Hotel Arena, Amsterdam
Historic Grandeur Meets Contemporary Dutch Design
Why DNA Hotels Loves It
● A beautifully restored 19th-century orphanage where original architecture blends effortlessly with contemporary Dutch interiors.
● Individually designed rooms featuring furniture from leading Dutch design brands alongside carefully preserved historic details.
● A peaceful location beside Oosterpark, offering a rare balance of green surroundings and easy access to Amsterdam’s city centre.
A Monument Reimagined
Few Amsterdam hotels have evolved as gracefully as Hotel Arena. Originally built in 1886 as a Catholic girls’ orphanage, the landmark later served as a youth hostel and cultural venue before beginning a new chapter as one of the city’s most distinctive design hotels. Rather than erasing its history, the renovation celebrates it, preserving soaring ceilings, elegant wrought-iron staircases, original wall paintings, and the beautifully restored chapel while introducing a calm, contemporary Dutch aesthetic. The result feels authentic rather than theatrical—a building that proudly wears every chapter of its past.
Dutch Design with Character
The interiors, created by Amsterdam-based design studio TANK, combine clean-lined minimalism with warm seventies influences and carefully selected vintage pieces. Natural oak, soft neutral colours, textured fabrics, and bespoke furnishings create an atmosphere that feels both refined and welcoming. Furniture from Dutch brands including Moooi, Zuiver, HK Living, Kave Home, and Ferm Living sits comfortably alongside original architectural features, allowing history and contemporary design to coexist naturally. Large windows flood the public spaces with daylight, while the hotel’s newer extension opens itself towards the surrounding park through expansive glass façades.
Rooms Full of Individuality
No two of the 141 rooms and suites are exactly alike. Some occupy the historic building, with lofty ceilings, tall windows, and original architectural details, while others are contemporary duplexes overlooking landscaped courtyards or Oosterpark. Split-level suites, intimate attic rooms, and spacious villa-style accommodations each offer their own personality, united by warm materials, understated styling, and thoughtful comfort. Eco-friendly Marie-Stella-Maris amenities, generous natural light, and carefully curated artwork complete interiors that feel residential rather than hotel-like.
Life Around the Park
The hotel’s social heart is PARK, its glass-walled restaurant overlooking Oosterpark. Flooded with natural light and surrounded by greenery, it attracts both locals and guests throughout the day. Seasonal dishes, locally sourced ingredients, and an easy-going atmosphere make it as much a neighbourhood meeting place as a hotel restaurant. Beyond dining, guests can rent bicycles, join yoga sessions, or simply wander through one of Amsterdam’s most beloved parks before exploring the nearby museums, cafés, and creative neighbourhoods of Amsterdam East.
Why It Works
Hotel Arena succeeds because it never tries too hard. It respects its remarkable history without becoming a museum, embraces contemporary Dutch design without feeling fashionable, and offers the rare luxury of genuine tranquillity just beyond Amsterdam’s busiest streets. Surrounded by greenery yet deeply connected to the city’s creative energy, it remains one of Amsterdam’s most complete design hotels—timeless, welcoming, and unmistakably local.
