Marble floors, silk tapestries and valuable art objects adorn the 485 square meter suite of Hotel Okura in the south of Amsterdam: Two lounges, two bedrooms with separate bathrooms and a cinema with 14 seats are arranged across the 17th and 18th floors of the 23-floor hotel built in 1972. The large panorama windows give you an unobstructed view of the “Venice of the North”.

The suite costing approx. 16.460 dollar per night – supposedly the largest and most luxurious of all the Benelux countries – isn’t the only superlative: Just months after opening “Twenty Third” was honoured with the “Hospitality & Style Awards 2007” as the “best cocktail bar in The Netherlands”. It’s hardly surprising since in spaciously appointed ambience by star architect Bert Verwey there is not only the best Mojito in town (according to Amsterdam’s events guide “NL 20”), but also no less than 17 different types of champagne.

The Okura takes special pride in the three Michelin star ratings that two of a total of three of the hotel restaurants have received. Onno Kokmeijer, the young, creative head chef of the “Ciel Bleu” gourmet restaurant on the 23rd floor was awarded his second star at the end of 2007. Kokmeijer skilfully and surprisingly combines traditional Dutch recipes with French haute cuisine.

A Michelin star has graced Akira Oshima’s “Yamazato” as the only Japanese restaurant in Europe since 2002. The head chef who was knighted by the Dutch queen serves original Kaiseki cuisine flavourfully and visually at the highest standards: light, seasonal dishes exclusively from fresh ingredients that were originally served during the tea ceremony. The small culinary delicacies are served in an interior in traditionally modest Sukiya style from the 17th century that influenced Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe. A view outside of the Japanese garden provides further relaxation.

The culinary offerings of the hotel are rounded off by the “Sazanka” Teppanyaki restaurant in which dishes are prepared directly at the table on a steel plate (teppan) and the “Le Camelia” brasserie on the ground floor, which was awarded a “Bib Gourmand” by the Michelin Guide for its good and reasonably priced cuisine.

At 75 metres in height Hotel Okura is a permanent fixture of the Amsterdam skyline. After sunset the hotel roof transforms into the highest barometer of The Netherlands, because illuminated marquees show the weather for the next few days: blue for sunshine, green for bad weather and white for unsettled.

Hotel Okura Amsterdam, Ferdinand Bolstraat 333, 1072 LH Amsterdam, Tel. +31 (20) 6787111 Fax 6712344, http://www.okura.nl/