Amsterdam Gem and Dining Haven: Hotel Okura
March 4, 2026
Usually Japanese five star hotels have something to teach the world about hospitality. Impeccable staffs. Modern design. Fine dining. The Okura has it all…almost. So close.
We were assigned room 2009, a junior suite (with an emphasis on junior). The room includes a beautiful canal view over the city, a closet that is slightly too small with too few hangers and that insists on closing itself, an HVAC system with a mind of its own, and a rectangular design familiar to hamsters everywhere. But the bathroom is nice. The shower is glass excellence. The toilet is properly complicated with its own remote control. The TV remains off. And the bed is comfortable.
When the couch and the bed are separated by a desk, you may apparently declare yourself a suite.
There was a personalized note.
The bathroom is very well appointed but architecturally stuck in hyatt mode. That beige is so HOA.
But the shower? Yes please.
Our check in was facilitated by a young woman who was in over her head. Could we arrange a boat ride? The public internet says no when she clicks a website or two. But then the concierge gets word of it and a private boat does indeed appear. Training training. I wonder if we might have scored an upgrade had someone else checked us in.
We stashed our stuff in the too small closet, phoning down for some hangers.
First some oysters. Our experience at Serre was marred by one loud talking Flemish businessman on his phone—the only other table in the restaurant. The staff, being utterly powerless to intervene, helped us switch tables. Why were we the ones to switch? Management would probably know, but there wasn’t any.
At 7pm we met our captain in the lobby for a boat ride just after dark. Absolutely excellent. We had champagne. We saw Amsterdam in a new light. The Okura has its own docking.
On birthday morning, Romey put cards everywhere. One or two showed up only the next day! So sweet. Like a banana.
The excellent hosts at breakfast knew all about our birthday too. In fact, the breakfast staff (even the flummoxed one who we lied to on the last day) were all very good. We were greeted by name each morning. There was a cake (this became a theme of the trip with four cakes all told).
Then it was off with Noelie and Lisa for a walk through town. Followed by the BIG SURPRISE which somehow Noelie and I kept secret for several months (a new record for us)…Florence and the Machine at the Ziggo.
The show was excellent and was our real reason for being in Amsterdam.
Sadly on birthday night, after our delayed return from the Ziggo, we were turned away on 23 WELL BEFORE CLOSING by a persnickety French guy. We did not like this one bit. It was all papered over later by Markus Vennemann who got to the bottom of it all over email. But really. Do better Okura.
We went to a dive bar instead and had a great time teaching the young bartender how to make a Toronto and a General’s Orders (after we sent him to the back to dig out the Fernet). Much fun was had.
All in all, 23 was great. Paul remembered Noelie from 9 years earlier. And our server Jean-Paul who greeted Romey and me on the first evening before the boat ride was just outstanding.
We even had a reunion.
It was downstairs after several martinis to Yamazato—the Japanese restaurant still in very high regard (and one of Florence’s favorites from years gone by. We had so much fun that the wait staff was not quite sure what to do with us.
The next morning came quite early, this day slated for a visit to the Rijkmuseum (somehow we need to remember not to go here) and the excellent modern art at the Moca. (We were too late to pull the trigger for Van Gogh, but we will be back and it will still be there.)
Breakfast was once again delightful. But by far the most fun part of the day before dinner was removing the TikTok girls from posing on the window ledge bench. So much fun. “Zero friends, zero likes?! What the hell??”
A second highlight of the trip and one of the best meals of a lifetime happened next. The chef’s table at Ciel Bleu is an experience not to miss. Chef Arjan Speelman is a super genius. He is also a genuinely nice person.
A planned visit to Door 74 was postponed due to utter bliss.
The next day we drove to Lichtervelde with Madou at the wheel, refamiliarizing ourselves with the bleating of sheep.
All told the Okura was a very good base of operations for our Amsterdam birthday leg. We would issue five showerheads, but it’s almost closing time. So four stars and some training improvement requested by management. Is there management? We may return.
Ciel Bleu is Exceptional
March 3, 2026
(cross-posted on apothecaryshed)
Executive Chef Arjan Speelman at Ciel Bleu is a great guy. Not only is he running one of the best of 417 two star restaurants (in 26 countries), but his kitchen exhibits a relaxed intensity that only comes from years of practice and absolute top notch management skille. The restaurant is a machine. Not the kind of machine that grinds you up…the kind that nurtures you and teaches you and sets you up to make something out there like it. You can feel this when you are present. And, damn can you taste it.
