Netherlands hotel smartly spans centuries

Visitors to the Kruisherenhotel breakfast room can see the Gothic architecture that housed a monastery for hundreds of years in Maastricht, the Netherlands. (Etienne Van Slloun Fotograff)

MAASTRICHT, the Netherlands - If you worship at the altar of grand design, this is one church you'll want to visit.

The aesthetics of the Kruisherenhotel in many ways mirror its location. Maastricht is your typical Dutch city, with cobblestone streets and 17th-century shops and town houses. But cross one of the two bridges spanning the Maas River, and examples of 21st-century design abound.

Similarly, the outside of the hotel looks like the 15th-century European monastery it once was. But stroll through the glowing tunnel leading to the lobby, and you'll find yourself marveling at the remarkably successful marriage of old and new. Colored lighting turns the super-sized Gothic space into breathtaking theater. The contemporary furnishings and artwork lend an air of maturity, hinting that this is more museum than circus.

In the mezzanine, which is restricted to hotel guests, hanging spheres cast soft colors into the dining area, while exterior light filters through original stained glass windows. Regular folks can visit the stylish bar and restaurant downstairs. The hotel's 60 guest rooms, each individually decorated, surround what was the cloister.

And, gentlemen, make sure you visit the WC in the lobby, where colorful hologram "light bulbs" over the sinks will make you do a double-take. Ladies get a few treats of their own, like windows that look onto a slice of the lobby, but no one can see in.

Kruisherenhotel, 19-23 Kruisheren gang, 011-31-43-329-2020, chateauho tels.nl. Rooms start at $205 per person.