From April 2020 Amsterdam’s iconic American Hotel on Leidseplein will be officially dubbed ‘Hard Rock Hotel Amsterdam’. The name change is the result of a partnership between owners Eden Hotels and Hard Rock International which already has rock-themed hotels in over 76 countries.

The 117-year-old Jugendstil building, bought by the Eden group in 2005, has been undergoing a transformation behind the scenes for the last two years. Some 100 rooms and suites have already been altered to fit the Hard Rock formula. The remaining 75 rooms and public spaces, such as the hotel lobby are scheduled to follow suit.

Director of the Eden group Léon Dijkstra said the clientele of the hotel makes it a logical choice for a Hard Rock hotel. ‘The artists that used to come here and are still coming here make it the perfect combination. A musically-themed luxury hotel is a perfect fit in the triangle DeLaMar theatre – Melkweg and Paradiso,’ he told the Parool.

The hotel façade will not be changed and the Café Americain, which was refurbished two years ago, will also remain untouched and will even see a return of its famous reading table which is the oldest in Amsterdam.

The hotel feature part of the Hard Rock Group’s huge rock paraphernalia. ‘It will be a mix of famous names, local greats and unique pieces. It’s not going to be just a guitar or a jacket in a glass case, but musical installations,’ the paper quotes Dijkstra as saying

Meanwhile, reactions to the name change have been pouring in on social media. Food critic Hiske Versprille called the move ‘shameful’ while hotel owner Roderick Smith said the new name ‘sounded like a BB’ and ‘devaluated the hotel’.

Many said the centre of Amsterdam will be further ‘Disneyfied’, making the centre too commercial.