Being an intern at VBAT part V
Living at Hotel Jansen
By Melanie Edwards
Creative Intern at VBAT
Whilst in Amsterdam, I have been living in the newly built Hotel Jansen. The six story building is composed of storage containers and opened its doors to the very first guests in October 2015. I feel really lucky to be one of those first guests and so here is a blog post about Hotel Jansen and what its like to live there.
Since starting university I have lived in lots of different temporary accommodation — from hostels and student halls to student houses but what they all have in common is that they never feel like home. In temporary accommodation every room is the same which makes them look and feel so impersonal. At Hotel Jansen they really try to make it “feel as much as home as possible “and it works.
Each and every room is individually decorated and complete with “Dutch hand crafted furniture, accessories and art that is designed and produced by a collective of artists and carpenters, always in limited editions”. On the day that I arrived at Hotel Jansen, I was taken to my room and I was told about the history and story behind each piece of furniture and design in the room.
I have a bed made from recycled wood which was originally used to create the stage of an Amsterdam music festival, wall hangers made of old bicycles and my bathroom walls are covered in hand painted graffiti. When I go home after a day at work, I really feel like I’m at home. A problem I have found with many temporary accommodations in the past is that its always cold — but at Hotel Jansen it is always warm and cosy.
Each floor is themed around a different place in Amsterdam — this paired with all of the story that is tied up in the furnishings really lets you feel immersed in Amsterdam life and culture without even leaving the building. Each weekend there is a list of things happening in the city posted in the Hotel Jansen Facebook group, so if you want to make the most of your time here and really live out your Amsterdam experience — Hotel Jansen is a great place to do that.
On each floor there is a kitchen which everybody on that floor shares. There are roughly 25 people on each floor so you might imagine it would be quite hectic but I really isn’t all that bad. The kitchens are really big and are all complete with two cookers, dishwashers, sinks and fridges, and not everybody eats at the same time so overcrowding rarely tends to be a problem. I also imagined that with 25 people, the kitchens would always be a mess but everybody is really considerate and the place is generally kept quite tidy.
But aside from cooking and eating, the kitchen is a really social place. In the centre of each kitchen is a long table so there are always people sat around it together. Even for the less outgoing people its not difficult to make friends at Hotel Jansen. Each floor has their own Facebook group where group meals and events are often organised.
Since the guests at Hotel Jansen come from all over the world, one morning our floor did a brunch and each person brought a breakfast that was typical of the place that they come from. Everybody shared and tried the different breakfast cuisines. Also, In the lead up to the release of the new Hunger Games movie, we had a series of movie nights in the kitchen. Pizza was ordered, pop corn was made and together everybody watched the movies. Then on the night of the release of the latest film — lots of the people from the floor went together to watch it.
For eating, there is also the option of going to Mamas kitchen which is located on the ground floor of the building. They always have events there too; they had an into party to help everybody meet when the hotel first opened, they did a Halloween event complete with a fancy dress contest and just recently made a huge meal to celebrate thanksgiving. The staff are all lovely and are the faces I’m so happy to see when I accidentally lock myself out of my room and need to get back in.
Hotel Jansen is not located in the centre of Amsterdam but the area really is nice. There are a range of supermarkets which you can get to in under five minutes by bike and there are lots of nice bars and restaurants close by. The city centre is only 20 minutes away by bike providing the weather is okay for cycling. It’s really nice to take a bike ride through Vondelpark to the centre too. As if the location wasn’t great enough already, Hotel Jansen sits directly beside a bakery so every morning I am greeted with the delightful aroma of fresh baking.
And for anyone working at VBAT it could not be any more convenient — If you stand at the front door of Hotel Jansen, you can literally see VBAT!
VBAT is always looking for creative interns, so why don’t you just try - who knows, maybe will you soon stay at Hotel Jansen, too?
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By Melanie Edwards
Creative Intern at VBAT
