During the late 19th to early 20th century, many people immigrating from Europe often took the Holland-Amerika Line, which chartered a regular stream of ships to the United States. From around 1900 to 1910, more than 15 million people immigrated to the United States. A large portion were from non-English speaking European countries.

With so many people heading over to the United States, the office building of the Holland-Amerika Line soon began providing accommodations for those with tickets. They would often include a trip to New York, which took around a week, and a stay in the building, although it wasn’t officially a hotel.

The offices served as one of the main hubs between the U.S. and Europe for around 60 years, until air travel became much more commonplace. The last ship to set sail for New York from the office building was in 1971. A few years later, the building began to deteriorate along with its robust history. As it fell into disrepair, two entrepreneurs, Daan van der Have and Hans Loos, saw potential in the building. They teamed up with a design team and transformed it into a hotel, and in 1993 Hotel New York opened. 

The new hotel became the first business on the east side of the river, a hard to reach location that depended on water taxis. However, this proved to be a genius move, as a few years later the rapidly expanding city fully engulfed the region. 

The hotel now contains 72 rooms, including one in each tower. There are also two restaurants inside along with a conference center. The hotel has been a national heritage site since 2001. It’s also filled with memorabilia from its days as the last rest stop for Europeans heading to the U.S.