Lloyd Hotel Amsterdam

Visitors to Amsterdam with a sense of humor might like the Lloyd Hotel Amsterdam (Oostelijke Handelskade 34, 1019 BN Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS; phone +31 [0] 20 561 3636, fax 3600 or visit www.lloydhotel.com).

Located on the docks in the eastern part of the city, the hotel was built in the early 20th century by the Lloyd shipping line as housing for emigrants who were about to embark for the New World. During the Nazi occupation it was used as a prison, then later as a juvenile prison, then abandoned for a time before being completely renovated and made into a hotel again.

The architects upgraded it to modern standards but showed some quirky ideas in the layout. Your room might contain a bathtub in the center, or a showerhead might protrude from one wall, although all properly tiled and drained. Much of the original tile and brickwork has been preserved, to remind one of the melancholy history of the place.

Tucked up under my down comforter in our room under the eaves, looking out at the lights shining on the water and hearing the cries of the circling gulls, I felt as if I were about to embark for the New World.

We stayed at the Lloyd Feb. 19-21, 2007. For our room with double bed and bath we paid €110 ($148) per night for two nights and then, oddly, €125 ($169) for the third night.

On the ground floor, located in a dramatic, high-ceilinged space, there is an excellent restaurant — a good thing, as there are not many dining opportunities in the neighborhood. Curiously, a restaurant that vaunts its reliance on locally grown, organic produce allows its patrons to smoke at the table, which pretty much destroys the point of the whole thing.

The hotel is located away from the main Amsterdam attractions that most tourists come to see, but the number 10 tram, which stops close by, whisks you to the Rijksmuseum in 13 minutes fl at.

MICHAEL MAHONEY

San Francisco, CA