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H2otel Rotterdam

From: Rotterdam, Netherlands

ABOVE: The H2otel is a two-deck floating hotel in the center of Rotterdam, Netherlands.

By Durant Imboden

The H2otel on Rotterdam's historic Wijnhaven, or Wine Harbor, is uniquely suited to that maritime city's environment: The three-star hotel floats on the water, where it rises and fall with the tides.

Guest rooms, which are moderately priced, come in several varieties:

• Art rooms, on the upper deck, are relatively small and have sloping roofs with skylights in lieu of windows. The rooms are built along one side of an open corridor facing the quay, and they're convenient for bicyclists (who can lock either their own bicycles or the hotel's rental bikes to the railing).

• Terrace rooms, also on the upper deck, are similar to art rooms but have small terraces with tables and chairs.

• Silver rooms on the lower deck have flat ceilings and large porthole-like windows. Singles face the water, while doubles (which are larger than art rooms) face the quay.

• Rooms de luxe are small suites with separate sitting and sleeping areas. Like silver rooms, they're located on the lower deck.

The H2otel's public rooms consist of a glassed-in entrance lobby on the upper deck, a brasserie bar-restaurant with a waterside terrace on the lower deck, and--next to the brasserie--a salon where a buffet breakfast is served each morning.

Desk staff at the H2otel are extremely helpful and friendly, and the hotel's location is ideal: It's within a leisurely walk of the central railroad station and the cruise terminal. Even better, the hotel is only a few minutes on foot from Rotterdam Blaak station, which is served by the Rotterdam Metro and by trains from Amsterdam (including Schiphol Airport).

From the H2otel, you can easily reach most sights and attractions in central Rotterdam, including the Cube Houses, the waterside restaurants of the Oude Haven (Old Harbor), the Maritime and Harbor Museums, and the city's main business and shopping district. We spent five nights at the H2otel and walked everywhere--we never felt the need for a taxi or public transportation.

To check rates for this this pleasant and reasonably-priced hotel--or to make reservations with our hotel partner--see H2otel at Europe's leading secure reservations service, Booking.com.

For more captioned photos of the H2otel, see page 2 of this article.

"Best of the Web"   - Forbes and The Washington Post From Durant and Cheryl Imboden:   About Europe for Visitors

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