He proudly showed us the entrance, the hotel rooms that are already completed and – the centrepiece – the huge skybar with a beautiful view across Amsterdam. Although this may not be the most opportune moment to open after a three-year construction period, Sybesma is full of enthusiasm. ‘The fact that coronavirus has the world in its grip doesn’t have to mean you stop developing and dreaming. A vaccine will come and Zuidas will be as bustling as ever, and it will probably get even busier. That’s what we’re counting on. It’s also why we’re opening as planned on 10 December. In view of the situation, we won’t be running on full capacity straight away, but we will certainly be able to pamper our guests.’
At the heart of Zuidas
The INNSiDE Hotel will be the tenth hotel in Zuidas. So, what distinguishes this hotel from the others? From the window of one of the hotel rooms, Sybesma points towards Amsterdam Zuid station. ‘You can’t get any closer to the heart of Zuidas than this. What’s more, with the extra passenger tunnel under the station, there will be an access route almost directly opposite the hotel entrance.’
Something for the neighbourhood
The hotel will focus on both business guests and tourists. The lobby and the skybar will also be accessible to guests who are not staying overnight. Sybesma: ‘We hope that this will ensure that INNSiDE is a place for local residents to come and work, have a drink or enjoy a bite to eat. That means we’re here for everyone in Zuidas and wider Amsterdam, and not only visitors to the city.’ As we reach the skybar, they are hard at work on the huge open kitchen and enormous bar. ‘Isn’t that amazing?’, beams Sybesma. ‘That’s what I love about the phase we’re now in: every day I see more of the final result.’
Three subprojects
What makes the renovation of 2Amsterdam so special is that it actually involves three subprojects. The old Stibbe tower is being extended at the sides on the bottom 11 floors and at the front and rear. This tower will continue to serve as offices and will be completed in mid-2021. What was the AkzoNobel Tower has now almost been transformed into the INNSiDE hotel. Subproject 3 involves the construction of a large underground car park connecting both buildings. Now that the hotel is opening in December, we ourselves will be doing landscaping work to ensure that the public space connects better to the hotel entrance. We will provide full details soon.
2Amsterdam is a project of Commerz Real and developer Provast. You can find more photos of this project on our Flickr page.
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