In medieval times the plot of land that the Hotel des Arts sits on was just outside the city limits.
At that a hospital was situated at this location called the Sint Jorishof (St. George Hospital)
where lepers were housed. It is not certain when the St. George Hospital was founded.
The oldest information dates from 1410.

After 1480, because of urban expansion, lepers were moved to another location outside the
extpanded walls of the city. And the St. Jorishof began to focus primarily on caring for the poor
and mentally disabled. The chapel of St. Jorishof was rebuilt in 1624 and leased to the
governors of the St. Joseph Guild of Carpenters.
 

Hotel des Arts at Rokin 154-156 was built in 1733 as two distinctive residences for the (still existing but in a different location) Maagdenhuis: a Catholic orphanage for girls in Amsterdam.

The two houses were built by bricklayer Cornelis Knijff. The top of the facade has been
designed and made by Hendrik Pantel who worked in Amsterdam from 1701-1747 and was
buried in the Old Church.

From 1900 until 1980 this beautiful building housed an antiques shop, founded by Abraham
Salomon Staal and then run by his son Salomon until 1981. Hotel des Arts began as a hotel in
the early 80's.