A canal house is built upward, not outward, so the rooms here are stacked rather than lined along a corridor, and none of them is a copy of another. The Presidential Suite takes the whole top floor, with a terrace over the rooftops and the water. The Obsidian Suite keeps to dark oak and brass, and looks onto a courtyard the street knows nothing about. The Meridian Room is the quietest of the four, with a window seat above the garden. The Harbour Room opens onto a balcony, where the afternoon sun comes across the water. There is no card on the pillow and no menu of services to study. There is a heavy door, and the sound of the city going on without you.