Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam can host board meetings, conferences, private dinners and weddings in 19 meeting rooms and banquet halls covering 1,400 m2 in total, with guest rooms, restaurants and a bar in the same building. The hotel stands at Oudezijds Voorburgwal 197 in the historic center of Amsterdam, in the building that served as the city's City Hall.
Seminars and company events
The meetings team sells day meetings, conferences, celebrations and private dining, and a groups, meetings and events brochure gives the technical details. Five historical chambers take formal meetings and dinners, while the Princenhof wing holds 14 contemporary rooms with audiovisual equipment for working sessions. A planner can run a plenary in one wing and breakouts in the other without leaving the hotel. The ALL Meeting Planner program lets bookers earn points on events.
Weddings and receptions
Ceremonies take place in two of the historical rooms, chosen by guest numbers. The Marriage Chamber, on the first floor of the monumental wing, suits a small ceremony. The larger Council Chamber, where Queen Beatrix married in 1966, takes a larger wedding party. Receptions and dinners can follow in the hotel's other rooms or restaurants.
Rooms and capacities
The five historical rooms all have natural daylight and date from the building's time as Town Hall. The Council Chamber, the former seat of the city council, was redesigned by Willem Penaat in 1926 and is a listed monument. The St. Cecilia Chamber overlooks the courtyard. The Aldermans Chamber and the Burgomaster Chamber served the mayor and former mayors until 1992. The Marriage Chamber was designed by the artist Chris LeBeau and completed in 1926. In the Princenhof wing, the Admiralty is the large event space on the ground floor, with high windows onto the courtyard. The Grand Boardroom has current meeting technology. Grand Duke sits by the main entrance, and King, Queen, Princess and Prince on the first floor have built-in audiovisual equipment. Earl, Count, Baron, Marquis and Lord are fixed boardrooms on the second floor. The site does not publish capacities per room; they are in the brochure.
Accommodation
Guest rooms and suites are on site, including Canal House Suites and accessible rooms, so delegates and wedding guests can stay where the event takes place.
Catering
Catering is in-house. Restaurant Bridges serves five-, six- or seven-course chef's menus, Oriole Garden Bistro offers Mediterranean cooking, and the Garden Terrace, the Library for afternoon tea and The Flying Dutchman bar complete the offer.
History and setting
The site has been a 15th-century convent, royal lodgings, the headquarters of the Dutch Admiralty and finally Amsterdam's City Hall. Prince William of Orange and Maria de Medici stayed in the Princenhof. The listed chambers keep the decoration of the City Hall years.
Getting there
The hotel is in the old center, about 10 minutes on foot from Amsterdam Centraal station. Schiphol Airport is about 20 minutes by train to Centraal.
