Amsterdam
Netherlands


The Experience

The Dylan is Amsterdam's answer to New York's Mercer or Miami's Delano; lanky international couples sporting designer sunglasses would never stay anywhere else. Formerly Blake's, the hotel received new management and a stylish makeover in 2005. The designers lightened up the loftlike modern spaces with a white and champagne palette, but otherwise this renovated 17th-century landmark remains the same, from the lacquered reception room filled with scented candles, to the Anoushka Hempel–designed rooms.

The Rooms

The Dylan offers six distinct theme rooms to choose from: Klasbols, Loft Room, Kimono, La Carmona, Manhattan and Garden Room. In general they range from minimalist spaces with solid colors and clean lines (Kimono, Loft Room) to colorful colonials with exotic silk striped fabrics and four-poster beds (Klasbols, La Carmona). The bathrooms are just as stylish as the rest of the hotel, but they can sometimes cause confusion: Feng shui apparently dictates that mirrors be in odd places.

The Service

The most consistent complaint at the Dylan, typical of trendy boutique hotels, is that the service is not up to snuff. The rule of thumb seems to be: the more attractive the staff, the slower the response time. That said, the concierges here are about as hip as it gets, so they know all the latest hot spots, and they're refreshingly friendly and unpretentious.

The Highlights

Some regulars miss former chef Schilo van Coevorden, but newcomer Dennis Kuipers, who trained under Michelin-star chef Edwin Kats at the Amstel hotel, has been doing an admirable job with his French- and North African–inspired dishes. (Standouts include a five-spice roast Anjou pigeon.) And, as befits a hip hotel during the summer, the courtyard tables are the place to see and be seen.

-- Gisella Williams

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