Lute Suites, Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, Netherlands

Lute Suites just outside Amsterdam started life as the dream restaurant of one of Amsterdam's top chefs, Peter Lute, before it became one of best boutique hotels in Holland. Lute restaurant opened in 2002 and thanks to this culinary creative's eye for design, his new venture soon became a destination restaurant despite its rather off-piste location in the sleepy commuter town of Oudekerk aan de Amstel. A couple of years after the launch, Marcel Wanders, one of the country’s leading interior designers, came to dinner, there was a meeting of minds and the concept behind Lute Suites, Holland’s most famous design hotel, was born.

The facilities

The Lute lifestyle concept has proved so popular that 2007 saw the launch of the Lute Getaway, a four-hour cruise with a seven-course tasting menu on board a Wanders-designed canal boat. And more Lute Suites and restaurants are in the pipeline, to be located in the centre of Amsterdam. The suites

Seven listed houses adjacent to the restaurant, which date back to 1740 and overlook the Amstel river, have been transformed into self-catering, cutting-edge boltholes. Their antique, distinctly Dutch charm combined with elegant and quirky interiors have proved wildly popular with bankers, top-drawer creatives and the design-obsessed Japanese. Much of the furniture is from Wanders’ interiors firm Moooi, bathrooms come courtesy of Boffi, lighting is by Cappellini and Flos and Bisazza mosaic tiles transform walls into a vibrant riot of pattern and colour. In the style of a bona fide boutique hotel, every suite is different, so here's the low-down on which is which:

Suite 1 – Light, bright and colourful, this suite is popular with the ladies and the subtle phallic art installation opposite the bed have made it a hit with honeymooners.

Suite 2 – When the artist Combas stayed at Lute Suites during his exhibition at the COBRA museum, he was so enchanted by his room that he painted a mural on one of the walls. The suite is furnished with funky VIP chairs by Moooi and a Boffi soap bath, but it’s the impressive bedroom with Wanders’ iconic Knot chair hanging on the wall that has attracted a lot of repeat guests from the worlds of advertising and photography.

Suite 3 – This may be one of the smallest of the suites but its combined bedroom and bathroom lend it a cosiness that’s popular with couples. The unravelling carpet is not an oversight by housekeeping – it’s art.

Suite 4 – Dubbed a family suite, this is one of the largest available although it’s not for the body-conscious or shy and retiring types as the bathroom is totally transparent.

Suite 5 - The amazing mezzanine bathroom and 'sleeping nook' tucked away in the eaves make this suite particularly romantic and unique. Guests can enjoy views of both the river Amstel and the central courtyard from cream-coloured corian bathtub or snuggle up to watch DVDs in the bijou living room downstairs.

Suite 6 – The broody black and grey tones of this Bisazza tile-clad suite give it a distinctly masculine feel. The colourful pebble-shaped bedroom tables, river view and enchanting, gilded one-minute sculptures made by Wanders and his two-year-old daughter give it added charm.

Suite 7 – Last but by no means least, Suite 7 is popular for anniversaries and honeymoons thanks to the glamorous chandeliers by Jurgen Bey, the one-minute sculpture lamps and the erotic art that hangs above the double bed.