Amsterdam : Sunhead of 1617 - Bed & Delicious Breakfast

14th – 16th July 2011. Written by Xin Li.
Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
“Our cozy Amsterdam B&B, giving great service since 1994, is located at the romantic heart of the wonderful 17th century canal district. Triple A location and serving the most delicious breakfast in town!”

I couldn’t agree more, Sunhead B&B is indeed I had the best breakfast in Europe. This Bed & Breakfast is located in Herengracht area of Amsterdam. The historical canal house is faces the charming canal that is signature of Amsterdam.

Accommodation in Amsterdam is expensive and we wanted something other than the big box hotels for our trip, hence we opted for Sunhead of 1617 Bed and Breakfast after taking a look at their photos and reading the rave reviews about it. Furthermore, it is cheaper to stay in the B&B than one of those hotels in Amsterdam.

Owned and run by one-time restaurant owner, Carlos M. Cecilio since 1994. The memorable stay at Sunhead of 1617 B&B owes a lot to the interesting and colourful personality of its owner together with the comfortable rooms, the beautiful décor, the great location and gorgeous breakfast.

Carlos is the X-factor that made this B&B stood out. The outgoing and frank Carlos converse everything from politics to experiences with his pet cat, Mei-ling which he named after Song Mei-ling one of the Three Song Sisters it is an ambitious cat that wants power.

The idea of a B&B begun not only due to practical reasons but also because Carlos wanted to provide a kind of accommodation different from the usual hotel layout in Amsterdam. No standard template hotel rooms but rather intimate, cozy and unique rooms for travellers.

We stayed at the Yellow Narcissus Room for 2 nights (258 Euros). The room was located at the highest floor of the canal. Architecture fans will be thrilled at the sight of the structure of the roof of a Dutch canal house.

The bed was very comfortable and the room is tastefully and beautifully decorated with fine china, exotic statues as well as orchids from the tropics.

There is a nespresso machine with complimentary nespresso capsules to fulfil your caffeine cravings (not to mention a variety of teas available as well).

The room might be small in terms of floor space but the tall ceiling makes the whole room feel spacious. The bathroom is small but it is in good working order, shampoo and body gel were provided too.

The B&B also offers concierge services and Carlos was very helpful when it comes to what to see in Amsterdam and how to do it.

“Bed and delicious Breakfast” is an accurate description of the B&B. The breakfast is indeed the star of the B&B. It takes place at the ground floor in the dining room cum kitchen. Guests share a common table creating an intimate dining atmosphere.

The interior décor, featuring hand painted murals, flowers and trinkets of all sorts is simply gorgeous. It felt like dining in one of those dining rooms featured in a design magazine.

Breakfast is a sumptuous affair of cheese, bread, eggs, potatoes, juices and coffee/tea. There is a variety of condiments being served to go with the cheese or bread from mango chutney to an assortment of jams and spreads such as hazelnut spread or orange marmalade.

Breakfast normally start off with cups of what seemed like a melon smoothie.

Then there were Bread Rolls, which we had with an assortment of butter, jams, preserves and spreads.

Followed by a side of Roasted Potatoes. They added bits of bacon? and seasoned it with sea salt. Yummy to the max.

Eggs were done to your liking. You could have it scrambled, sunny-side up, omelette style and apparently poached is possible too. However, we had the same for both nights. The Scrambled Egg was delectable, one of the best I had thus far.

We have scrambled eggs for both days. Boring? No. Because it was awesome. Realized the tomatoes changed too.

Then there is the cheese that my younger brother couldn’t stop eating. The Reypenaer Cheese goes well with the Mango Chutney, making it a savoury and tangy snack.

The cheese was acquired from a nearby cheese store if you wish to buy some to bring home.

We finish the meal with a glass of orange juice and coffee or tea. Carlos does a variety of teas and coffees too.

There was Americano, Macchiato, Cappuccino, Latte, Espresso and then there were Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Black Tea etc You are spoilt for choice.

The location of the B&B is very good, it is near many of the major sights of Amsterdam and you could easily walk to the Rijksmuseum, Dam Square, Westerkerk and Westermarkt with ease. Trams are accessible via a short walk along the canal and there were plenty of cafes and restaurants around the area to dine in or you could just grab some quick bites from the supermarket nearby.

Our stay Sunhead of 1617 Bed and Breakfast was one the best moments in our Europe trip, I enjoyed the intimate breakfast setting and the delicious breakfast as well as the interesting conversations with Carlos. If I have the chance, I would like to stay at Sunhead of 1617 B&B again.

Sunhead of 1617 Bed & Breakfast
Bed and Delicious Breakfast
Herengracht 152
1016 BN Amsterdam

tel + 31 20 6261809