Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Maurits at The Park

Somehow I’ve found myself half living in Amsterdam. Half only, as Brexit means we Brits can’t live freely in the EU as we could pre-January 2020. Still, it means this nomad is able to spend weeks at a time in her current favourite city, with one eye clocked on a 90/180 EU calendar website to ensure she doesn’t overspend her quota and risk a ban from the EU. 

However, it ain’t all tulips and gazing at higgledy-piggledy canal houses. This freelancer has work to do, making this a busy trip after all. So when an email landed to review a luxurious hotel in this picturesque city, I jumped at the chance. The adventure started by simply leaving west Amsterdam, my usual bolthole. Heading over to east Amsterdam gives me a whole new area to explore, and perhaps more of what the Amsterdam tourism board had in mind when they launched their recent controversial campaign to dissuade boozed up and urinating Brits from visiting their city. 

I arrive at Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Maurits on a hot afternoon. An imposing red brick exterior, the former university building dates from 1908 and is located just 15 minutes away from all the usual tourist attractions. Located on the edge of Oosterpark gives it an air of calm. The serenity continues when I arrive into the quiet, muted reception space and am offered a glass of bubbles and whisked off into one of the lounge areas with a back wall filled with books and views of the park, to organise check in, which is a more appropriate way to handle handing over passports and banking cards, especially for jaded travellers. Although I feel like a fraud when they ask where I have come from…erm, all of 20 minutes away?

Still, it’s clear from the off that attention to detail is high on the agenda, with the staff making calls to see if my plant-based requirements can be catered for at tomorrow evening’s dinner (later a sweet note pops up in my room to say of course they can). I arrive into my room – on the ground floor – and mere seconds away from the reception and again, there’s a consecutive flow of peacefulness in the room, with its very high ceilings, elongated windows, earthy taupe and muted tones, and a view of the entrance of Ooosterpark. I pleasingly spot a freestanding tub – not an amenity taken for granted in city hotels. 

The bed looks inviting but it’s a sun-filled day and I’m pretty much residing in a park. I start by taking the bike I’ve hired through Swapfiets (a hugely popular bike subscription service that I recommend using if you’re staying in the city, although the hotel rents them out too) to go for a pedal. While I’m more than well acquainted with its bigger sister Vondelpark – the Central Park of Amsterdam – Oosterpark, with the sounds of chirping parakeets in the background and birthday gatherings with bunting hung up on the trees, feels like it’s more of a place frequented by locals than tourists. After a brief cycle, I make like an Amsterdammer and head out to meet a friend for drinks and bitterballen (a popular savoury Dutch breadcrumbed snack, usually with meat-filled balls but there’s plenty of vegan versions around) at a bar along the River Amstel, which flows through this side of the city.  

I wake up the next day feeling refreshed after a lengthy kip in the snooze-worthy king-size bed. The morning starts well with breakfast in Spring Café, where a huge locust tree takes centre stage in the middle of the room, and a kind-faced and smiley chef comes over and tells me that tomorrow they can knock up vegan pancakes for me if I wish. After consuming the papers, I enjoy a solo weights session in the small gym, elegantly created with wooden weights and machines, which makes working out much more of a pleasure.

One of the perks of staying at Pillows is the opportunity to book an hour slot in the private sauna. Hell, yeah. Obviously I can’t resist – even on a sweltering day – and when I arrive I find a bowl of fruit and cakes waiting for me in the spacious room as well as magazines and coffee and tea facilities. I rotate between reading magazines, sipping tea and eating fruit and returning to the sauna. It’s a beautiful day in Amsterdam (well received after one of my last stints involved non-stop rain, even in March) and after a walk in the park and hanging out under a willow tree with my book, I decide I should definitely explore more of east Amsterdam. With that in mind, I jump on my bike and peddle over to Flevoparkbad, an outdoor swimming area surrounded by lush green trees. There’s a couple of pools, but I choose the one with adult lanes and spend a couple of hours enjoying a swim and relaxing by the side of the pool with my Grayson Perry book. I’m one for nature and not ready to head back to the hotel quite yet when the sun is shining so brightly, so I take the opportunity to become better acquainted with Flevopark. It’s rich in trees and has a lake and feels less packed than the popular Vondelpark. Win-win. I return from the cycle to have a luxurious long bath in the freestanding tub before getting dressed up for dinner at their in-house restaurant Spring Café Brasserie (unfortunately its VanOoost Restaurant does not cater to vegans). 

I invite another friend over, a Brit from Margate. Taking advantage of the warm weather, we take a seat on the lovely terrace overlooking the park. The menu is a combination of French and Italian, seasonal, and includes my favourite ingredient: wild garlic (which I’d actually been foraging for the week before). The staff are impeccable throughout, and we start with raspberry mocktails, followed by a cool glass of Rose and for me, a salad, a freshly baked bread with a specially made vegan dip that is so tasty and garlicky that we never want it to end, vegetable risotto, and a floral chocolate cake. I am left feeling so stuffed that most of the latter goes into a takeaway box to consume later. At this point I should take my expanding waistline and roll into bed but I have made promises to meet pals in de Pijp, one of Amsterdam’s hippest neighbourhoods. 

The next day I could go to one of Amsterdam’s many fine museums but I’m craving a lie-in, a late check-out (which they kindly oblige). I’m thrilled not to have to pack up properly and clean up on my last day, instead inhaling the city air and relaxing under a willow tree before taking the late afternoon Eurostar home. Bliss. ‘Till next time Amsterdam.