DECEMBER 2020
I love to do a little trip at the end of the year to a destination that is famous for its romantic Christmas lights… with Paris, London and the German Christmas markets being some of my favorites! This year I planned on going to the Alsace just before Christmas, but unfortunately Europe is in its second wave of COVID and travel is seen as unnecessary. Luckily, my mother decided to spoil me with a little staycation at the Hoxton in Amsterdam: one of the hotels I have long been curious about! Lots of entertainment was closed in November 2020, but we were able to book tickets to the Moco museum which featured some amazing infinity rooms which greatly exited us!
The Hoxton
In The Netherlands all restaurants have been closed in half October and no-one knows when they are going to open up again. So, if you want to go somewhere to stay the night it is most practical to book a hotel with a restaurant. The Hoxton is known for its atmospheric restaurant Lottie’s, which usually is also open for non-hotel guests. The Hoxton is located at the Negen Straatjes, one of the most charming districts in Amsterdam. When we visited in November, the Christmas lights were just out and it wasn’t too busy with people, making it the perfect timing to visit this area.
We booked a staycation for € 200 a night, with included the room and € 50 to spend at Lottie’s. Our total bill was € 300 and included the room, breakfast, drinks and dinner for two. Definitely not cheap, but we had delicious food and there were plenty of original choices. The Hoxton also had a live band playing in the afternoon, which created good vibes early on. In The Netherlands hotels are not allowed to serve alcohol after 8PM during COVID-measures, so I do have to say that the restaurant became empty quickly after that time. Social distancing was easy to respect as the tables in the restaurant were spread out sufficiently.
We received a free upgrade to a room with canal view, which was a really nice benefit when waking up; looking outside the big windows from our room. Overall, we had a really good stay, I only wish we would have made our restaurant reservation a little earlier as we didn’t have the best seats for dinner.
De Negen Straatjes
De Negen Straatjes (“the nine streets”) are one of my favorite areas in Amsterdam because of the specialty shops and cozy restaurants. Even though we could not enjoy the restaurants this year, the area still has an amazing vibe during Christmas time. De Negen Straatjes comprise an area surrounding the canals, so it provides the perfect romantic backdrop for pictures. I definitely do not like the main shopping area of Amsterdam, but I love shopping at the Negen Straatjes (especially when its not crowded). You will find all sorts of specialty and gift stores and some nice clothing stores at well. I usually do most of my shopping online, but I always make a visit to Anthropologie and We Are Labels which are in this area. Even though De Negen Straatjes have become highly commercialized, with big stores such as Samsoe & Samsoe and The North Face, you will still find vintage shops at De Negen Straatjes as well (with Laura Dols being a famous one).
Moco museum
It’s been a while since I had been to the Moco museum. This art museum is dedicated to modern artists such as Banksy, Damien Hirst, Andy Warhol, Yayoi Kusama and Jeff Koons. It is located at the Museumplein (Museum Square), so it was a nice twenty minute walk from the Hoxton. One of the special exhibitions featured works by The Kid, of whom I hadn’t heard before but the art works were quite impressive (bottom row in gallery). Tickets cost € 19,50 per person and need to be reserved in advance.
The real reason I booked again is because the Moco had some infinity rooms in the basement! The limited number of visitors made it really easy to enjoy the infinity rooms and we took 30 minutes taking pictures and admiring the rooms! The infinity rooms will not be at the Moco forever, but the website shows no indications of taking them away anytime soon, so make sure you check them our before they are gone 🙂
