The newly opened Lloyd hotel in Amsterdam was first build in 1921 as a place to stay, for migrants on their way from Eastern Europe to the Americas.

The Lloyd Hotel was designed to cope with 900 people at a time. Its architect was Evert Breman, who was commissioned by the Royal Dutch Lloyd, the foremost shipping company in the busy eastern harbour area. Due to its location in the Docklands of Amsterdam, ships would dock in front in order to load goods and passengers on their way to and from Argentina, Brazil and Panama. For many migrants it was seen as a stepping stone to a better life.

The ground floor, with its high ceilings, housed a dining room that could seat 350 guests. In addition there was a shop and a large residents' lounge. Adjoining was a kosher kitchen, and a room to accommodate 52 Jewish guests. There were separate dormitories for men and women, in the side wing there were family quarters, and there was even a small sick bay with a modest number of beds.

Between 1921 and 1923, an extension was added to the east side of the Lloyd Hotel for the purposes of decontamination; only the east wing still exists. This has now been restored and was turned into artists' studios and an art gallery café.
All travellers used to have to enter the hotel by the decontamination building, and if they were declared healthy they were allowed to cross into the hotel via an underground corridor.

During World War II, after the February Strike of 1941, the Germans used the Lloyd Hotel as a remand prison. After the war the building continued to be used for this purpose, first as a detention centre for Dutch collaborators with the occupiers, and between 1964 and 1989 it was used as a prison for young offenders. The interior of the building was originally well cared for, but its long period as a prison left its marks. Until 2001 it had a social function as a place for artists to live and work.

When the second world war broke out and the Germans invaded Holland, they transformed it into a prison. No one wants to be remembered of the horrible acts that took place behind closed doors during those years. After the war, ironically, the Dutch used it as a detention center for collaborators and shortly afterwards it became a prison for young offenders.

The city of Amsterdam recently decided to transform the prison into a hotel. The Lloyd hotel was lovingly renovated as the only hotel in the world that is both a 1 star as well as a 5 star hotel.

Guest wanting to stay at the Lloyd hotel can now book their accommodation through charityhotels and help Amnesty International in their fight against the abuse of human rights and falls imprisonment. As a guest you can donated 5% of your hotelbill to Amnesty International.

When wanting to stay at the Lloyd hotel in Amsterdam, check http://www.charityhotels.com/Lloyd_Hotel_Amsterdam.html and experience for yourself what it is to sleep in a fomer prison in order to fight falls imprisonment.