very small hotels

Take an 18th-century gunpowder factory and seven gabled cottages, along the Amstel River in the village of Ouderkerk aan de Amstel, near Amsterdam. Add chef Peter Lute. Then add Dutch designer Marcel Wanders. And you have Lute Suites. Apparently Wanders was so inspired by Lute's popular restaurant in Ouderkerk that he designed a hotel around it, using the cottages that were there. Each is like a little home, on three levels - separate apartments with a kitchenette and living room.

There's no lobby or reception area (you enter each cottage through its front door), so this feels like a boutique rental property rather than a hotel. There are also no frills like mini-bars to be found – just lots of creature comforts. These include breakfast brought to you from the Lute restaurant itself.

The suites are off the beaten track, but 15 minutes from Amsterdam. Perfect for dipping your toe into city life, if you can bear to leave your suite.