The College Hotel Amsterdam, Autograph Collection

"The College Hotel is a grandiose Dutch Neo-Renaissance building with soaring arches and ceilings, a sunny courtyard filled with olive trees, and dramatic modern interiors in rich velvet, crystal chandeliers, and dark woods. Amsterdam ’s beautiful and artsy flock to its trendy bar, a warmly lit affair with open fireplaces and overstuffed sofas, and its modern Dutch restaurant is one of the coolest in the city. Surely, this must be one of the Dutch capital’s most expensive hotels, reserved only for the rich and famous, right? Wrong. Housed in a 19th-century school, The College Hotel employs and trains students in the luxury hospitality industry, which means that its rates are surprisingly affordable for a hotel of its caliber. The young staff are all friendly and helpful, although service is not always as smooth as it might be at a place with a more experienced team. But that’s a small price to pay for a stay this cool and ideally located, just down the street from the Museumplein in the fashionable Zuid neighborhood."