Sofitel’s Amsterdam property – The Grand – has officially launched as a “Sofitel Legend”, the five-star hotel chain’s top tier for properties with “rarity and exclusivity”.

Sited in the centre of Amsterdam, the former convent and home of the Dutch Admiralty was selected to be the first European Sofitel Legend because of its long history (though it has been a hotel only a few decades).

The move to create Sofitel Legend properties is part of Accor’s continued repositioning of its top tier Sofitel brand, a move which has seen the number of Sofitels drop in recent years as they have either been rebranded as Pullmans or M Gallery properties, or have left the Accor group altogether. The first Sofitel Legend was the Metropole in Hanoi.

The Sofitel Grand has had tens of millions spent on it in the last three years, and now has a two-floor spa including swimming pool, new public areas and meeting rooms, and most notably a new restaurant – Bridges.

The property, which has been a Sofitel for several years, has undergone an extensive renovation in recent years under French interior architect Sybille de Margerie (also responsible for the Hôtel de Crillon in Paris and Hôtel Cheval Blanc in Courchevel). The hotel’s restaurant has taken its design inspiration from an existing mural in situ by Dutch COBRA artist Karel Appel.

The 177-room hotel has 52 suites including some apartments with direct access to the canalside, and a courtyard garden around which the rooms are gathered, giving a choice of external views or courtyard views (definitely quieter in the summer months, given Amsterdam’s reputation for partying). A full review of the property will appear in the September issue of Business Traveller.

Other hotels lined up to join The Grand as Sofitel Legends include the Old Cataract in Aswan (Egypt), Palais Jamaï in Fez (Morocco), Santa Clara in Cartagena (Colombia), the Winter Palace in Luxor (Egypt) and The Cecil in Alexandria (Egypt).

For more information visit sofitel.com.