Beguiling mix of old and new in newly-renovated Amsterdam tourist destination

Following a grand renovation, Amsterdam’s Pulitzer hotel flings open its canalside doors. Sarah Marshall delves into the property’s exuberant past and predicts a very bright future: It’s easy to get lost in Amsterdam, ambling along a grid of peaceful canals straddled by bridges fading into infinity. But rarely is the route from hotel lobby to bedroom such a mission.

It’s taken me several attempts to navigate the labyrinthine corridors of the city’s Pulitzer hotel, a property made up of 25 Golden Age canal houses, all connected to make a sumptuous five-star maze.

This month, the popular property reopened following a major two-stage renovation, positioning it as one of the most exciting hotels in the Dutch city; an additional 145 guest rooms have been bolted to the original 80, and an inner courtyard garden provides a contemplative escape from jangling bike bells that typically soundtrack a city stroll.

Convenience and comfort have been drawing curious visitors for the past 45 years, but it’s the hotel’s colourful, character-filled past that will really appeal to future guests.

Merchants, musicians, art dealers and even pals of Rembrandt have swanned through the 400-year-old corridors, and their traces are evidently reflected in the Pulitzer’s charming ‘old meets new’ design.

I imagine wealthy patrons commissioning portraits to hang on the walls, where similar works collected from antique shops and auctions are now displayed.

In the Art Collector’s suite, flamboyant, modern pieces include a golden stool sculpted as a cupped palm and a tongue-in-cheek re-imagining of Frans Hals’ The Last Supper; in a Music Suite, one wall is decorated with rows of brass trumpets.

Both rooms have private access to the canals, and although interior decoration is a riot of wacky furnishings, grand exteriors have been faithfully restored.

I wonder if original American owner Peter Pulitzer (who also happens to be the grandson of Pulitzer Prize founder Joseph Pulitzer) embarked on his 30-year flurry of property purchasing simply because he couldn’t decide which house he’d like to live in most.

Starting in 1960 with 12 elegant houses along the Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht canals, he opened Amsterdam’s first five-star hotel.

Over the years, he continued to buy neighbouring houses, fuelled by the motto ‘Your neighbour’s house is on-