Built in the 1920s as a hotel for emigrants, then a long-time prison, and now in a third transition, the Lloyd Hotel is located in the recently redeveloped eastern harbor area of Amsterdam. Whilst the meaning of the word “guest” has changed several times, the aim is now to offer comfort for travelers and provide a public dining room for guests and the neighbors in the adjacent new housing area.
Within the protected exterior of this national monument a void was “carved” through the volume to open up the claustrophobic interior and to create a communal area for guests. It combines intimate spaces, used for meetings, reading, working, dining and drinking, with an open plan and a feeling of togetherness. This also houses the so-called Cultural Embassy, the specialty of the hotel for linking all guests to a network of art and artists in Amsterdam.
The Embassy is surrounded by 120 rooms. They are all different. Varying from one to five stars. From cheap to expensive. From neat to exuberant. From working space to romantic shelter. From Spartan to Biedermeier. From classic to modern. From singles to families with children. From sinlge rooms to triple rooms. With single beds to giant ten-person beds. With hang mats or normal beds. With separate bathrooms or with baths next to the beds. With separate showers or open showers in the middle of the rooms. With dark basement locations to attic rooms. And so on. It seeks to attract people too curious to resist returning.
