Summary
The Good - short walk from airport terminal, prices start at 69 euros a night with films and wi fi included in price, big comfy bed, spacious shower, one remote control for all room functions, plenty of natural light in bedroom, effective soundproofing, wonderful staff, welcoming, relaxed public areas, quick check in and out, 24 hour self service canteen.
The Bad - heating difficult to control, not much table space, room floor wet after using wash basin and shower, difficult to get in and out of bed if 2 guests, all rooms have double beds.
The Awful - toilet in the bedroom and the ugly rag doll.
The shower capsule (left) and toilet capsule (right)
The Brief
I stayed as a “press” guest the citizenM hotel at Amsterdam airport on the 24 June 2008, the night of the press launch. Below are my personal observations, listed in random order, I didn’t attempt to rank my points.
The Details
The Good
1 The hotel is located a five minute walk, along a covered walkway from the airport terminal. This is really handy as on my first night I stayed at the Ibis airport hotel and had to wait ages for the shuttle bus to arrive.
2 Prices start from 69 euros, around £55 a night, if you book in advance outside peak periods.
3 Room price includes wi fi and movies, either scheduled or on demand. Phone calls are routed through the internet, so cost much less than conventional hotel calls.
4 An extremely comfortable king size bed which was probably the best bed in which I”ve ever slept. The pillows were great too.
5 A spacious shower with either on overhead rain spray or a hand held spray with a choice of two shower gel/shampoos.
6 The all in one control pad lets you adjust the lighting, control TV and open and shut window blinds and shutters.
7 The bedroom is very light and airy due to the fact that the window is wall to wall. If you enjoy plane spotting you can lie in bed and watch the planes land and take off if your room looks out from the airport side of the hotel.
Sunset over Schiphol
8 Excellent sound proofing as you’re so close to the airport but don’t hear any aircraft noise in the bedroom.
9 Very friendly, enthusiastic, attentive staff who came over as genuinely interested in ensuring guests have a good stay versus rather than forced, false friendliness or indifferent staff encounters which I’ve experienced in many other hotels.
10 A choice of three trendy lounges, with Vitro furniture, in which to relax. The layout of of two large tables with bar stools at either side of the canteen is less formal than sitting at individual tables and makes it easier to chat to other guest. As a solo female traveller I’d feel much happier about going down to the public areas than in many other hotels.
One of the citizenM lounges
11 Fast self service on screen check in and out. No long queues here it only takes a minute.
12 Good selection of self service food and drink items for sale at reasonable prices (by hotel standards) in the self service canteen which is open 24 hours.
The Bad
1 I found the room temperature rather cool which was fine for sleeping but rather chilly after having a shower. There is a temperature control on the mood pad which I adjusted up to maximum but I couldn’t discern any difference in temperature.
2 There’s very little table space, only 2 small circular tables at the end of the bed. I prefer to have a bit more area as work space.
3 The wash basin is very shallow so it’s almost impossible to avoid splashing water all over floor. This coupled with water drips on the floor after taking a shower, even if you use the bath mat, leads to potential slip hazards.
4 The bed is wedged in between the window and the walls to adjoining rooms meaning that you can only access the bed from one side. Not a problem if you are sleeping alone as you can lie parallel to the window. However if there are two in the bed and you both lie parallel to the window the person nearest the window would have to climb over the other person to get out of the bed. If you both slept with you heads at the window, you’d both have to wriggle up and down the bed (a new workout move called the citizenM bedercise) and the bedside tables at the bottom of the bed would impede your entrance and exit.
6 All rooms have a double bed so you could only share a room as a couple, it wouldn’t be suitable for say 2 friends on a city break.
The Awful
1 The toilet cubicle is in the bedroom albeit in a ventilated capsule which you can enclose by pulling together opaque glass doors. This didn’t bother me so much when I stayed on the room on my own but I don’t think it works when two guests stay in the room. There are certain things in life that you don’t want to share, even with your nearest and dearest.
2 When I first entered the room I was wondered what on earth was lying on my bed as it looked like something that the cat had dragged in. It was in fact a specially designed citizenM rag doll which was available to purchase for 20 euro. In my opinion the doll is an ugly, totally superfluous detraction from the overall modern, trendy design of the room.
The ghastly rag doll
Conclusion
So overall how would I rate the hotel? Well that would depend on the price I paid and If I were travelling alone or with my husband.
written by Karen Bryan, Editor
