by Santorini Dave • Updated: December 3, 2018
Morgan & Mees – Intimate boutique hotel on the edge of the Jordaan district.
A former 19th century girls’ orphanage, Morgan & Mees is a boutique hotel that tells the story of a chance encounter between a local (Mees) and an international traveler (Morgan). There’s an emphasis on creature comforts in the nine individually-decorated rooms; all come with Coco-Mat mattresses, large TVs, air-conditioning, rain showers, and local Marie Stella Maris toiletries. Some are split-level and have beamed ceilings, but all share a neutral color palette of creams and browns with herringbone wooden floors. There’s a hip restaurant and bar in place of a reception area serving international classics and original cocktails, and the hotel makes an excellent base for exploring the city while remaining just outside the touristy areas.
Morgan & Mees – Location
- Address: Tweede Hugo de Grootstraat 2-6, 1052 LC Amsterdam.
- Nearest Tram: Bloemgracht.
- Area: The western edge of the buzzy Jordaan district, near the Singelgracht canal. Tranquil and relatively untouristed part of town, yet easy access to Amsterdam’s main attractions. Anne Frank House is an 11-minute walk away, as is the historic canal ring, and the Nine Streets shopping neighborhood; it’s an even shorter walk to Jordaan’s offbeat cafes, bars, galleries, and shops. An 8-minute tram ride south take you to busy Leidseplein, surrounded by restaurants, theater, and bars, from which it’s a 10-minute walk to the city’s top art museums. A shorter tram ride east brings you to Dam Square and the Royal Palace in the Medieval Centre.
- How to Get There: Take the train from Schiphol Airport to Centraal Station, then tram #13 to the Marnixstraat stop, and walk for 5 minutes.
- Handy to: Jordaan district, Anne Frank House, historic canal ring.
Morgan & Mees – The Basics
- Ages: Guests tend to be couples on a romantic getaway, or travelers on a city break.
- Private Pools/Jacuzzis: No private pools/jacuzzis.
- Laundry: In-room laundry service.
- When to Book: Reserve 3 or 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: 020-233-4930
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://morganandmees.com/
Morgan & Mees – Amenities
- Pool: No pool.
- Spa: No spa.
- Fitness Center: No fitness center.
- For Disabled Guests: Not suitable for disabled guests due to steep stair access.
- For Families: No family-friendly amenities.
Morgan & Mees – Food and Drink
- Restaurant: The hip onsite restaurant serves chunky sandwiches and homemade burgers at lunchtime, and crowd-pleasers such as grilled plaice, roasted organic chicken, steak frites, and salmon sashimi in the evening. • $$-$$$.
- Lounge/Bar: The bar attached to the restaurant is popular with locals and guests alike, and serves wine by the glass, along with a good mix of classic and original cocktails such as The Make Up For a Break-up. Open until midnight.
- Breakfast: Not complimentary. A la carte dishes such as buttermilk pancakes, full English breakfast, and eggs Benedict cost €7.50-12.
- Room Service: No room service.
Morgan & Mees – Rooms
- Room Types: Standard • Deluxe • Suite
- Smoking Rooms: Morgan & Mees is 100% smoke-free.
- Best Room: The suites come with a king-sized Coco-Mat mattress, a free-standing tub in the bedroom, and rain shower in the monochromatic tiled bathroom.
- Family Rooms: No family rooms.
Morgan & Mees – Local Transport
- Walking: Easy walking distance to hip district of Jordaan, Anne Frank House, and the historic canal ring. Restaurants, bars, and shops a short walk away.
- Tram: Nearby trams run north to Westerpark, the green space with breweries, clubs, and cafes; south towards the Museum Quarter; and east to Centraal Station via the Medieval Centre.
- 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.
Morgan & Mees – What’s Nearby?
Recommended Nearby Tours
- Bike City – Bicycle rentals for self-guided tours of Jordaan and beyond. Start location: 7-minute walk.
