Globe and Mail

Medi aCover age2015 TheGl obeandMai l

T H E G LO B E A N D M A I L

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GLOBE TRAVEL

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SLEEPOVER MAINPORT HOTEL

Mixing fun with foreign proves to be a recipe for success Rotterdam’s riverside hotel showcases ‘a container ship of influences’ in its internationally inspired design and atmosphere .....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

stantial and satiating, plan on a big night out. Start by catching a water taxi from the hotel dock to the Kop van Zuid neighbourhood on the south bank. Then stroll down to Las Palmas, a bustling top-end restaurant from Rotterdam celebrity chef Herman den Blijker. I ate tuna sashimi with a ginger-nut dressing followed by outstanding Black Angus top blade – tender, salt-spiked and served in a pool of puffed garlic.

The night was capped by JeanLuc, the charming barman, who insisted on a round of Irish coffee cocktails. “Will it keep me up at night though?” I asked tableside as he mixed chestnut syrup, whisky, double cream and Mexican coffee. “Madame,” he responded, “you will have the best dream of your life.”

KARAN SMITH ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS ................................................................

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he pool at Rotterdam’s Mainport hotel has a dress code: swimming suit required. Its sauna, with a wall of windows overlooking the Maas river eight floors below, has a dress code, too: naked. Stringent Finnish spa etiquette is just one culture the Mainport draws on. Inspired by Rotterdam’s status as Europe’s largest port, the hotel unloads a container ship of influences: Japan in the tuna sashimi at its restaurant; the United States with its stylized Statue of Liberty wallpaper on one floor; and Turkey in the fragrant falling water of its steam room. What unites these cultural influences is Rotterdam itself. A port town with a bold-yetnonchalant attitude, the city isn’t afraid to mix the foreign with the fun.

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IF I COULD CHANGE ONE THING ................................................................

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LOCATION, LOCATION ................................................................

The hotel is centrally located on an inner harbour with views of the Maas river, which divides the city and leads to the shipping lanes of the North Sea. From the glass elevators, you can watch water taxis zipping about below and across the river, and the flickering lights of downtown skyscrapers at night. The Mainport is also well-placed for going to the shops and cafés of Witte de Withstraat and the stunning new indoor Markthal food market.

The Mainport hotel is located on a harbour with views of the Maas river, which divides Rotterdam. LOUS VAN PROOIJEN continental theme of the floor you are on – Dutch interior designer Feran Thomassen has made his mark. ................................................................

BEST AMENITY ................................................................

Besides the spa and pool – which I often skip at hotels but would not miss here with its unusual design and panoramic views – the award goes to the sheer range of minibar amenities. There are silicone pleasure balls from the Fifty Shades of Grey collection, mini stroopwafel cookies and a Heineken bottle opener. If that’s too adventurous, you can opt for a can of Pringles.

To each their own.

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DESIGN ................................................................

There is a sense of fun throughout Mainport, by no mistake a member of the Design Hotels group. From tiny jars of jellybeans at the cocktail bar to bold, wild wallpaper – on one floor Asian dragons, on another Russian babushkas, depending on the

Mainport’s spa, featuring views of the port city’s waterways, has one rule when it comes to a dress code: Users must be naked. LOUS VAN PROOIJEN

POSTCARDS

The global theme is cleverly echoed throughout the hotel, but the in-room travel diaries, available for purchase, seem dated.

How many people still use pen and paper? ................................................................

ROOM WITH A VIEW ................................................................

If you’re looking for an oasis-like splurge, opt for a Waterfront Spa room. The deep standalone tub sits near the window, and the bathroom has its own Finnish sauna. So, whatever your stance on public modesty, you can sport your birthday suit, no worries at all. ................................................................

Mainport Hotel, Leuvehaven 77, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, mainporthotel.com. 215 rooms from about $160. ................................................................

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Special to The Globe and Mail

EAT IN OR EAT OUT?

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The writer was a guest of Rotterdam Partners.

While the hotel breakfast is sub-

CULINARY ADVENTURES

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Wish you were here?

Forage, then feast .....................................................................................................................................

SHIVANI VORA ................................................................

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Murray Katzman and Elizabeth Maged cuddle with a new friend at a husky breeding farm in Alaska.

ooking classes at hotels are going well beyond the kitchen walls. Participants now forage for ingredients for meals they prepare.

The Arnold House in New York state’s Catskills region has a ramp-picking weekend April 1719, when guests can pluck early spring vegetables and use them to make pasta, or pickle them. Twonight packages including a ramp dinner start at $549 (U.S.) a room.

The House on Water Street in Sperryville, Va., has a Wild Food cooking class on Saturdays through the spring, at which an herbalist leads guests through the woods to collect edibles that they turn into candied violets, roasted dandelion roots and more. Prices from $242 a person include two nights’ accommodations.

At the Point, a Relais & Châ-

teaux resort in Saranac Lake, N.Y., the executive chef, Loic Leperlier, forages with guests on the 75-acre property in the spring and summer for produce. They then head to the kitchen to cook. Prices from $1,600 a room, including accommodations, meals and activities.

Excursions for fruits and vegetables are an option at the Lodge at Glendorn, on 1,500 acres of woods in Bradford, Pa. Guests can fish for trout in on-site lakes and hunt for game. The culinary staff helps create a meal with their bounty. Prices from $125 a person.

The Nantucket Hotel & Resort in Massachusetts has scalloping: Guests wade through shallow waters with a guide, then help the chef, say, pan sear the bivalves with a pomegranate reduction.

Prices from $50 a person. ................................................................

New York Times News Service

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Cabot Cliffs, Cape Breton Island