De Durgerdam

When Amsterdam locals and tourists want to escape to the countryside, all they have to do is cross IJsselmeer Lake; the Landelijk Noord region is a 15 minute drive from Central Station, and also accessible by boat. Last March, Dutch hospitality group Aedes (which worked on Soho House Amsterdam, the Hoxton Amsterdam), opened De Durgerdam in the former fishing village of Durgerdam. The 14-room lakefront boutique hotel partly inhabits a restored 17th-century former fishermen’s inn. Local design studio Buro Belén was inspired by the village’s fishing past, resulting in details like a net-like chandelier, a wall-hanging made from shredded ropes, and tiny metal fish on the wall of lobby restaurant and bar, De Mark. There, guests nibble on modern comfort food with seasonal flair such as tomato tartare, white asparagus with little Dutch shrimps, and a dover sole stuffed with morels, as they look out on the glittering lake. Rooms in the original building boast wooden beams, cozy window seats, velvet throws, and bathrooms clad in bespoke tiles from the Netherlands’ oldest ceramics company. The crystal decanter filled with homemade liqueur and tin of butter cookies are complimentary. Guests can cuddle up in the downstairs library with a wood-burning fireplace and honor bar; borrow bikes to explore the surrounding villages; or jump in the lake off the hotel’s dock.

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