Mastery of the highest order. Watch out waterside, here they come.
Anyway, we were just damn lucky enough to have my 60th birthday dinner of note with Chef Speelman. Not in the gorgeous dining room, but in the kitchen itself at the chef’s table. And not just drive by chef, but engaged and fun chef who plays along, talks to us about things, and even allows us to interject some Florence and the Machine into the soundtrack. An experience of a lifetime to be sure.
Every minute was a delight. Every bite was worth talking about. Even the butter was better. The people creating this experience were so genuine and so psyched that we were having so much fun.
Thank you chef.
Madou is hitting on my wife. He’s single you know.
The chef’s table is IN the kitchen at the cold station side.
Presentation in a tuna bone.
A wall of stars. We think three is in order.
Did someone forget to serve Madou his wine?
Butter delivery by our German hostess. This young woman was outstanding in all respects. Her repartee was unmatched and hilarious.
The uni mouse is exquisite. For a long time this was best in our book.
Red mullet with skin so delicious
OMG pidgeon has no picture but so amazing.
Roe buck.
Pre dessert
Cocoa nut husk delivery with dry ice. This was as delicious as it was ridiculous.
Sadly the women had to retreat, but we finished up without them.
Once again, thank you chef.
Hey wait, who is that??!
A fitting birthday celebration.
Receding Tide or Rising Expectations? College Hotel (Amsterdam) Ages
October 29, 2013
Maybe we here at NPS are getting even more spoiled? Or maybe hotel standards are rising? Probably both. Whatever it is, the College Hotel seems to be fraying around the edges.
What used to be a quirky and particularly stupid internet solution involving a password for each device (I have 4) and no tracking of MAC addresses is no longer tenable. Even with a monolithic wifi router for “VIP’s,” the throughput today is so bad that OOKLAs speedtest takes several minutes to load. Need to get some high-throughput work done? Better find better net elsewhere (like, say, the RSA Europe Conference). The net and its denizens have changed in the last few years, and the creaky unreliable net available here at College Hotel is no longer going to work.
When I went to see whether there was a better solution this morning, I was informed that the VIP net has a different ISP. I am pretty sure they mean different wireless router (same ISP). No dice. Need proof?
Speed test from the College Hotel (woe is us)
The bar program has also receded drastically since the days of Luke Gertsen who sadly has left rainy Amsterdam for Curacoa where he is, fittingly enough, running his own bar. You may recall that Luke and his understudy Mads Voorheove went so far as to procure a bottle of Amer Picon from France last time NPS was here just to try a real Liberal. That bottle has long since disappeared as has most of the mixology clue.
Case in point. As cocktail fanatics, we wanted a pre-dinner cocktail but the default list was pretty dull (no serious house concoctions anymore). I asked for a Liberal, wrote down explicit instructions, asked for them not to try to make one without the proper ingredients, talked about whether there was Amer Picon still in the house. Eventually they brought me something which they claimed was a Liberal. I even tweeted its picture. It was not.
Betrayed by a bartender. After dinner I went to show the bartender (who shall remain nameless) how to do it right and he revealed his trickery. I think that sucks. I would rather not be misled. And I sure as hell don’t want to pay to be misled. So as a reward I taught him to make a Nevada. At least there’s that. Grumble.
So how about the rooms? I am in 101 this time which is very similar in flavor to 109 but with a better bathroom.
One way 101.
Other way 101.
The problems with this room are all small but niggling. Like, no outlets by the desk. Incomprehensible room light switches that do random things. No tissues in the bathroom. No music playback device. But the real kicker is bad net (as discussed above). These are all things that upscale hotels (like say, the Kimptons) are doing well. Time for Europe to catch up.
The shower is really nice though. A serious drencher.
Shower pod and toilet pod?!
There was a welcome note from the manager Bobbby and some candies when I arrived. That is a very nice thing for Europe and very rare indeed.
While we’re on the very good aspects of the College Hotel, we need to give some serious kudos to the restaurant. I’ve had several meals there and last night’s dinner was the best so far. Very good oxtail ravioli soup followed by excellent and very Dutch/Italian risotto. Delicious and expertly put together. Thank you chef.
And a bar redemtion. Tonight, barman Rick made both a very good Dutch Negroni and a McSherry Sour:
4 cl Maccallan Amber
20 cc Amontillado Sherry (medium dry)
25 cc Lemon juice
15 cc vanilla simple syrup 2:1
Stir down. Serve on the rocks with a fancy lemon garnish. [This desperately needs a Luxardo cherry and a smidge of such syrup to make it perfect.]
