When Daniel Salmanovich opened his hotel in 2014, his mission statement was quite unlike any other on the planet. “We don’t believe in the ‘home away from home’ philosophy,” he said. “The way we see it, you leave your home to stay at ours.”
Fed-up with soulless, identikit hotels, the Canadian wanted to create somewhere to stay that combined the fun feel of a hostel with all the amenities of a fully serviced hotel, like flatscreen TVs, super-comfy beds, rainfall showers and a kick-ass grab-and-go breakfast concept. Oh, and because he was a self-declared geek, he also wanted to fill the place with video games, comics, toys and offbeat décor. And so, the world’s first video game hotel was born in Amsterdam.
All 42 rooms at the Arcade Hotel are very different in terms of decor (ranging from hipsterfied stylings to geek chic), but each is equipped with some serious gaming equipment. All room categories come with at least one retro and one modern console like a PS4 or Nintendo Switch (not to mention fantastic wifi, too), while a library of more than 400 games in the hotel lobby should be enough to keep even the most enthusiastic gamer occupied for at least a few hours.
