De Pijp, as it sleeps
An apartment can be arranged for this hour in ways a hotel room cannot, and ten minutes of preparation pays off. Choose the room with the best lamp and switch off everything overhead. If you like music, pick something without words and keep it low; a phone speaker on the far side of the room is plenty. Close the curtains properly, because the blocks here face each other across narrow streets and windows sit close together. In the colder months, get the radiators going early, since a slow session keeps the body still and uncovered for a long time. Tell us the bell and the floor, and if the stairwell is shared with neighbours, meet her at the street door so she is not scanning a panel of faded names. Guests staying near the Sarphatipark have a small advantage: an evening walk once around the park before she arrives is a fine way to start slowing down.