The Fashion Editors Guide to Amsterdam

October 27, 2015

My idle day dreams couldn’t have prepared me for the exhilaration found amongst the individuals encountered on my travels to Amsterdam. To believe in ones idea and make the vision come to life, was the reality on a large scale. In a temporary detour to normal life in California, I took the seas as I’d envision Hemingway would, in search of adventure. What I found, was inspiration within artist, designers, hotel staff, pr and visionaries of Amsterdam. Thank you for having me W Hotels.

The arrival in chilly winter fashion to drizzling Amsterdam, for the Grand Opening Remixxx experience, followed up by warmest of welcome by W Hotel staff.

The W hotels greeted us with a lovely latte as we went over the week’s schedule. Then, off to tour the property. It was unlike any other hotel experience, beginning with the hotel check-in lobby on the 6th floor overlooking the stunning gothic buildings of Amsterdam. The entire hotel encompasses two buildings, both entirely different in style aesthetic. One building being modern and an old home to telecommunications for all Amsterdam. Subtle hints of telecom theme sprinkled about the art deco styled modern rooms to keep the buildings old charm alive.

The rooms showers resemble the foggy Dutch phone booths Amsterdam once had around the city. Apparently, the winters were so cold that people could write notes on the glass in the steamy phone booths that W added that effect on the showers.

The other building across the street embraced a more Victorian feel, was once a very lavish bank where only the most exclusive VIP clients were able to bank. Now, home to the beautiful, popular restaurant the Duchess. Early 2016, the X bank retail space will be open for guests to shop local artist and designers along with the début of new hotel’s spa in the vault of the bank building.

In true W Hotel fashion, our hotel insider arranged an International Press Tour of local artist, beauty brands, shops, and designers revolutionizing the industry not only in Holland but on the world stage.

Things you need to do in Amsterdam

Canal Tours– A lovely way to see the magical city of Amsterdam. While the weather was cold outside, for us, they served hot tea and cookies in a warm cozy boat. The boat was over 100 years old and you just really felt the vibe of the old city.

Mattijs Van Bergen– Known for dressing the Queen of Holland, Mattijs Van Bergen took the honor of designing the looks for the W Hotels staff. Mattijs was kind enough to dress me for the Grand opening of the W Hotels.

Denim City– If you ever wanted to learn about denim, this is your place. Denim city not only makes denim for international brands, it’s a place where designer’s can go to learn fundamentals on how to make denim from start to finish.

Marie Stella-Maris- A holland beauty and bottled water brand, contributes a fixed amount of all purchases towards their foundation. The foundation works on creating clean drinking water for 3rd world countries. The aroma in the store was so clean and minimalist decor was very pleasant. Downstairs they also serve coffee.

Food places in Amsterdam

-Guts and Glory– They will feature meat for the month and all the meals are based off that. It’s a really neat place. You choose a how many courses you want and the dishes start flowing!

-The Dutchess- This restaurant is in the bank side of the W Hotel.One of the best restaurants in all of Amsterdam, the setting is beautiful Victorian decor. Something out of Great Gatsby. If you can get a table, everything is amazing on the menu. The Volcano desert is unreal.

-Mr. Porter-Perched at the top of the W hotel, Mr.Porter has the most unreal views as you people watch eating the most delicious meal. The lobster is a must for dinner! Also, really great for breakfast!

-Cotton Cake– This is a boutique with a restaurant inside. The girls make beautiful organic gluten-free meals in an amazing minimalist setting.

-Bakers & Roasters– I tried pretty much everything off this menu paired with a Latte. The banana nut bread french toast, the COCONUT & CHIA BIRCHER MUESLI, VEGE BREKKIE were amazing! All the meals are pretty good size portions. Paola and I just like to try everything when we go out to eat.