Hotel Estherea

Bought by Maria Flieger-Gruyters after the Second World War, when the guest house she managed for its absent owner passed into her hands, Hotel Estherea grew room by room as she acquired the buildings next door. What began as a twelve-room guest house on the Singel now spans ninety-one rooms and two suites across a row of 17th-century canal houses, listed on UNESCO's World Heritage register. Maria's granddaughter Esther now runs the hotel with the same staff-led attention that has defined it for more than 80 years. Rooms vary in size and outlook, a consequence of the old building's layout: Classic rooms start at 13 m², Luxury rooms at 20 m², and the two suites run to 30 m² and 55 m². No two rooms are decorated alike. Some Luxury rooms carry views over the Spuistraat or an inner courtyard; Canal rooms look directly onto the water. The van Oranje suite, at 55 m², is fitted with mahogany, orange fabrics and a Villari chandelier. Maria's Bar, named for the founder, serves guests around the clock, with cocktails poured from 5pm. There is a small gym, a library stocked with books and newspapers, and underground parking nearby on Spuistraat. Dam Square is a short walk away. It remains, eight decades on, a family business.