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Name any alternative contemporary artist or band and you can be pretty sure they stayed at the BackStage Hotel. No wonder: it’s perfectly suited for musicians and music lovers alike. The Backstage Bar is stuffed with guitars, lamps disguised as saxophones and drums, a pool table and—of course—Guitar Hero gear. The blackboard paneling and out of tune piano are filled from top to bottom with artist’s autographs and drawings. With 22 rooms, all equipped with an iPod docking station, The BackStage Hotel is of modest size, which makes for a very personal experience.

Opened after renovation in 2004, The Lloyd Hotel claims to be ‘the first 1-to-5 star hotel in the world’. Say what? Yes, the hotel offers 1-star rooms with shared bathroom, luxurious 5-star suites and everything in between. Located in the eastern part of the city center and housed in a freestanding monumental building dating from 1921, the Lloyd used to be a temporary accommodation for immigrants, a wartime prison and a detention center for troublesome youth before it was transformed into a hotel by architect firm MVRDV. Each of its 117 rooms was redesigned by famed Dutch designers like Marcel Wanders and Piet Hein Eek.

Part of urban-renewal project ‘The Red Carpet,’ Hotel The Exchange is located right between Amsterdam Central Station and Dam Square. The concept was thought up by the initiators of the Lloyd Hotel & Cultural Embassy. Just like its big brother, The Exchange is a 1-to-5 star hotel, with the amount of stars referring to the room size and amenities. There’s a good reason why The Exchange, housed in three buildings on the Damrak (the oldest dating back to the 17th century), refers to its rooms as being ‘dressed like models’: the interior of each of the 61 rooms—with beautiful names like “Hide and Seek,” “History Repeated,” and “Odd Room”—is designed by students of the Amsterdam Fashion Institute.

Opened in 2011, The Manor Hotel is housed is a monumental, freestanding former hospital in Amsterdam-Oost. With a tram stop at its doorstep, this haven of peace and tranquility is only minutes away from the city centre, while at the same time offering the opportunity to explore a part of the city that’s often (and wrongfully so) ignored. Buy some groceries at the cozy yet chaotic Dapper Market, marvel at the monkeys in Artis Zoo, have lunch at one of the many nearby café’s, or stroll through the Oosterpark—it’s all there.