The Hilton Amsterdam is a historic hotel in Apollobuurt, in the Oud-Zuid district of

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, in the Netherlands. It is located at Apollolaan 138 along the ''Noorder Amstelkanaal'', a canal connected to the

Amstel The Amstel () is a river in the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. It flows from the Aarkanaal and Drecht in Nieuwveen northwards, passing Uithoorn, Amstelveen, and Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, to the IJ in Amsterdam. Annually, the ri ...

river. The hotel opened in 1962 as the Amsterdam Hilton, part of the

Hilton Hotels Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton. The original company was founded by Conrad Hilton. As ...

chain. It is known for

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

's "

Bed-In The Bed-ins for Peace were two week-long nonviolent protests against wars, intended as experimental tests of new ways to promote peace. As the Vietnam War raged in 1969, John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono held one protest at the Hilton Hotel in Ams ...

" for peace which was staged in 1969 to protest the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

History

The Amsterdam Hilton opened on May 9, 1962 as the first hotel in the Netherlands from an international hotel chain. It was designed by Hugh Aart Maaskant in a V-shape, to emphasize the two major urban axes that intersect the Apollolaan and Minerva Avenue. It was completely renovated between 1996 and 1998 with a lobby design by Peter Ellis. A number of notable deaths have occurred in the hotel area, such as the murder of the drug lord Klaas Bruinsma in 1991, in the Breitnerstraat, next to the hotel. In 2001 musician and artist

Herman Brood Hermanus "Herman" Brood (; 5 November 1946 – 11 July 2001) was a Dutch musician, painter, actor and poet. As a musician he achieved artistic and commercial success in the 1970s and 1980s, and was called "the greatest and only Dutch rock 'n' ...

committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

by jumping off the roof of the hotel at the age of 54. Extensively covered by the national media in the Netherlands, Brood's casket was driven from the Hilton hotel to Paradiso, Amsterdam, and the streets were lined with thousands of spectators. The late

Gary Rhodes Gary Rhodes (22 April 1960 – 26 November 2019) was an English restaurateur and television chef, known for his love of English cuisine and ingredients and for his distinctive spiked hair style. He fronted shows such as ''MasterChef'', '' Mas ...

, a UK celebrity chef and TV presenter, started hi
professional career
at the Amsterdam Hilton.

Bed-In for Peace

John Lennon performing Give Peace a Chance 1969

Knowing their March 20, 1969 marriage in

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would be a major press event, John and Yoko used the publicity to promote

world peace World peace, or peace on Earth, is the concept of an ideal state of peace within and among all people and nations on Planet Earth. Different cultures, religions, philosophies, and organizations have varying concepts on how such a state would ...

. They spent their honeymoon in the presidential suite (then room #902, renumbered #702 during renovations) of the Amsterdam Hilton in a "

" between March 25 and 31, 1969, inviting the world's press into their hotel room daily between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Amsterdam art dealer

Nico Koster Naftiran Intertrade Company limited (NICO) is a Swiss-based subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). NICO is a general contractor for the oil and gas industry. NIOC buys the vast majority of Iran's gasoline imports. NICO is a key pl ...

was invited by Lennon himself for a solo shoot. Koster unearthed the lost negatives of these historic pictures in March 2009. The couple were sitting in bed in Room 702 of the hotel in Lennon's words "like Angels", discussing peace with signs over their bed reading "Hair Peace" and "Bed Peace". After seven days, they flew to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, Austria, where they held a

Bagism Bagism is a satire of prejudice, where by living in a bag a person could not be judged on their bodily appearance. Bagism was created by John Lennon and Yoko Ono as part of their extensive peace campaign in the late 1960s. The intent of bagism wa ...

press conference. The hotel and event is mentioned in the 1969 song "

The Ballad of John and Yoko "The Ballad of John and Yoko" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in May 1969. It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership, and chronicles the events surrou ...

" where he mentions the Amsterdam Hilton by name and uses the following words: "...the news people said: Hey, what you doin' in bed? I said: We're only tryin' to get us some peace!".1967-1970 lyric booklet

Suites and catering

The Hilton Amsterdam contains 271 rooms. The interior of the newly refurbished rooms is designed by Nobilis Paris. The hotels facilities include a hairdresser, a bar area and several terraces. The rooms are divided between standard Dutch-style suites and the deluxe and executive rooms. Notable suites include the John and Yoko suite, the King Hilton Junior suite, the King Neptune suite, the Presidential suite, the Queen Hilton Junior suite, the twin Hilton Junior suite, and the Royal suite. The John and Yoko suite is a luxury suite featuring a king-sized bed with Egyptian linen, and is decorated with memorabilia related to the couple.

References

External links

* {{coord, 52, 21, 5, N, 4, 52, 20, E, display=title, source:wikimapia Amsterdam-Zuid

Hotel buildings completed in 1962 Hotels established in 1962 Hotels in Amsterdam