Nature Abhors a Vacuum Cleaner

12/27/2006 at 8:50 AM
Tags: Amsterdam Hotel Reviews, Odd Hotels

Here at HotelChatter, the turning over of the annual calendar gets to asking ourselves some really deep questions, like...Does anybody really know what time it is? What's love got to do with it? Are you going to Scarborough Fair? And is the Wittgenstein Suite available?

At Amsterdam's Hotel de Filosoof, or Philosophy Hotel, you can sleep with the big thinkers and big ideas. The hotel is comprised of three connected 19th century buildings, with a total of 38 rooms. It serves breakfast, is close to a tram stop, and a stroll through the nearby VondelPark will get you close to both the Rijksmuseum as well as the Van Gogh Museum.

But it's the rooms that are the key here; each one has a special theme and/or moniker. You can choose suites like "Water," "Thoreau," "Confucius," "Passion," and "Spinoza."

From the hotel's website, a description of the "Passion" Suite:

This room is dedicated to the French philosopher, Georges Bataille. The title of his book, "The Tears of Eros" is the inspiration for this room. What physical love (Eros) does not know tears?

Bataille tries to combine Eros (concepts of erotism, and sexuality) with morals (concepts of death, art and religion). Passion, lust and pleasure stand in contrast with, and at the same time very close to, concepts of horror, anxiety and death.

It's not often that one gets to experience passion co-mingling closely with tears, horror, and anxiety.
Still, TripAdvisor reviews reports a stay at the Filosoof provides the ultimate icebreaker: "So, what's your room theme?" Admittedly, some guests weren't exactly sure what their room theme was.

Other comments noted the plethora of very good and VERY bad paintings and photographs; that it was a blessing and a curse to be a bit removed from the city center (quiet, but a bit of a haul to the main Amsterdam sites). Finally, comments range from "icky" to "cozy."

What would Thoreau say about the place?  As he once wrote, "It's not what you look at, but what you see."

[Photo: Jaana-Mari]