We held an event at the College Hotel on night2, and the event was very nicely executed by the staff, including the barman. Live jazz always helps. After the event we headed out for a late dinner at Solo which was pretty not bad. Then late night drinks at the fantastic door 74. It’s still impossible to get in without a reservation. Absinthe hour stretched to 4am.
Day3 included trick or treating with the kids (not mine…some friends’) followed by an absolutely world class round of sushi at Okura’s Yamazato Restaurant sushi bar. As good as any sushi I have had anywhere (NY and San Jose might be just a tad better), this restaurant is beyond authentic. No wonder they have a Michelin star.
Of course no visit to Amsterdam is complete without a visit to the exquisite Van Gogh museum. It was a particular treat for two reasons: 1) just after the Phillips visit there was lots of data in my head, 2) Friday night there is live music and video art.
Better net and a better bar will earn the College Hotel the ranking it should have. Meanwhile, four showerheads it is.
Dining out in Greater NoVa
June 4, 2012
In a crazy twist of triplicate small world phenomena, my good friend Jacob and I have had dinner out together every couple of weeks for the last 6 weeks (not to mention mixology). Amsterdam featured a group dinner at Sardegna that included an interesting pasta and mushroom dish concocted with flaming cognac inside a parmesan wheel. Of course the highlight of that evening was insanely good mixology at Door 74.
San Francisco included a trip to the very trendy two star Benu, which was very good but slightly disappointing at the same time. The pairings were definitely the weak point of that meal. High point was meeting Jacques Bezuidenhout for drinks earlier in the evening (he is the head of mixology for the Kimpton hotel chain).
The best thing at benu: duck with truffle bun. This was delicious.
Last week’s trip to Virginia featured a drive across the Potomac River to Frederick, MD for another fancy pants dinner at Volt. You’re not going to believe this, but dinner at Volt was superior to Benu by an order of magnitude (and 2/3rds the price as well)! It was the wine work that did it. Far superior pairings and a sommelier who listens.
The best dish of the entire sequence here, ravioli at Volt. Absolutely outstanding.
So, Frederick, MD (home of Fort Detrick and their evil bio-weapons programs) dogs San Francisco in the super high end experimental three city tour. Rock on East Coast!
As an extra bonus dining tip, this Saturday’s impromptu meal at Tallulah included an outstanding Pheasant concoction and some actual mixology. Barman Steve Rossie created a Yorktown as follows:
1 oz bourbon (he used Wild Turkey 80..I would switch in Blantons)
1 oz apple jack (laird’s bonded)
1 oz sweet vermouth (he used Martini & Rossi I would use Dolin’s in this drink)
.5 oz madiera
2 dashes Angustora bitters (this should be either Fee Brothers West Indian Orange or Reagan’s No. 6)
orange twist (flame for fun)
Plenty of good pickings in the NoVA area for discerning diners.
Amsterdam in Spring: The College Hotel
May 9, 2012
Regular readers know that the College Hotel is by far my favorite place to stay in Amsterdam. We’re running a small Conference here this week, and the venue is absolutely perfect for a meeting.
And get this. Serious mixology is available at the College Hotel now too! Bartender Luke Gerntsen is leading the way and is particularly good with the knife.
I checked in way early after an awful flight and a swing and a miss at Privium (did I mention that United sucks? Oh OK). The College Hotel was kind enough to allow me to shower in an unoccupied room since my room was not yet available. Here is how the shower in 301 looks. 301 is cramped but quirky. All bed.
 Shower in 301. Nice to recover in from a crap flight on United. |
 Bathroom pod in 301. |
Lunch with colleagues (which we’ll just ignore) and a trip to see the tulips began to improve my mood.
Keukenhof beauty. Stunning.
Upon return, my room, 123, was ready. My first reaction was that I preferred 105, but 123 has grown on me and I enjoy the three major windows and light during the time I spend here in the daylight. FWIW, I was met with a fruit plate and a personal note, which is a nice touch and fairly uncommon in Europe.
Through the double doors.
The shower is plenty big with multiple heads (including a soaker) and a very interesting double door.
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The rest of the room is set on two levels with a sitting room (small but very nice) and a bedroom. The layout is quirky and nice. It takes a while for me to remember I am in Europe and to recall the size of my apartment in Trento way back when!
