W Hotel Amsterdam...

I tagged along for Jimmy’s meeting with the General Manager of the W Hotel near Dam Square, which was held in the lobby on the 6th floor of the Exchange Building, the old Royal Dutch Post communication center dating from 1925.

The views from the lobby, which is also a bar, were pretty spectacular. Here’s the back of Dam Palace...

…and the view down the street.

There’s also a rooftop pool...

…which looks very cool at night. 

The General Manager allowed us to check into our room (courtesy of Jimmy’s business partner, Peter) extra early so that Jimmy could work on a special project.

While Jimmy hunkered down, I explored the city without him. 

First up, I went to the building that our room overlooked: the former Amsterdam Post Office built in 1899.

After major renovations, Magnum Plaza Shopping Center opened in the old post office in 1992. The interior was definitely impressive, but the shops were mostly geared towards tourists.

Although the restaurants were all closed, so I couldn’t get close to the upper windows, it was funny to be able to see Jimmy from afar. That evening, we had a picnic dinner in our room and then went to the spa in the bank vaults located in the basement of the hotel’s other building, the old KAS Bank Headquarters built in 1915.