SWEETS hotel, first initiated in 2012 as an urban space project. 13 bridge houses are currently available for reservations, with more coming soon. SWEETS hotel is an initiative and co-creation of the architecture office Space&Matter (known for De Ceuvel, an ecological hub), project development partner Grayfield and Suzanne Oxenaar and Otto Nan, founders of Lloyd Hotel & Cultural Embassy (the world’s first 1 to 5 star hotel) and Hotel The Exchange.

SWEETS hotel is a one-of-a-kind hotel located across Amsterdam in 28 different bridge houses. Each bridge house has been transformed into an independent hotel suite that accommodates a maximum of two guests. For over a 100 years, Amsterdam’s bridge houses accommodated the city’s many bridge keepers who were responsible for opening the impressive structures for passing water traffic. With building dates between 1673 and 2009, the bridge houses carry an extensive history. Visiting them in chronological order is like a journey through time: their various architectural styles reveal how the city developed and grew, when new quarters were built and even how people thought about city development at that time. With the hotel room interiors, SWEETS hotel offers guests a unique and comfortable living space, while keeping the history of every house in mind. All bridge houses are different, and so are the interiors. Every SWEET accommodates up to two adults, and contains a kingsize double bed, a bathroom and coffee and tea facilities.

Because IJburg, Amsterdam’s most recent expansion area, is built on a series of artificial islands, there are a large number of bridges here. Striking about this design is that the bridges on IJburg were designed not by the municipal department but independent architectural offices, including Nicholas Grimshaw, Benthem Crouwel and Meyer and Van Schooten. In addition to several bridges, the architectural firm Quist Wintermans also designed the bridge control building on Sluis Haveneiland (lock). All of the bridges and locks on IJburg were operated from the building on Bert Haanstrakade (street).