Window seat in the sitting room.
Comfortable bed (well, anything is great after 36 hours awake).
Architecture.
Now back to mixology. Mads Voorheove (who I suppose it Luke’s understudy, but who is very good in his own right) mixed up a nice Royal Navy for me, after which we had an extensive lesson in Genever. We tried three Bols products (Songe Genever, Oude Genever, and the one I have at home…trendy Genever for export) and two Corewyn products (standard and 10 year). Both of the Corewyn products were superb.
We visited Feijoa and said hello to Rob and company. The rum selection is still top notch. And then we paid a visit or two to the speakeasy at door 74 where we were served by Ben and Tess.
What a joy to have real drinks in such a nice hotel. Life is good.
College Hotel, Amsterdam
November 13, 2010
By now I am getting used to staying in the College Hotel when I come to Amsterdam. This time I even requested magical room 105. So far, the electricity seems to be cooperating. Uncharacteristically (and most excellently) there is free net at the College Hotel, but it has a rather silly registration system that barely works on my mac and my google G2.
I have already talked about the really cool bathroom in this room with the infinite mirror effect in previous entries. But here are a couple of new photos anyway. The shower is like a little stage with a stage curtain.
I had the usual tough time adjusting to time zones even with an uneventful flight in. I went out with some friends to the Van Gogh museum in the late afternoon. My favorite part was running around between paintings with a 5 year old girl talking about what she liked and what she saw. That was a blast. It’s nice to see young ones like that get so exceited about art. Upon my return, I went to bed early (I know, I know, a waste of a Saturday night in Amsterdam). Of course I woke up randomly in the middle of the night and did some reading on my new kindle. The kindle is way cooler than I would have expected it to be. The passive screen is really nice.
I finally fell asleep way too early in the morning. I guess the most surprising part of the trip so far was being awakened by my friend marcus who showed up at 10 fresh off a US flight and knocked on my door. I figured I would be up by the time he arrived. No dice. We all went out to the Jazz brunch at American Hotel which has become somewhat of a tradition on my visits to Amsterdam. If you’re in Amsterdam on Sunday make sure to check that out.
Marcus and I walked in the rain from the Eden to Centraal to catch the train to Rotterdam. The Saint Nicholas day crowds were impressive indeed. It rained.
Ultimately, the College Hotel is great. Five showerheads and a permanent place on the list of really nice places to stay on planet earth.
Breaking 1,000,000 miles on the last trip of 2010
November 13, 2010
I broke the 1,000,000 lifetime miles barrier on United just in time before “no fly December” starts. Of course I know about this already, but United hasn’t figured it out yet. I was on a 777 to Amsterdam in business class. Sadly, the equipment was an “old” 777 instead of one of the new 767s or upgraded 747s. It seems the only way to get a 767 to Europe these days (from Dulles) is to fly to London and allow them to misplace your baggage. The new airplane pods rule, but not enough to fly through Heathrow.
My seatmate (I was in my usual seat 8B) and I toasted a “condolences” toast. The flight attendants didn’t understand what I was talking about when I told them I had just broken the one million mark. United needs better programmers. I’ll keep an eye on the mileage plus website to see when the computer over there clues in (see below). Anyway, if you’re expecting champagne and special service for attaining such a lofty goal on a particular flight—forget it!
All in all, the flight was just fine. A bit quick and turbulent for real sleep (especially without the lay flat pods found in real airplanes). I’ve been to Schiphol so many times that I know my way around and was at the College Hotel well before 8. The College Hotel people were incredibly great and let me sneak into room 109 to take a quick shower. My favorite room (105) is currently occupied and check out time around here is noon. It’s nice to be welcomed to Europe like that…feels kinda like home here now. A nice way to end the 2010 travel pile.
College Hotel, Amsterdam (take 2)
April 7, 2010
The College Hotel in Amsterdam has already been covered in the blog. It was nice to be back, this time with my son and my dad in tow. We are on a three-generation Spring Break European blowout.
Here’s a picture of the hotel at night taken at midnight yesterday after a visit to my favorite mixology/rum bar in Amsterdam called Feijoa. The rum collection there is world class.
We had some shenanigans getting the room right and had to do what I guess I should call the “College Hotel shuffle.” But in the end we got a great suite with excellent showers and plenty of room to stretch out. Add to that live jazz, a great restaurant, and beautiful high ceilings…what a nice way to visit Amsterdam.
Five shower heads again for the College Hotel.
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