Drinks at The Duchess Amsterdam - Wedding Anniversary Part II

Even though this follows the previous post, it is not entirely related. Just happened to be on the same day and I need to post more photos for you guys to see.

Well, after the high tea, we wanted to drop by The Duchess (inside the W Hotel) to have a drink and check out the place for next time. It was a bit of a trek for us, because I decided to buy a new Nespresso machine and all the promotional items that came with it. We were lugging a lot of stuff all the way back towards Centraal station. By the time we arrived outside, well, it looked a bit desolate, and Graham didn't want to go in with all our stuff since it was a fancy hotel and you know what I mean... 

Anyhow, I insisted on checking it out, so we went inside and up a set of stairs to the outside of their reception. It looked so empty, we spent some time standing outside looking in and feeling too awkward to go in because the doors were closed as well. We were made uncomfortable by the ostentatious decor that we were not prepared for. Just as we were about to leave, a young man in casual attire greeted us from behind in a completely nonchalant manner and opened the door to let us in, as he was just heading into work. So long story short, really nice staff, made us feel not out of place in this uber-fancy restaurant! Oh, the only other place I've been to that looks even nicer than this would be the Hydro Majestic. I'm know I'm not well travelled or exposed to the expensive things, but I can appreciate things for this quality and uniqueness, and the Hydro is definitely in a league of its one. How many resorts are there in the world that spans 1.2 km along the clifftop overlooking a valley and a mountain range?! It's worth travelling to the Blue Mountains for it, just not the high tea. ;) Lol!

Even the reception was completely empty, well I guess they were at the staff meeting?

We took a seat on the outer corner of the Tea Room, as most seats were occupied or reserved. There was plenty of space on the seats however to lay all of our stuff and spread comfortably without getting to close to the people next to us. 

All our stuff in the corner, Graham checking out the drinks menu, some people were having tea and a staff meeting at the back!

Finally have the whole place to ourselves! The carpet is a little too bright and floral imo...

They have an interesting cocktail menu. Yes, a menu for just cocktails, not just a couple of pages, but a full selection of different varieties! Then we realised why there is no menu for high tea, because it was just an open bar! You know, when it's fancy, you can just have whatever you want! 

As tempting as it looks, I think the cakes at the Gartine still looked better! I prefer cakes over sweets after all. <3

As we were having a break and admiring the beauty of this place, a patron staying at the hotel came and sat opposite us with his dog. Of course, I had to strike up a conversation and ask for permission to take photo of the dog. It turned out the dog was a Shiba Inu puppy! OMG, cuteness!!!

Just had to snap a few more photos of this place to show you how fancy it looks, also my camera was about to die. I need another word for fancy, maybe glamorous?

     

Marble benches and table tops everywhere in the restaurant! Look at how comfy these chairs are!

     

The stairway to the rooms, or you can take the lift, and the beautiful canal view from the window.

And it turns out The Duchess is a Michelin restaurant! So we'll need another special occasion to go back there for  the food! Of course, you'll read about it when that happens.