At the historical centre of Amsterdam, on September 16th, 2012, Droog will open a hospitality experience like no other. Hôtel Droog is a place where you can come for a drink, a bite to eat, exclusive shopping, exhibitions, beauty advice, a stroll in the garden, a lecture series, or even a bed for the night. Featuring the Droog Store, Gallery, Dining Room, Fairy Tale Garden, Beauty at Cosmania, Fashion at Kabinet, Products at Weltevree, and the one and only Bedroom, Hôtel Droog is conspicuously housed in 700 square metres in a 17th century building, promising to be a new cultural home in the heart of Amsterdam.
“The concept of a hotel has been reversed. Whereas a hotel is usually mostly about sleeping, here we have enlarged and emphasized all the aspects that many hotels also offer and made them central to the hotel experience—and it even has a room to sleep in,” says Renny Ramakers, co-founder and director of Droog. “Hotel Droog brings all of our activities under one roof—from curation to product design, exhibitions and lectures—and invites people to plug in as they choose.”
The new hotel, a 10-room member-only hotel, concept restaurant and exhibition space was designed by Tokyo-based Atelier Bow-Wow.
above: a model of the building shows the inner courtyard
Leaving the canal-facing front façade intact, Atelier Bow-Wow created an intricate inner courtyard façade inspired by Amsterdam’s historic architecture.
above: an early rendering of one of the hotel's rooms
The hotel restaurant will host new concept dinners by invited designers and chefs, improvising with local market left-overs and practicing the act of eating slowly yet attentively.
above: An initial rendering of the restaurant included a smoking space
The street level will house an on-going program of Droog exhibitions and events.
EXHIBITIONS at GALLERY
The Gallery is an exhibition space curated by Droog or by specially invited curators. This prominent and beautiful 160 square metre space features the latest in design, art, and fashion and previews upcoming developments in the creative industry. The Gallery aims to create a dialogue between design and society by hosting workshops and discussions.
ESCAPE at FAIRY TALE GARDEN
Enter a magical fairy tale garden. Designed by French Designers Claude Pasquer and Corinne Détroyat, the courtyard has been transformed into a shelter for biodiversity, where natural and artificial elements intermingle.
All elements are functional, attracting, feeding, watering, and providing respite for birds, butterflies, insects, flowers, edible plants and humans alike. Mixing seamlessly with abundant plantation, synthetic turf covers the winding pathways to create a sense of stillness. The garden is a real mixture of serenity and joy.
FOOD, DRINKS & DISCUSSIONS at THE DINING ROOM
The Dining Room is a simple, elegant and airy room that overlooks the flourishing garden. Enjoy some of the neighbourhood’s finest homemade recipes or freshly made smorrebrod sandwiches.
The menu is bound by one philosophy: simple, healthy, delicious dishes created with well-sourced and seasonal ingredients.
The Dining Room is open for lunch and special events, lectures and performances. In honour of the building’s history as home of the textile guild, Droog commissioned Dutch artist Berend Strik for a reinterpretation of Rembrandt’s famous De Staalmeesters, a painting that once hung here.
SLEEP at THE ONE AND ONLY BEDROOM
The top floor of Hotel Droog is for guests who might like to stay the night or more. Central but quiet, the brightly-lit space, with bedroom, living area and kitchen, provides a superb view over Amsterdam rooftops.
DESIGN at DROOG STORE
The Droog Store is an open atmosphere where you can interact with the Droog experience. Featuring small and affordable products along with limited edition pieces, each piece has been designed to enhance daily life and has its own story to tell. The store also sells the ‘Friends of Droog’ curated collection, products from other labels that match the Droog aesthetic and concept.
BEAUTY at COSMANIA
At COSMANIA you will find beautiful, affordable and very special international cosmetics brands that can’t be found anywhere else in The Netherlands. All beauty brands presented have their own unique story to tell. The unique principles of COSMANIA’s brand philosophy are exclusivity to the Netherlands and an open attitude that invites interaction with visitors. Openness comes in the form of honest product reviews, valuing visitor’s opinions and experiences with the products, and inviting visitors to help determine the collections.
COSMANIA is always open to advice on international brands you may have seen on your travels or in magazines that you’d like to see and share with other cosmaniacs.
FASHION at KABINET
KABINET is an intimate place where you can find exclusive fashion labels represented within this fashion salon. KABINET features some of the best eclectic designers of recent years including Isabel Marant, Maison Martin Margiela, and Hussein Chalayan. These sit beside other hand-picked luxury brands and a carefully curated selection of avant-garde designer pieces. KABINET has introduced a collection of unique fragrances to complement the cutting edge mix of womenswear, menswear, jewellery, accessories and design brands.
PRODUCTS at WELTEVREE
Weltevree is a Dutch product label that develops and produces authentic products with a focus on outdoor living.
Whether it’s the iconic Dutchtub (shown above) that allows you to enjoy the pleasure of bathing outside, or a stove that brings the crackling fire into your kitchen, Weltevree brings rawness, sensuality and a closeness to nature into your life. Featuring products that are distinctive, original and of excellent quality, Weltevree aims to deliver a quality experience that satisfies our primary desires.
press release information and images courtesy of Droog and Weltevree
Photography of hero image: Thijs Wolzak
Address: Staalstraat 7B, 1011 JJ Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Opening times: Tuesday – Saturday 11am – 7pm / Sunday 12 – 5pm (Mondays closed)
Website: www.hoteldroog.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HotelDroog