also just across the street is Stedelijk Museum, Netherlands’ biggest collection of contemporary art, with excellent temporary exhibitions by big-name artists, and a first-rate cafe-restaurant in the lobby.

Next door is the super-popular Van Gogh Museum showcasing the world’s largest collection of Van Gogh works. Access is by timed ticket only; book your time slot online.

Around the corner from the Van Gogh Museum, the lesser-known Moco Museum hosts changing exhibits of contemporary art, from Banksy to Dali.

The most famous of the Museumplein museums is Rijksmuseum, with the biggest and best Dutch art collection in the world. Book your ticket online or come early to beat the lines, and make a beeline for Rembrandt’s Night Watch before the crowds arrive.

Across the street from the Museumplein, the House of Bols walks you through the history of jenever (the granddaddy of gin) making in Holland. At the end of the experience, you get to mix and drink your own jenever cocktail.

Next to the House of Bols, the Diamond Museum is worth a peek for the history of the Dutch diamond trade, and the glittering replicas of the world’s most famous diamonds, such as the Orlof and the Koh-i-Noor.

If money is no object, you might want to pick up some diamonds of your own at Coster Diamonds next door.

A couple of blocks north of Rijksmuseum, the Blue Boat canal cruise company offers popular daytime and evening cruises.

If you cross the bridge over the Singelgracht canal to Leidseplein, you’ll reach one of Amsterdam’s best Japanese restaurants, Hosokawa. It’s not cheap, but the sushi is amazing.

North along Van Baerlestraat from the hotel, the Seafood Bar is one of several branches around the city; good for seafood platters and fish and chips.

Northwest, along busy Overtoom, is Pied a Terre, Europe’s largest travel bookstore with scores of travel guides in English, and a plethora of maps.

Across the street, local beer aficionados swear by dozens of Belgian beers by the bottle and many on tap at Gollem’s Proeflokaal.

Head south from the hotel along Van Baerlestraat and you’ll hit the Concertgebouw, a stunning, neo-Renaissance style concert hall with exceptional acoustics. Even if you don’t come here for a concert, it’s well worth taking a guided tour (Mon & Fri at 5 pm, Wed at 1.30 pm, Sun at 12.30 pm).

Just behind Concertgebouw is Café Welling, a popular watering hole where you’re likely to rub shoulders with musicians and arty types.

A block west from the back of the Concertgebouw, ZuiderMRKT takes place on Saturdays only, with stalls selling homemade bread, organic vegetables, locally-made sausages, cheeses, and more. Get there early, since it winds down by 5 pm.

Further south from Concertgebouw, De Knijp is a French bistro popular with concert-goers.

Right across the street, Renzo’s is a popular Italian deli; get pasta to go, or grab one of the few tables.

Just down the street from Renzo’s, L’Entrecote et Les Dames is excellent French fine dining; reserve ahead.

Further south, La Falote specializes in inexpensive home-style Dutch dishes.

Head west along Willemsparkweg to reach Cornelis Schuytstraat, a popular shopping street lined with designer shops, including Amsterdam’s own Nikkie.

Next door to Nikkie is locally-designed footwear by Manwood.

Further down the street is VLVT, stylish womenswear by local designers such as Anna + Nina.

Nearby is Ennu, with men’s and women’s threads by the likes of If Six Was Nine.

Also along Cornelia Schuytstraat is Buise selling upscale women’s wear by Black Coral, Isabel Morant, and more.

On a quiet side street closer to the hotel, & Klevering Zuid is a good place to pick up hip, locally-designed homeware as gifts.

Just across the street from the hotel is a branch of the ubiquitous Bagels & Beans, a reliable spot for good coffee and filled bagels.

Detour through Vondelpark for coffee and cake at ‘t Blauwe Theehuis, a 1930’s Modernist café.
All Amsterdam Hotel Reviews
Amsterdam Noord
- Crane Hotel Faralda
- Sir Adam Hotel
Southern Canal Ring
- American Hotel Amsterdam
- Banks Mansion
- Hotel Seven One Seven
- Mokum Suites
- Seven Bridges Hotel
- Waldorf Astoria
De Pijp
- Hotel Okura Amsterdam
- Sir Albert
East Amsterdam
- Breitner House
- InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam
- Lloyd Hotel
- Zoku Amsterdam
Jordaan
- AMS Suites (Temporarily Closed)
- Morgan & Mees
- Mr. Jordaan
Medieval Center & Red Light District
- art’otel Amsterdam
- Eric Vökel Boutique Apartments – Amsterdam Suites
- De L’Europe Amsterdam
- Hotel Estheréa
- Hotel TwentySeven
- Hotel V Nesplein
- INK Hotel Amsterdam – MGallery
- Kimpton De Witt Amsterdam
- Luxury Suites Amsterdam
- Misc Eatdrinksleep
- NH Collection Amsterdam Doelen
- NH Collection Amsterdam Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky
- Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam
- W Amsterdam
Vondelpark & Museum Quarter Hotels
- The College Hotel
- Hotel De Hallen
- Hotel JL No76
- Pillows Luxury Boutique Hotel Anna Van Den Vondel Amsterdam
- Hotel The Neighbour’s Magnolia
Western Canal Ring Hotels
Read More
- Best Hotels in Amsterdam
- Best Family Hotels in Amsterdam
- Best Boutique Hotels in Amsterdam
- Best Budget Hotels in Amsterdam
- Best Airport Hotels in Amsterdam
- Where to Stay in Amsterdam
- Amsterdam Hotel Map
- Best Time to Visit Amsterdam
- Best Amsterdam Tours & Things to Do
- Best Restaurants in Amsterdam
- Best Amsterdam Bars, Breweries, & Tasting Rooms
- Best Amsterdam Shops & Markets
- Amsterdam with Kids
- Complete Amsterdam Travel Guide
Get All New Content
• My Travel Newsletter