| Amsterdam Hilton Hotel | |
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| Location in Amsterdam | |
| Location | Apollolaan 138, Apollobuurt, Oud-Zuid district, Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Coordinates | |
| Opening date | 1962 |
| Management | Hilton Hotels |
| Rooms | 271 |
The Amsterdam Hilton Hotel is a five star hotel in Apollobuurt, Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. It is located at Apollolaan 138 along the Noorder Amstelkanaal, a canal connected to the Amstel river. The hotel opened officially in 1962 and is a branch of the Hilton Hotels chain.[1] It is famous for John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Bed-In" for peace which was staged in 1969 to protest the Vietnam War and other conflict.
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The Amsterdam Hilton is located at Apollolaan 138 in the Oud-Zuid district of Amsterdam. It is located near Vondelpark, the Concert Hall and Amsterdam's prestigious Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum. Closer attractions include Christie's auction house and the elegant shops of Cornelis Schuytstraat which is a 5 minute walk from the hotel.[1] To the rear, the hotel terraces, and a marina overlooks the Amstel Canal.[1] The hotel lies approximately 15 minutes by road from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.
The Hilton Hotel was established in 1958 and was designed by the architect Hugh Aart Maaskant.[1] The hotel is built in a V-shape,[1] to emphasize the two major urban axes that intersect the Apollolaan and Minerva Avenue. The hotel opened officially on May 9, 1962 and is the first hotel in the Netherlands from an international hotel chain. Between 1996 and 1998, the hotel was completely renovated, which won it an international hotel prize. The lobby was designed by the American architect Peter Ellis of the Bureau SOM (Skidmore, Owings & Merrill). Ellis has also designed the building next to the Hilton Hotel, now in use by estate agent DTZ. Roberto Payer is the current director of the hotel.
A number of notable deaths have occurred in the hotel area, such as the murder of the drug lord Klaas Bruinsma in 1991, in the Breitnerstraat, next to the hotel. In 2001 rock star and artist Herman Brood committed suicide by jumping off the roof of the hotel at the age of 54.[2] Extensively covered by the national media in the Netherlands, Brood's casket was driven from the Hilton hotel to Paradiso, Amsterdam, and the streets were lined with thousands of spectators.[3]
Knowing their March 20, 1969 marriage in Gibraltar would be a major press event, John and Yoko decided to use the publicity to promote world peace. They spent their honeymoon in the presidential suite (Room #902) at the hotel in a "Bed-In" for a week between March 25 and 31 1969,[4] inviting the world's press into their hotel room every day between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Amsterdam art dealer Nico Koster was invited by Lennon himself for a solo shoot. Koster unearthed the lost negatives of these historic pictures in March 2009. The couple were sitting in bed in Room 702 of the hotel in Lennon's words "like Angels", discussing peace with signs over their bed reading "Hair Peace" and "Bed Peace". After seven days, they flew to Vienna, Austria, where they held a Bagism press conference.The hotel and event is mentioned in the song The Ballad of John and Yoko where he mentions Amsterdam Hilton by name and uses the following words: "…the news people said: Hey, what you doin' in bed? I said: We're only tryin' to get us some peace!".[5]
The Amsterdam Hilton contains 271 rooms all of which are air-conditioned. The interior of the newly refurbished rooms is designed by Nobilis Paris. The hotels facilities include a hairdresser, a bar area and several terraces. The Hotel is noted for its high-scale parties. The Amsterdam Hilton is completely non-smoking, complying with legislation in the area. The rooms are divided between standard Dutch-style suites and the deluxe and executive rooms.[6] Notable suites include the John and Yoko suite, the King Hilton Junior suite, the King Neptune suite, the Presidential suite, the Queen Hilton Junior suite, the twin Hilton Junior suite, and the Royal suite.[6] The John and Yoko suite is a luxury 50m²/538sq.ft suite with a king-sized bed with Egyptian linen, and is decorated with memorabilia related to the couple.[6]
The deluxe rooms are typically 25m²/269sq.ft rooms with large, opening windows and views either overlooking the city or the canal.[6] The executive rooms are the same size. Notable rooms include the King Executive Plus Room, the King Hilton Deluxe Plus, The King Hilton Executive Room, the Queen Hilton Deluxe Room, the Queen Hilton Executive Room, and the Twin Hilton Deluxe Plus, Deluxe and Executive rooms.[6]
The hotel has a manned business center and 21 meeting rooms with modern equipment. The garden of the hotel overlooks the riverside. The hotel has a number of notable restaurants such as Roberto's Restaurant, which caters in Italian cuisine, and the Half Moon Lounge, designed by Ralph Lauren,[7] overlooking the marina, which serves exquisite cocktails.[6] The Italian restaurant has won awards and is considered one of the finest in the Netherlands, according to gourmet critics. The Issimo café serves espressos or panini's at the Hilton Amsterdam hotel and offers a takeaway menu and gourmet gifts for sale. The hotel also offers a bicycle service.