Luxury Hotels Atlas / Places / Netherlands / Amsterdam / Pulitzer Amsterdam
Pulitzer Amsterdam
Amsterdam, Netherlands · Independent · High Luxury
Pulitzer Amsterdam is woven through 25 restored canal houses, making it Amsterdam’s oldest five-star hotel. Peter Pulitzer began assembling the property in 1970 from twelve dilapidated houses, and the hotel later expanded across two canals. A major restoration in 2015–16, led by Jacu Strauss, gave the historic ensemble a contemporary redesign while preserving its canal-house character.
- 225 rooms
- Opened 1970
- Neighborhood: Old Centre
- Interiors: Jacu Strauss
About Pulitzer Amsterdam
- The hotel weaves through 25 restored 17th- and 18th-century canal houses along the Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht in Amsterdam's UNESCO canal belt.
- Peter Pulitzer, grandson of Joseph Pulitzer, began assembling the property in 1970 from twelve dilapidated houses and expanded the collection over three decades.
- It is Amsterdam's oldest five-star hotel, with Keizersgracht facades generally more ornate than those on the Prinsengracht, reflecting Golden Age social hierarchy.
- Each year the Prinsengrachtconcert is performed on a floating pontoon directly outside the hotel, drawing the city's finest classical musicians to its canal doorstep.
- A 2015–2016 restoration led by Jacu Strauss of Lore Group refreshed the historic ensemble while preserving canal-house character across the Nine Streets neighbourhood.
History
Pulitzer Amsterdam occupies one of Amsterdam’s most layered hotel sites: 25 restored 17th- and 18th-century canal houses strung along the Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht in the city’s UNESCO-listed canal belt. The hotel traces its modern life to 1970, when Peter Pulitzer, grandson of newspaper publisher and Pulitzer Prize founder Joseph Pulitzer, began assembling the property from a cluster of dilapidated canal houses. According to the hotel, he bought twelve houses and expanded the collection over three decades until it reached twenty-five.
The buildings themselves predate the hotel by centuries and reflect the social geography of Amsterdam’s Golden Age, when wealthy merchants and prominent families occupied the more prestigious canal-side houses. The hotel’s own history notes that the Keizersgracht façades are generally more ornate than those on the Prinsengracht, a reminder of the hierarchy embedded in the city’s canal architecture. In that sense, Pulitzer Amsterdam is less a single building than a stitched-together fragment of Amsterdam history, with each house retaining its own scale, layout, and quirks.
The property became Amsterdam’s oldest five-star hotel, and by the hotel’s account it had developed over time into a destination with gardens, an intimate restaurant, and annual floating concerts on the Prinsengracht. It underwent its largest restoration in 2015 and 2016, reopening in summer 2016 after a full redesign led by Jacu Strauss of Lore Group. The revamp preserved historic details while introducing a contemporary layer inspired by Dutch painting, canal-house ornament, and the city’s wider design heritage. Travel press described the project as a multimillion-dollar renovation that refreshed the hotel’s public spaces without erasing its historic character.
The setting
Pulitzer Amsterdam stretches along Prinsengracht 323 within Amsterdam's UNESCO canal district, composed of twenty-five interconnected 17th- and 18th-century canal houses merged into a hotel in 1970 by Herbert Peter Pulitzer, grandson of Joseph Pulitzer. The address anchors the Nine Streets neighbourhood — De 9 Straatjes — the beloved boutique grid long favoured by independent retailers and design studios. The Anne Frank House stands four minutes on foot and the Royal Palace ten. Each year the Prinsengrachtconcert is performed on a floating pontoon directly outside the hotel, drawing the city's finest classical musicians to its canal doorstep. 1.6 km from Rijksmuseum.
Restaurants and bars
- Pulitzer's Bar — Bar
Experiences
- Annual floating concerts on the Prinsengracht — Annual floating concerts on the Prinsengracht canal, one of the hotel's collected elements.
- Classic saloon boat Tourist — Polished teak and brass saloon boat with original beveled glass; guests can arrive at the jetty on the Prinsengracht.
- Restaurant — Simple, beautifully crafted dishes inspired by modern-Dutch cuisine.
Amenities
- Spa
- Fitness center
- Pet-friendly
Awards
- Forbes Travel Guide Recommended (2026)
- MICHELIN One Key (2026)
- AHEAD Europe Hotel Renovation (2017)
- Historic Hotels Worldwide member
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