Hotel Pulitzer

Hotel Pulitzer

Hotel front and canalboat The Tourist
Location within Amsterdam
General information
Location Amsterdam, Netherlands
Coordinates 52°22′3″N 4°53′40″E / 52.36750°N 4.89444°E / 52.36750; 4.89444
Opening June 1, 1970
Design and construction
Developer Howard Johnson's

Hotel Pulitzer is a five star luxury hotel in Amsterdam, located on the Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht. The hotel consists of 25 historic canal houses from the 17th and 18th century,[1] merged into one and opened as a hotel in 1970 after several canal houses were bought by Howard Johnson's.

History

In 1614, the commissioners began the new fortification with the allocation of plots in the area situated between the Keizersgracht and the Prinsengracht and Reestraat.[2] A number of canal houses in this area was built by the Technical Union. The garden houses on the Prinsengracht and empty warehouses were used as storage facilities for the Technical Union.

In 1970, buildings were bought by hotel company Howard Johnson's, including nine buildings on the Prinsengracht (numbers 315-331), the pavilion of the Saxen Pennsylvania House and the two houses on the Keizersgracht with 176 rooms. The kitchen and restaurant are in the three houses on the Reestraat. On June 1, 1970, the Howard Johnson Hotel officially opened. After several years the hotel was named after Herbert Pulitzer, the then owner of the hotel and the grandson of Joseph Pulitzer.

By the end of 1975, the Pulitzer Hotel had expanded with two buildings, adding twenty new rooms and apartments.[3] Six years later, a building at Reestraat was added and later extended back later with eight buildings on the Keizersgracht. In the mid 1990s, Herbert Pulitzer sold the hotel to the Italian hotel chain CIGA.[2] By the end of 1996 CIGA was acquired by ITT Sheraton with the CIGA hotels forming the majority of Sheraton's exclusive tier, eventually renamed The Luxury Collection. In 1997 Sheraton sold a 75 percent to Hospitality Europe Holding BV, a company specializing in the operation of international hotels in Europe. The Hotel Pulitzer was managed until 2015 by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.

Between 1998 and 2000 there was a complete renovation of the hotel and today it consists of 25 buildings with 230 rooms.[2][4]

Facilities

Hotel room

The Hotel Pulitzer has 230 rooms with contemporary furnishings and the bathrooms have heated marble floors.[5] All of the rooms are non-smoking, in compliance with legal obligations in Amsterdam. The hotel has nine conference rooms for exclusive meetings, seminars and special events, and the salons and reception facilities can accommodate up to 500 people.[5] One of the rooms named "Saxenburgzaal" is decorated in elegant baroque furnishings, whilst the "Tuinzaal", decorated in the Art Nouveau style, overlooks the enclosed hotel gardens.[5] The hotel regularly hosts wedding receptions in these rooms.[6] The Pulitzers Gym has the latest state-of-the-art fitness equipment, including a rowing machine, treadmill, home trainer, cross trainer, weights and training mats.[6]

The Pulitzer Restaurant

The main restaurant in the hotel is the Pulitzer Restaurant, Cafe and Bar, located in Keizersgracht 238,[5] a grill restaurant serving meat and fresh fish which over the years has had some notable chefs such as Stephen Langlois. The private dining room, De Apotheek, used to be an old pharmacy and retains these authentic characteristics.[6] The Pulitzers Bar has three rooms, each with a different ambiance and theme, including the "Blue Bar" and the "Red Room" which overlooks the Keizersgracht.[5] The hotel has its own canal boat, moored on the river front outside the hotel. Named The Tourist the boat, a sleek saloon cruiser, was built in Muiden in 1909. It can be hired for €280 per hour (as of 2010) for a 75-minute cruise around the city.[7] The hotel also has an art gallery, located in the Afternoon Tea gardens.[1] It hosts a range of art throughout the year, mainly contemporary art from local artists.[6] Fransastic has the exclusive right to organize the exhibitions in Hotel Pulitzer. The exhibitions are organized in four periods based on seasonality and admission is free for hotel guests.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 McDonald, George (2007). Frommer's Amsterdam. Frommer's. p. 86. ISBN 0-470-06860-4.
  2. 1 2 3 "The History of Hotel Pulitzer, Amsterdam". Pulitzer Amsterdam. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
  3. ↑ Saturday Review, Volume 2 (1975), p.55
  4. ↑ "Hotel Pulitzer". Lonely Planet. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Hotel Pulitzer". Pulitzer Amsterdam. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Hotel Pulitzer". Luxury Hotels. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
  7. ↑ "Canal Cruises in a time capsule with our hotel boat". Pulitzer Amsterdam. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Services". Pulitzer Amsterdam. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
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