New Hotel Mai Amsterdam In Chinatown
Posted on: January 2, 2024
4-Star Boutique Hotel Mai Amsterdam in City Centre
Hotel Mai is a great hotel in the Red Light District. The Hotel is located in the heart of the action, and it is within walking distance of all the major attractions. The Hotel has a great reputation, and it is known for its clean rooms and friendly staff. The Hotel also offer a variety of amenities, including a fitness center, a business center, and a restaurant. The Hotel is a great value for the price, and it is a great place to stay in Amsterdam.
After fourteen years of discussion with critics, judges, banks and the municipality, the new Asian theme hotel MAI Amsterdam on Geldersekade has finally opened its doors. A new hotel on one of the oldest streets in Amsterdam.
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Founder Arjen Van den Hof on Amsterdam’s newest hotel addition: ‘The story of the building and the neighborhood play an important role in my interest in a possible new project. In this project, the rich (cultural) history and development of Chinatown in Amsterdam’s Red Light District turned out to be an inexhaustible source of inspiration. From the beginning I was flooded with ideas. With Hotel Mai Amsterdam I would like to create a place where travellers and locals come together and enjoy design, art and hospitality – a place to Meet Asia In Amsterdam.’
The Long Journey Of Hotel MAI Amsterdam
The 81-room hotel MAI Amsterdam has been open since Chinese New Year – 25 January, 2020 – fourteen years after the first plans. Long years, with a crisis, banks that first became enthusiastic and then reluctant and – when there was money again – contractors who were too busy.
And there was the objection, as with other recent new Hotels in Amsterdam, among others: more crowds, nuisance, mess. “On the last day that an objection could be lodged, someone still objected to Hotel Mai Amsterdam,” owner Kin-Ping Dun says in the lobby. The individual properties have long been in his family, which also owns the Asian Shop Dun Yong.
“The warehouse contained items for the Asian Shop and our wholesaler, as well as all kinds of art objects that my parents had collected. In the other part, we created a Chinese shopping center at the end of 2001. But that never delivered that what we had hoped for.”
Amsterdam Red Light District Hotel
When the Chinese wholesaler moved to Sloterdijk, a future as a hotel was the most obvious one. According to Kin-Ping, there were hardly any alternatives. “The layout of the buildings did not comply with the building rules for permanent residence. Then you would have had to demolish almost everything and build new structures, right in the middle of the Red Light District. When the government was still a strong advocate of new hotels, the municipality, district, Stadsherstel and NV Zeedijk all strongly agreed.
This was not the case for everyone in De Wallen, which is why it’s an objection. The resistance to Hotel Mai Amsterdam did not seem defensible to the family. Since the designs date from 2006, they never fell under the hotel stop that the city council later announced in its attempts to curb the tourist crowds. The judge ruled otherwise. “We had a permit for 83 rooms, but there was a typo in a hotel list of the municipality; there were 63 rooms. The court found that so important that they immediately destroyed the entire project. We had nothing left at all.”
Hotel Mai Amsterdam Financial strains
“It hurt because the building had been empty for so long. What we earned at the Asian Shop disappeared into this project. It couldn’t have lasted much longer. We are not a project developer who has all kinds of funds to deal with that.” He understands the concerns.
“We’ve been a part of this neighbourhood for so long that I really see what the objections are. We promised not to sell the hotel anytime soon and knew very early on that we would partner with Vondel Hotels for the operation. We went to their Hotel De Hallen with a bus full of local residents, to show what kind of hotel group that is. That did help. But you don’t convince people who don’t want to believe it.”
In the end they had to take it up to the Board of State level to dismantle the consequences of the typing error. The family made more promises, laid down in the permits. The hotel has a separate restaurant, MAI Kitchen, with its own entrance on the Zeedijk. That entrance is not for Hotel Mai Amsterdam guests.
“That was the agreement with Stadsherstel; no trunks on the Zeedijk. ” Another deal concerns the Elleboogsteeg between Zeedijk and Geldersekade, which separates the hotel buildings. This alley was closed for years, now it opens again. “That is a wish of the city district; not our idea. We would have preferred to have made it part of the hotel, covered. But that went too far for the district. Understandable, because it is public space.
Family Art For A Personal Touch
That meant that we had to go over it with a glass passage, which was quite difficult. ”Kin-Ping is satisfied with the final result. “It has not become a hotel with red lanterns. It is a look that I do not know, but that feels very good. Arjen van den Hof, had a lot of contact with my parents. Much of the art that now stands here comes from our store. I see some images still exactly in place in the racks, under fluorescent light.”
Parking At Hotel Mai
Parking is available in front of Hotel Mai. There are dozens of parking spaces on the side of the road, on the canal. If you prefer not to park on the public road, go here:
Oosterdok
The Oosterdok parking garage is the great place to park your car in Amsterdam. It is cheap and easily accessible, with a variety of payment options available. There are also electric car charging stations available. The Oosterdok parking garage is centrally located, making it easy to get to your destination. And, if you need to park overnight, there is 24-hour security so you can rest assured your vehicle will be safe. So, whether you’re visiting Amsterdam for business or pleasure, be sure to park your car at the Oosterdok parking garage. You won’t be disappointed!
Hotel Mai Amsterdam Booking
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