Apr 18

Apr 18 Pillows! A Cute Amsterdam Getaway

Just when I thought my time staying in student dormitories was over, I decided to check into the Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Maurits at the Park for a quick Amsterdam getaway. What I didn’t know at that time was that this building was almost 100 years old, and previously served as a student dorm. If only I was able to stay in these types of dorm as a student.

Overview

The Pillows Grand is actually part of the larger Pillows Hotel, which itself is affiliated with Small Luxury Hotels of the World, a group of 570 luxury hotels. Which itself is a partner of Hilton Hotels, one of the world’s largest hotel chains. Hilton has done a masterful job of partnering with Small Luxury Hotels, with there are perks such as room upgrades and free breakfast carrying over for Hilton Honors elite members. I stayed at two seperate Small Luxury Hotels, and was impressed that the Small Luxury Hotels indeed honored those benefits (cough some Marriott properties).

Location

Bless walkable European city centers. The Pillows Grand is located near Oosterpark (hence it’s name), a large, beautiful relaxing park near the city center. It is a 15 minute tram ride to Central Station, and is located 5 minutes away from several restaurants and grocery stores.

Whilst the building is quite old, the actual hotel only came into existence in 2020, meaning the insides are quite new. There front entrance is strangely, for a European city, primarily focused on cars dropping guests off.

However, upon stepping in, one was greeted by a very “warm” design, with soft colors. An employee immediately took my bags, and offered me water.

CheckIn

Despite arriving at 1:30PM, with my room only technically free at 3:00PM, the Pillows Grand kindly checked me in. They took me to the lounge, and walked me through all the amenities of the hotel, as well as providing me suggestions on activities to do (similar to the women below).

Afterwards, I got my very cute room key, and headed up to the 2nd floor. Being a Small, Luxury Hotel, there were only 3 floors of room, meaning it was sometimes easier to navigate via stairs. Furthermore, there are two “wings” of the hotel, so just be aware of which one you’re staying in.

Room

I was upgraded from the base level Luxury room up to a Park View Luxury Room. While some may see it as a “fake” upgrade, I did appreciate getting to see the park, and was pretty happy given how well the hotel utilized a relatively small 200 sqft space.

Upon opening the door, there is a narrow hallway that opens up to…the toilet? A bit unconventional, but I think a good way to use the space.

The hallway continued to reveal a comfortable king sized bed.

Along with a hidden closet that contained a coffee maker, free water, and a for sale minibar (which always annoys me).

And since the building housed a spa, the amenities were a tad more high quality, and that extends to the slippers and robe in the room.

The nightstand had a few rather unique features, including a book, as well as an old fashioned alarm / radio.

What was impressive about this room was how the hotel managed to fit in so much into such a small amount of space. One other small touch was how my luggage was already brought to the room / welcome amenity was set up in the 5 minutes it took for me to check in.

On the far side of the room, there was a chair and table, although given this was a leisure hotel the setup was clearly not for working.

The welcome amenity was tasty macarons, some chocolates, and a handwritten card that I’m sure the most junior member of the hotel has to write.

Across from that was a lounger, though from my perspective I would have preferred a bigger table. Though it did look quite aesthetic, and was good for placing my clothes on.

Then there was the rest of the bathroom, which consisted of a sink and rain shower.

The hotel also gives Diptyque body lotion, which I greatly appreciate.

And finally, given this was a 5 star service, turndown service was done at around 4/5PM, with housekeeping giving a variety of goodies like snacks, hand cream, and a hand written poem.

Amenities

The hotel has a great “living room” type concept for people to relax, or hold meetings in. There was also many varieties of free coffee (which was a setup similar to my internship at Apple), as well as snacks in the morning and through the day to enjoy.

Alternatively, there were several meeting rooms / conference center type rooms, which were designed in such a way that you forgot you were in a nearly 100 year old room.

There was also a small gym tucked in the basement beside the spa; note that there are several other treadmills not pictured.

Spa treatments could be booked at the front desk - also, if one books a basement room, there is a complementary hydrobed massage or private sauna use for 1 hour.

There are also several restaurants on premise, including the Fitz’s Rooftop Bar, the VanOost Restaurant and the Spring Cafe. While I unfortunately didn’t get enough time to check those out, I did manage to take a few pictures.

An underrated perk was also that this hotel was beside Oosterpark Amsterdam, one of the city’s largest parks. It was definitely cool just strolling around, seeing the sights, then collapsing back home.

The Service

While I didn’t get to interact with the staff too much, I can certainly see why this is a 5 star hotel, and indeed commands almost no below 5 star review on Google / Trip Advisor. Everyone was kind, efficient, and eager to help. The hotel manages to surprise and delight at small moments, such as in the lounge or during turndown service. One of the hotel’s attendants actually chased me out whilst I was walking out, trying to persuade me to bring an umbrella. Alas, he was right, and I should have listened - this just goes to show the great service culture at the hotel.

The Point

The Pillows Grand was my first foray into Small Luxury Hotels, and this was certainly a great first impression. At risk of sounding trite, the hotel was indeed small and luxurious, and felt like an intimate home not a luxury resort factory. The room, whilst physically small, was a great place to relax after a long day of being a tourist. The facilities, while limited in size, were more than sufficient to enjoy. All in all, a great small, luxurious hotel, befitting of the name.

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Opinions expressed are solely the writers and do not express the views or opinions of their employers