Hotel Des Indes

Hotel Des Indes

On Lange Voorhout, under lime trees just off the Binnenhof, Hotel Des Indes occupies a city palace built in 1858 for Baron van Brienen, who wanted a place grand enough for parties yet private enough to shut the world out with a feather: white in the doorknob meant visitors were welcome, red meant stay away. The baron's initial is still cast into the gilded door handles today, a detail few hotels anywhere can match for story. Converted into a hotel in 1881, the building now holds 92 rooms under The Luxury Collection, ranging from the compact Classic Single to a Presidential Suite with its own balcony over the avenue. The restaurant works through French and Italian menus, the daily High Tea runs on scones with clotted cream and petit fours, and a spa, sauna, steam room and both indoor and outdoor pools mean a full day can pass without leaving the building. Meeting rooms and a business center keep it credible for work trips, not only weekend ones. Parking costs extra and pets are not allowed, so this is not the hotel for a dog-and-car holiday, and anyone chasing pared-back minimalist design should look elsewhere. The appeal sits squarely with someone who wants a hotel with an actual biography attached to a Luxury Collection address on Lange Voorhout, within walking distance of the Mauritshuis and Noordeinde Palace. Book the Junior Suite for the daylight through its large windows, or the Presidential Suite for the terrace, and ask at reception exactly where to find the baron's initials. A nineteenth-century baron's city palace on Lange Voorhout, now a 92-room Luxury Collection hotel with a spa, indoor and outdoor pools, and daily High Tea. Parking is chargeable and pets aren't allowed, so this suits history-minded travelers more than anyone chasing a minimalist room or a free driveway.