Kruisherenhotel Maastricht, Netherlands – Hotel Review

The Dutch are a practical people, and, since numerous churches and monasteries were closed as Napoleon Bonaparte established hegemony over most of continental Europe, they were sooner or later bound to find a good use for these large empty buildings.

One such building is the Kruisherenhotel, which dates back to the 15th century, when the Order of the Holy Cross (Crosier or “Kruisheren” in Dutch) built a monastery in the center of Maastricht.  Almost two hundred years after Napoleon, Camille Oostwegel, the hotel’s proprietor, began the transformation of the property from an old cloister into a designer hotel.

Since landmark preservation laws did not allow for any changes to the former cloister’s structure or interior, the restaurant and every single room of the hotel had to be integrated into the existing design and structure.

After a drive of 472 km (293 miles) from Stuttgart to Maastricht with The Diesel Driver’s new Mercedes-Benz E350 BlueTec, which FBT Editorial Director  Jonathan Spira and I picked up at the Mercedes-Benz Kundencenter (customer delivery center) in Sindelfingen a few days earlier, we found ourselves in Maastricht. 

We pulled up to the main entrance, where a friendly bellman immediately came out, welcomed us, and helped with the luggage. We were instantly fascinated by the entrance and the lobby. Somehow, we were entering a church, but at the same time we were walking into a luxurious designer hotel of the 21st century. Check-in was quick and efficient, and within a few minutes, I was being escorted to a room on the first floor.

THE ROOM

My Prestige room, located in the west wing, had a living area large enough for a sofa and a butterfly chair.  The bedroom, more or less an extension of the living room, was small but cozy. Glass doors separated a vestibule from the living area. A walk-in closet was integrated into the hallway; the minibar was in the closet.

The room, despite being in a 15th-century cloister, was thoroughly modern in design.  The bedroom wall was dominated by a mural of the king and the princess of the Netherlands. Thanks to the building’s small windows, there was relatively little natural light, so a large number of light fixtures were used to brighten the interior.

Despite the modern design, there was no television set in the room.  Since I almost never turn a hotel TV on anyway, however, I barely noticed it.

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