A-list of Amsterdam hotspots, and many are struggling to survive

First off: publishing a book with hotspots in Amsterdam is such a joyful event, but most of them had to close. You must have mixed feelings. 
Yes, I was super busy preparing a big launch for the book, so we were certainly a little disappointed. But that just means that once we are all free and clear of this thing (and everyone is in good health), we will make our launch even bigger and even better. Apart from the heart-breaking loss of life and all of the suffering, one of the saddest things about this pandemic is the uncertainty that hovers over us all, in Amsterdam & abroad. Many of our favourite spots from our book are struggling to survive. The economic impact of the Coronavirus on many of the places we’ve chosen to feature is staggering. That’s why we’re continuing to support them in small ways (buying vouchers, ordering delivery and promoting them on our social channels) because we want them to be there when we can return!

Can you tell us a bit more about gloobles?
gloobles was the brainchild of two old friends. Fuelled by a burning passion for travel and the discovery of unique places, Céline and I launched the site in 2014. After nearly four years together, we decided to chase different dreams. While we’ve grown and evolved since our nascence, we still hold our initial goal near and dear: to share the best of the best for dinner, sleeping, shopping, culture and everything in between and to create a global network of discerning, diverse travellers with whom to share these tips with.

What are the criteria for the hotspots you select?
Our perfect trip is all about balance – we love cosy family-run shops & pocket-sized food stalls as much as grand, sweeping Michelin-starred restaurants & opulent hotels. We want places peddling quality wares that still have an eye toward the aesthetic. No matter what we’re recommending, it has to be authentic and irresistible. Every single spot has to be somewhere you’d be dying to tell your friends about after visiting.

On the website, gloobles covers destinations from all over the world. Why did you start with this book about Amsterdam?
Though we could have chosen a number of wonderful cities, we thought it was only right to start with our hometown, Amsterdam! As we think the ideal way to see a city is with a local, we knew that creating this guidebook to our favourite city would be the next best thing. That way, we’re always at hand (if only on the pages) to give tips and pointers wherever our readers find themselves in the city.

Are you planning on creating a series of books?
Yes, indeed we are. We’ve actually already secretly begun research on our next book: London. We are hoping to publish LONDON the gloobles guide within the year!

If you want to share hotspots, there are much more efficient methods of delivery than a book. That being said, why did you choose to publish a book?
I know. It’s old school, right? But we want our readers to detach from their devices and dive headfirst into the cities we love dearly, just as we would. You’ll never get a real sense of a city if you’re glued to your phone the entire time. We want gloobles travellers to look up and around, not down into their palms.

How is this city guide different from any other (Amsterdam) city guide?
gloobles is an independent curator, so you can be sure that everything in the book is as fabulous as we say (we never accept freebies and we don’t let the opinions of others cloud our view). And although this is our very first edition, we know the importance of staying up to date, so we will be releasing new, fresh editions regularly to capture the moment in Amsterdam. I don’t know of any other guidebooks that update and refresh their books as often as we intend to (or who’ve tapped as many interesting, enviable and in-the-know locals as we have), so we’ll be both more current and more reflective of what’s actually cool than anyone else.

Creating a book is something many people dream of. What has it been like for you so far?
It was such an interesting and intense learning experience because I had to really throw myself into the world of publicity, which was completely new for me. I was super lucky to have a publisher like MENDO by my side through the whole process.

If you had to pick one, which hotspot in the book is your favourite?
Oh, that’s literally impossible. That’s like asking me to choose between my babies.