In the south of the Netherlands, we get the chance to stay for two nights in an ‘hotel exceptionnel’ just outside the city center of Den Bosch: we are staying in an actual crane! The Bossche Kraan with a view over the Dieze river is one of the most special hotels in the Netherlands. A unique experience for your trip to the Netherlands!
Luxury hotel room in a crane
Just outside the center of Den Bosch and on the banks of the Dieze river, is the upcoming Tramkade is located. It has some great restaurants and bars, but also one of the best places to stay in the city. We park our car on the other bank of the Dieze – parking is free there – and pass the hotspots and bars to our crane. From down below it is difficult to imagine there’s a luxury hotel room in that cube there above you.
We use the self-check-in – very corona-proof in these times – with our own numerical code. A comfortable and luxurious hotel room awaits us above the stairs. The crane house is trendy and warmly decorated with yellow curtains, two retro chars, a large and comfortable hotel bed and a small kitchen unit. There are fresh flowers on the tables and everything is equally stylish and decorated with care.
And did you know the crane can still be moved? And yes, you can do that yourself! In the driver’s cabin or with the buttons next to your bed. It’s put to you what view you’d like when waking up! Although the view of the parking lot might not be the best choice and you just want to enjoy the river view and the street art.
Treats, drinks and breakfast
The small kitchen makes a nice addition. It’s not equipped to cook, but you can make coffee and tea and use the fridge and tableware for some drinks or breakfast at the crane.
We decide to start with those drinks soon after arriving. The fridge has two specialty beers from the local brewery next to the Bossche Kraan, a bottle of sparkling water and some Lemonade drinks. Add to that a bag of chips, a fruit bowl, M&M’s, chocolate and a bottle of wine. You get why we started our visit with a toast straight away!
On our second morning, we also had an extensive breakfast delivered. Fresh orange juice, delicious sandwiches, eggs, toppings, a cheese platter and Dutch ‘poffertjes’: the best way to start the day! But perhaps you’d prefer not to book the additional breakfast and instead head into Den Bosch for one of the many breakfast spots. The Bossche Kraan has two bicycles for you to use to cycle to the city center. We can highly recommend CoffeeLab opposite the train station (tip: order the lazy breakfast for a complete breakfast with drinks for less than € 10), Creme Den Bosch, the popular Nom Nom or Drab Coffee.
Explore Den Bosch from the Bossche Kraan
Exploring Den Bosch is a must if you are staying in the Bossche Kraan. The bikes bring you there in a few minutes, but we chose to walk and find everything is within walking distance. Besides all the trendy hotspots and concept stores, we also visited Het Noordbrabants Museum to avoid the autumn rain. And did you know that not far from the city, you can also visit two castles? A little to the north of Den Bosch is Castle Ammersoyen located and a little more to the south Heeswijk Castle.
But you don’t have to go very far from the Bossche Kraan to enjoy yourself. On the Tramkade itself, you can enjoy local beers at the Bossche Brouwers and Barkade is a great spot for Asian street food and for gaming in the arcade. Both spots are right next to the crane, so you don’t even have to go to the city center if you don’t like to.
The Bossche Kraan makes the perfect base for a city trip to Den Bosch, but the hotel room itself is a unique destination as well for a special night away!
