Hard Rock Hotel Amsterdam American

Southern Canal Ring


This building is a magnificent art nouveau beast. The founder of the original hotel, Cornelis Alidus Anne (CAA) Steinigeweg had helped establish a Dutch settlement on Grand Island, New York, hence the 'American' in the name. Designed by architect Willem Kromhout, today's hotel is an expansion of the original 1880s Viennese Renaissance-style building, which was covered in symbols of Americana. Life-sized statues on the facade represent the five continents.

You can, of course, stay at the luxury hotel. Its Café Americain is a heritage-listed showpiece, with a beautifully restored art nouveau interior featuring stained glass, exquisite light fittings and murals; it's long been affectionately dubbed 'Amsterdam's living room', and is open to non-guests.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Southern Canal Ring attractions

1. Little Woodcutter

0.06 MILES

Hidden up in the Leidsebosje parkland's closest tree to the pedestrian crossing on Stadhouderskade (where it intersects with Leidseplein) is an endearing…

2. Leidseplein

0.08 MILES

Historic architecture, beer, clubs and steakhouses – welcome to Leidseplein. The square is always busy, but after dark it gets thronged by a mainstream…

3. Blauw Jan

0.12 MILES

There's a surprise waiting in Kleine Gartmanplantsoen park: 40 huge, lifelike lizards nestled in the grass and sunning themselves on the brickwork. It's a…

4. Vondelpark

0.15 MILES

Attracting over 12 million visitors per year, Amsterdam’s favorite playground is the green expanse of Vondelpark, with its 116 acres (47 hectares) of…

5. Amsterdam Pipe Museum

0.17 MILES

This museum is located in the grand 17th-century canal house of the marvellously single-minded pipe collector who gathered this unexpectedly fascinating…

6. Huis Marseille

0.31 MILES

Large-scale temporary exhibitions from its own collection are staged at this well-curated photography museum, which also hosts travelling shows. Themes…

7. Diamond Museum

0.31 MILES

The extensive bling on display at the small, low-tech Diamond Museum is all clever recreations. You get a lot of background on the history of the trade…

8. Rijksmuseum

0.32 MILES

The Netherlands’ top treasure house, the Rijksmuseum (pronounced ‘rikes’), is among the world's finest art museums. With over 1.5km of galleries, it packs…