- Those Dam Boat Guys – Entertaining, small boat canal cruises involving wisecracking guides and craft beer. Depart near the Amsterdam Cheese Museum. Start location: 10-minute walk.
- Amsterdam Food Tours – Entertaining 4-hour walking tours of Jordaan that depart from near the Anne Frank House, and involve sampling 14 Dutch specialties such as herring, apple tart, and jenever. Start location: 11-minute walk.
- Amsterdam in WWII Walking Tours – 3-hour walking tours with a historian guide, mostly in Jordaan. Available on request only; 4-person minimum. Start location: 12-minute walk.
- Rederij de Jordaan – Private, intimate canal cruises for up to 12 people in a historic saloon boat departing from near Café Van Puffelen. Start location: 14-minute walk.
Best Nearby Restaurants
- Robin Food Kollektief – Self-proclaimed ‘guerrilla kitchen’ serves 3-course vegetarian dinners (Monday to Thursday only). Some raw, some organic. 2-minute walk.
- Mitsos Greek Traiterie – Homemade Cretan and Greek dishes, friendly-family service. 2-minute walk.
- Razmataz – Great coffee, imaginative sandwiches at lunchtime, and splurge-worthy multi-course Italian menus by night. 2-minute walk.
- Moeders – Hearty Dutch belly-fillers, from stewed beef with red cabbage to proper stamppot (potatoes mashed with vegetables). 5-minute walk.
- Japanese Pancake World – Thimble-sized Japanese spot where you choose what goes on the iron grill before eating the okonomiyaki pancake. 9-minute walk.
- La Perla Pizzeria – Thin-crust pizza wood-fired in a traditional stone oven. Bring your family or bring a date. Bookings recommended. 9-minute walk.
- D&A Hummus Bistro – Compact Lebanese place renowned for its hummus dishes, though its lamb kebabs and spiced cod also shine. 11-minute walk.
Best Nearby Bars and Breweries
- Café Soundgarden – Edgy dive bar, with music from Black Sabbath and the Ramones, occasional live bands and DJs, and 1980’s pinball machines. 3-minute walk.
- Café Struik – Hip urban café-bar with a rotating exhibition of street art, DJs playing funk, jazz and hip-hop, decent range of beers and wines, and pop-up dining events. 6-minute walk.
- ‘t Smalle – 18th century jenever distillery turned beautiful brown café, with porcelain beer pumps and appealing riverside terrace. 10-minute walk.
- De Twee Zwaantjes – The Two Swans gets particularly lively on weekend nights with karaoke sessions. 10-minute walk.
- Café Saarein – Atmospheric, formerly feminist meeting place turned welcoming LGBT bar. 11-minute walk.
- Maloe Melo – Serious little live music venue, with anything from Texas blues to punk. 12-minute walk.
Nearby Shopping and Cool Shops
- Urban Cacao – Jordaan branch of shop that sells handmade chocolate bars, truffles, macaroons, and more. 6-minute walk.
- Universe on a T-shirt – Cute little store with original t-shirt and sweatshirt designs. 8-minute walk.
- Rebel Wines – Biodynamic, organic, and other specialty wines, mostly from Europe, but a few global ones also. Plenty of local craft beers too. 9-minute walk.
- Rock Archive – Limited edition prints of icons such as Leonard Cohen, Bjork, and Robert Plant. 10-minute walk.
- Chocolatl – Specialty chocolate sourced from around the world, served in bar, bonbon, and drinking chocolate form. 11-minute walk.
- Cats & Things – All manner of cat-themed gifts imaginable. 11-minute walk.
- A Space Oddity – Comics, action figures, memorabilia, and more. Particularly good for Stanley Kubrick, Star Wars, and DC Comics fans. 11-minute walk.
- Arnold Cornelis – Come to this legendary deli for cheesecake, filled pastries, and chocolate-filled cookies. 12-minute walk.
Morgan & Mees – The Hotel
Entrance hall, decor courtesy of local interior designer Marius Haverkamp.
