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.
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