‘You have to trick yourself sometimes into staying positive and believing in your vision, when the contrary view is held by everyone else. In a way, it’s almost like going against your own internal sense of doubt too — break your own rules, be decisive, and do not waver in your vision.’
That’s what Josh Wyatt, co-owner of Generator Hostels, told yours truly when I interviewed him for LE Miami’s The Shift; it is clear now that determined belief in a resolute vision is reaping rewards. The first of three new European openings this year, Generator Amsterdam precedes Stockholm and Rome, and adds to a swelling group of design-led hostels that counts the likes of Barcelona, Berlin, and London, among its ranks.
East Amsterdam is enjoying the same sort of cultural renaissance that London’s geographical counterpart is famed for — on the edge of the city’s newly renovated Oosterpark, Generator Amsterdam continues Wyatt’s vision to immerse guests into the beating heart of their cities: ‘when you’re travelling you can’t always find hotels near residential neighbourhoods, or places where you can experience the city like a local,’ he continued in our chat, ‘so by staying at Generator you’re easily immersing yourself into culture that many tourists miss out on.’
Culture is a key cog, design another, and long-time collaborators DesignAgency are at it again, with another fit-out that belies the high-end hostel’s budget prices. The communal spaces, and rooms, are bright, bold, brilliant, and playful; all the things we’ve come to expect from a price- and design-conscious brand that has carved a new path in culture-led travel.
Set in a 1908 building, the Amsterdam edition centres around core social space, Nescio, where a café, auditorium and library offer plenty of space for milling around — programming includes beer tasting, coffee masterclasses, and movie screenings; a speakeasy in the building’s former boiler room is slated to open later in the year. Rates start at 18€ for shared rooms, up to 100€ for luxury suites.
Photography, Nikolas Koenig
