Hip hotel in Amsterdam Noord: BUNK Hotel & Restaurant

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Latest update: 13 March 2024

Sleeping and eating in a former church? Yes, count me in! In Amsterdam Noord, you can stay at BUNK Hotel & Restaurant. An old church has been converted into a cool hotel full of nice little nooks and details to discover. This is my extensive BUNK Hotel review so that you can determine whether it’s the right hotel for you. Spoiler: the answer is yes.

Stay in a hotel in Amsterdam Noord

From the central station, I take the ferry to Amsterdam Noord. Wind through my hair, a view of the A’DAM Tower: I am not even twenty minutes away from my house, but I have already forgotten my everyday life and to-do list. There’s something about boats, right? Even such a short ferry ride over the IJ clears my head almost instantly. So with an empty head, I step into the world of BUNK. A fifteen-minute walk from the ferry or less than five minutes by bike.

If you’re coming by car and want to park at the BUNK Hotel, the hotel has its own parking spaces, but prices start at €65 per day. If that sounds a bit expensive (because it is), choose a P&R spot and continue to the hotel by public transport. That way, you still get to enjoy that ferry ride!

History of BUNK Hotel Amsterdam

At the BUNK Hotel, you step into history, history with a very modern twist. A huge purple tyrannosaurus rex greets me at the entrance. It has been extinct for centuries, long before the Sint-Rita Church was built in 1921.

The hotel is a former Roman Catholic church that was hit by a plane bomb in the war during the mass time. The bomb was intended for a nearby aircraft factory occupied by the Germans. So it was a mistake bombing. Extremely painful. Anne Frank even wrote about it in her diary. There is a memorial stone on the sidewalk in front of the church. If you want to know more about this history, I will refer you to Friendly Fire Amsterdam.

The church was rebuilt after the war and, at one point, served as an office building for Universal Studios and a library. And now it is a hotel.

A church hotel in Amsterdam

The BUNK Hotel in Amsterdam only opened in March 2022. They tried about two years earlier, but that opening was cut short prematurely. In March 2020, the pandemic did not exactly provide a dream start. So now it’s finally time to dream away in the BUNK Hotel. This hotel in Amsterdam Noord is unique and affordable – an ideal mix.

Pod hotel in Amsterdam

The design team wisely chose compact rooms and smart pods. A pod? Yes, you often see pod hotels these days. And now we have a pod hotel in Amsterdam. This is actually the hostel part of BUNK. Think of it as a massive cupboard in which a mattress fits exactly in every compartment. So you have your own mini-room, including a blackout curtain and safe. That’s a lot of privacy for a dormitory! If you come with a partner or a good friend, BUNK even has pods for two people. But uh, it remains a dormitory where other people also sleep, eh. So if you want to make it a more exciting evening: get a room. 😉

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BUNK Amsterdam hotel rooms

When converting a church into a hotel, you must use the space wisely. Because it is a monumental building, the church is literally and figuratively holy. You can’t just tinker with it, so BUNK has created something extraordinary with inventive scaffolding and prefab rooms. It looks like a block box. Looking around the middle of the church, you will see the blocks stacked playfully on each other. The idea comes from an Italian mountain village where the houses seem to float through space. That effect is undoubtedly successful. Especially if you go to the top floor, you can see it nicely and spot the graffiti well.

And, to be honest, I don’t find the white walls that inspiring. So I open my BUNK Room ++ a little hesitantly… and it surprises me! The room is not too big but super functional. The bed is on an elevation (a bit box-bed-like), so you can easily store your luggage under it. There are enough sockets to charge your phone, and the bathroom is cleverly decorated. The same door closes off both the shower and toilet. Nicely space-saving – but less suitable for a lengthy toilet session because your roommate hears everything. Fortunately, there is a TV to turn on loud.

BUNK Hotel also has other room options, so choose the one that suits you based on your budget. View your options.

Discover the church hotel

You don’t come across a hotel in a church every day. Or at least: I don’t. And so I go on a journey of discovery: I want to see everything. I advise you to do the same: walk down every corridor and up every staircase because you will find everything from art to church objects spread over the hotel. There is an old pew, you can walk past the stately church windows and see religious images in the wall. You’ll find a small library and even a studio where you can play music. And don’t forget to check out the bunker!

BUNK Restaurant

Something thing to discover with your taste buds: the restaurant of the BUNK Hotel. The menu sends you to almost all continents but with local, organic products. From Thai soup to Mexican tacos and Greek salad to Moroccan stew.

You can sit in the lovely outdoor area or inside. Inside it is gorgeous. Sit on the wonderfully soft benches, and find funny trinkets everywhere: from modern statues to things that would not look out of place in an antique shop or flea market.

Breakfast is served in the restaurant in the morning. There is no breakfast buffet, but you order something from the menu. Eggs Benedict or tasty pancakes? Difficult to choose. The restaurant is open every day from 7 a.m. to midnight. You can order breakfast until 4 p.m. So you can sleep in as long as you want unless you have to check out, of course.

This is really not a typical hotel restaurant. BUNK Hotel itself says it is made for world travelers from afar and people from the neighborhood, and that is the truth. A good friend who lives in Amsterdam Noord tells me the day after my stay that he just had lunch there. So it’s not just a marketing trick, people!

What to do around the BUNK Hotel & Restaurant?

There is always something to do in Amsterdam. Also in Amsterdam Noord and also less than a fifteen-minute walk from the BUNK Hotel & Restaurant. So a few tips to do in the area around the hotel:

• A’DAM LOOKOUT: swing on the edge of the A’DAM tower and enjoy the view. More info.
• Tolhuistuin: visit a concert, workshop, or yoga class. More info.
• Eye Filmmuseum: State-of-the-art building with films, exhibitions, and more. More info. (and 5% discount with coupon code KIMOPREIS22).
• WONDR Experience: a playground for adults and children to take endless Instagram-worthy pictures. More info.
• Oedipus Brewery: try the beers from Oedipus. Personal Favorite: Mannenliefde. More info.

If you plan to visit many attractions and activities in Amsterdam, be sure to check out a handy discount pass. Here are some options:

I was invited to stay at the Bunk Hotel by BUNK and MissPublicity. They did not influence the words I chose for this article.