Imagine you could drive down to a local church and ask for a room to spend the night, with breakfast in the morning. Imagine how it must be to sleep inside a church with glass-stained windows next to the bed. This is what we did at the Kruisherenhotel Maastricht, a unique hotel experience and one of the most amazing places we have ever stayed in our lives.
We spent one night there in the middle of December 2017, and we will share everything about it below.
Have you ever dreamed of traveling the world and staying in fantastic places when you were younger? In our dreams, the hotel we would be staying in would look a lot like the Kruisherenhotel Maastricht. And based on the pictures here, you know why.
The Kruisherenhotel can be found less than five minutes away from the famous Vrijthof Square in Maastricht. We walked there from the train station and crossed the city, anxious to see the renowned hotel inside a church we had read so much about.
You cannot spend the night inside what used to be a church every day.
After walking across Maastricht, we turned left on a small street and, further away in the distance, we saw some church tower. Would this be the hotel we were so eager to see? Yes, those towers were the first this we saw from the 15th-century gothic building we would be spending the night. A few more steps and we could see a shiny copper gate that might be there to show you that this is not your usual historical building.
Once you are inside the Kruisherenhotel Maastricht, it’s impossible not to look up. The high ceilings of the old church are there with some of the paintings from former times. In the middle of it, there are these beautiful modern chandeliers that look like UFOs were landing inside the building. For a moment you will wonder if any of this is real, but the fantastic hotel staff will come to rescue you from this gaze just to help you with your bags and the check-in.
Check-in done! After that, we rode in a glass lift that brought us to the top floor from where we could see the building better. From where we stood, we could see the restaurant where we would have breakfast the next morning, and you won’t believe how excited we were about this.
What about the beautiful rooms at Kruisherenhotel Maastricht?
After a brief walk along the walls of the old monastery where we would be spending the night, we arrived at our room. Luckily, we were placed in one of the few bedrooms with stained glass windows. Really. From our bed, we could see the outside world through glass-stained windows that used to be from a church. Waking up in the morning with the colors filling up the room as the sun goes up will be a memory that is hard to let go.
Our room at Kruisherenhotel Maastricht had everything you can ask for in a design hotel and a little bit more. The bed was cozy, and we had a hard time leaving it in the morning due to the lights and how good it was.
Also, there were power plugs on both sides of the bed, which we keep mentioning here as essential for travelers nowadays. There was a big screen tv to help you fall asleep after walking across town, a coffee maker, a lovely small table, and a little couch.
Inside the bathroom, you could choose between showering or going in the tub for a nice bath. We decided to go for both, and we did the right thing. Some toiletries smelled so good, and there were two sinks so that you could have time to brush your teeth without worrying about when to spit the toothpaste. Yeah, that is an issue many people have, as we have been told.
The Interior Design at Kruisherenhotel Maastricht
Located in a former convent and church that was left empty after the French take over of the city in the 18th century, the Kruisherenhotel Maastricht is a magical place when it comes to design and architecture. If you are like us and enjoy these details, this hotel is the right place for you.
Once you enter the hotel through a futuristic copper gateway, you will find yourself in the heart of the former convent and its nearby gothic church. Both were renovated by Rob Brouwers of SATIJNplus architects and had the magic touch of Henk Vos, a celebrated Dutch interior designer.
He gave the hotel a unique style that shows how contemporary design can be perfectly matched with gothic and medieval architecture. A perfect synergy of modern and gothic design, something we never thought we would see.
Henk Vos gathered upon some of the most talented and well-known designers and artists of our time to help shape the Kruisherenhotel Maastricht. Works by Philippe Starck, Le Corbusier, and Ingo Maurer are some of the people responsible for the fantastic futuristic tone that gives this hotel its unique look.
In the former church nave, you can find the reception area, conference rooms, as the library where you can scroll through the original design plans for the Kruisherenhotel Maastricht. Something quite extraordinary that we found by accident! The interior courtyard looked like the perfect spot to enjoy the end of a sunny afternoon in Maastricht, but it was too cold in December for us to enjoy. But we loved how the tiny windows from the old monastery looked from there.
Kruisherenhotel Maastricht opened in 2005 after Camille Oostwegel Chateâu Hotels & Restaurants took over and restored the building. Its interiors to its new found glory with the exquisite detail and decor of the original structure are kept wherever possible, making this particular hotel a place for travelers from all around the globe.
The Kruisherenhotel Maastricht Restaurant and Breakfast
But, enough with design, architecture, and how beautiful the Kruisherenhotel Maastricht is. Let’s talk about the important stuff: food.
After having a hard time leaving bed, we took the stairs down to the Kruisherenhotel Maastricht Restaurant where breakfast was waiting for us.
Breakfast was lovely with freshly squeezed orange juice, great coffee, and yogurts with fruits in little glass containers. There were many different cereals with almonds, nuts, and fruits for those who like it. There were various type of bread and cakes, many options of cheeses and cold cuts… Everything was tasty, and we believe we ate too much there. As always.
From where we sat to have breakfast, we could see the UFO lamps that amazed us once we arrived at the hotel. But, this time, they seemed bigger and even more magical. Making our breakfast experience at Kruisherenhotel Maastricht even more fantastic that we thought it would be.
We already miss the time we spent at the Kruisherenhotel Maastricht. Our experience there was short but will stay with us for a long time. If you are looking for a unique, dreamlike place to stay in Maastricht, this is the hotel for you.
There are 60 rooms at the Kruisherenhotel Maastricht, and each one of them is individually designed with modern amenities to complement the old architecture. The rooms are split between the Petite Deluxe Room, the Deluxe Room, the Prestige Room, the Suite and the Bridal Suite; if you want to know more about them, check it out here. The rooms are priced at 190€, and they are more than worth it.
All the rooms have high-speed wifi, en-suite bathrooms with baths, custom-made twin beds and Nespresso coffee and tea facilities. If you want to wake up with the colors from the glass-stained church windows, you have to ask for it!
Kruisherenhotel Maastricht is a magical hotel inside a 15th-century church in the Netherlands
Kruisherengang 19-23
6211 NW Maastricht
The Netherlands
