Angelika, Centrum escort with a jazz-bar soul

Half past ten on the Zeedijk. The neon above the old bar doors trembles on the black water of the Oudezijds Kolk, a saxophone somewhere below street level is easing into its second set, and Angelika has decided, with a small and very confident smile, that this is where the night belongs. She knows these crooked lanes the way a lead actress knows her marks. Still, her evenings open where ours always do, at your hotel, with the door closed on the crowd and the city left murmuring outside.

Look closer and the details line up: 24 years old, 172 cm, an athletic frame shaped on the tennis court, long straight black hair and brown eyes that take the measure of a room before the coats are off. She favours relaxed Mediterranean glamour, warm colour and easy lines, and wears it as though the Amstel were a southern harbour. Nothing about it is fussy, which is exactly the kind of ease that takes real confidence to carry off.

Playful is the word most guests land on, then elegant, then confident, usually in that order. Ask about contemporary art and you will hear a frank verdict on the newest room at the Stedelijk, delivered with a grin rather than a lecture. Mention jazz bars and she starts ranking cellars by the quality of their pianos. Her English is quick and dry, and she keeps score in conversation exactly the way she keeps it at the baseline: honestly, and with every intention of winning.

Home is Amsterdam Centrum, a few minutes' walk from the lantern-hung bridges that gave this house its name, so the hotels around the Dam are practically her backstage. Gallery people tend to ask after Margo next; a rally partner worthy of her forehand would be Milena. If the band plays one more number than planned, a longer evening can be arranged, and she will gladly stay for the encore.