Hotel Not Hotel – Amsterdam

As hotel interior designers we’re always on the look out for awesome new concepts that inspire us. We’re always learning as interior designers and it’s awesome to see what else is going on in the world. Todays feature project is a hotel interior design that totally blew our mind. Not just as a design, but as a concept as a whole.

The Hotel Not Hotel is based in Amsterdam and was created by Bruno Bont and Tijmen Receveur. Contrary to the name, this project very much is a hotel. But what it isn’t, is a boring cookie cutter hotel interior design. It’s a mind melting interior design that is as fun as it is creative. As hotel interior designers, we could only dream of seeing a concept like this in Dubai.

The 23 room hotel, steers very far away from the traditional. And as a hotel Interior designer I can only stand back and admire it.

When a room is more than just a room:

As described by the hotel themselves: Hotel Not Hotel is a place where a room isn’t just a room. Guests sleep in a work of art with its own creator, story, and identity. Designed by Collaboration-O, Arno & IRIS, or Hans van Bentem.

I absolutely love this line, “guests sleep in a work of art”.  As you can see from the photos below, they certainly do that.

The “rooms” can be anything from an Amsterdam tram cart, to a VW Camper van. Or a room guarded by a secret library door, or worse (but better) poison ivy!  I know that sounds bonkers, but the images below do all my writing for me.

The Experience:

When guests leave their rooms, they step into an exhibition-like space instead of an anonymous hallway. The entire hotel is one big, art-filled living room, with cosy seats in every corner and on the first floor.

This is no coincidence. It was always the intention of the founders that there should be plenty of interaction between guests, and between guests and locals. On most nights, the restaurant and lobby are full of hotel guests and people from the neighborhood.

About the founders:

It takes a touch of madness to spark an idea like this. It was Bruno (Bont) who came up with the initial plan. Being an entrepreneur, Bruno is always looking for new opportunities. His long-time friend Tijmen (Receveur) had experience in the hotel business. It simply made sense to team up!

At the moment, Bruno and Tijmen are looking to bring the HNH experience to a second city in the Netherlands. Of course there are dreams of a Hotel Not Hotel in another European country, but everything in time.

For us, we can’t wait to see what comes next. No doubt it will be another project that pushes the boundaries of hotel interiors.  As a hotel interior design company in Dubai, we can’t wait until restrictions are lifted so we can see this beauty in real life. I can see myself, just chilling at the Kevin Bacon bar and immersing myself in the design and ambience.