The buzzy bar, open until late, serves imaginative signature cocktails and wines by the glass to guests and Amsterdammers alike.
Hip onsite restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and specializes in global crowd-pleasers, from homemade burgers to sashimi.
The split-level Standards are the smaller of the rooms, with a comfortable sitting area, and steep stairs leading up to the bedroom.
The Standard bedroom area. Limited street views.
The split-level Deluxe rooms have larger seating areas.
Deluxe room loft bedroom with unexciting street views.
Some of the suites come with a free-standing tub in the bedroom.
The most atmospheric suites are in the loft, with heavy wooden beams.
In the suites you can expect a spacious seating area, complete with contemporary art, and fresh flowers.
A short walk west towards the Hugo de Grootplein tram stop, Mitsos is a low-key neighborhood trattoria serving consistently good Greek classics.
A little further along, Razmataz is excellent any time of day – for coffee, imaginative sandwiches for lunch, and multi-course Italian dinners (evening reservations recommended).
Around the corner, the Robin Food Kollektief is popular with local office workers for its frequently changing vegetarian multi-course dinners (Monday to Thursday only).
If you cross the Singelgracht canal east of the hotel, and then follow Marnixstraat south, along the slowly gentrifying western edge of the Jordaan district, you hit Café Soundgarden, a grungy dive bar with a canal-side terrace and occasional live bands.
Nearby, also facing the canal, is Moeders, a longstanding local favorite for hearty Dutch classics.
A block east along the busy main Rozengracht street, Urban Cacao is the Jordaan branch of the local handmade chocolate chain.
Just up the street, Café Struik gets lively in the evenings with regular DJ events, and an extensive beer selection.
If you follow Rozengracht all the way to the Prinsengracht canal, the Anne Frank House is just a block away on the opposite side.
Just south of the bridge across the Prinsengracht canal is the memorabilia store, A Space Oddity; don’t miss it if you’re a Stanley Kubrick, Star Wars, or DC Comics fan.
Nearby is one of Jordaan’s many independent gift stores – Universe on a T-Shirt – where you get to choose the design.
View of the Prinsengracht canal and the Tulip Museum. If you’re not in Amsterdam during tulip season, it’s well worth visiting the museum to understand the country’s centuries-old obsession with the flower.
Next to the Tulip Museum, if you want to experience a very local Dutch pub, try De Twee Zwaantjes, particularly on weekday evenings.
On the edge of the narrow Egelantiersgracht canal, Rock Archive is the place to shop for limited edition prints of David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, and other music icons.
Just across the canal, ‘t Smalle is one of the most atmospheric bars in the city for trying the local jenever spirit. Great little outdoor terrace too.
A block west, the narrow street is lined with a number of good eateries with an ethnic bent; Japanese Pancake World is a cook-it-yourself okonomiyaki pancake joint.
Look for your organic, bio-dynamic, and other specialty wines at Rebel Wines, just around the corner.
A block away, along Tuinstraat, is La Perla, considered one of Amsterdam’s best pizzerias, with thin-crust pizzas fired in a traditional wood-burning oven. It’s super-popular, so book ahead.
Another great local dining option is D&A Hummus, a short walk north along the main Westerstraat.
South of Rozengracht, narrow Hazenstraat leads towards Elandsgracht, the leafy main street that cuts southern Jordaan in half. Hazenstraat is dotted with independent boutiques such as Cats & Things, with all sorts of feline-themed gifts.
Next door is Chocolatl, with specialty chocolates from around the world.
Opposite is Café Saarein, the popular LGBT bar that gets busy in the evenings.
A block west, facing the Lijnbaansgracht canal is Maloe Melo, a legendary local blues bar with occasional performances by punk bands.
Where Hazenstraat meets Elandsgracht, you can shop for divine cheesecake, filled pastries, and more at Arnold Cornelis, a deli that’s been a local institution for decades.