Review: CitizenM Amsterdam Hotel, An Unforgettable Stay!
What I expressed in this post is truly based on my travel experience. All images and video are taken by myself in the hotel’s premises.
I love a modern and unique interior design; thus most of the time I chose hotels based on this reason. Creativity in providing ‘temporary’ home for traveler gives additional inspiration and pleasant stay.
This time I chose CitizenM hotel when staying in Amsterdam (the Netherlands). I have been staying in other hotels in Amsterdam, and after staying in CitizenM, I find the hotel is so unique and quirky that makes my stay in Amsterdam as an unforgettable one.
From Self Check-In and Check-Out to spacious living rooms – CitizenM Hotel is not a typical hotel that commonly available in the cities.
Self Check-In
I arrived in Schiphol Airport (the Netherlands) from Minneapolis (USA) at noon. After eight hours flight with additional four hours waiting and immigration process, all I wanted to do just to reach the hotel and relax in the room. In less than 20 minutes, I arrived at CitizenM Hotel Amsterdam. Its location is in the South of Amsterdam and easily accessed from Schiphol by train to Amsterdam Zuid Station and ten minutes walk from the Station. The hotel offers self-service check-in, which I found easy and intuitive to use. It was a cool and fast way to check-in. No hassles with the receptionist who could possible busy talking on the phone at the same time serving even unfriendly one (oh yeah, I had such experience before). I could select the room I wish to stay, from city view, garden view or room at high floor.
A hotel staff stood by next to me just in case I needed his assistance but did not need his help. He was super friendly, and it was nice to talk with someone about my trip and what I had in mind about Amsterdam. There is something that I miss when traveling solo: talking, lol.
Modern Room with mini iPad to control all the room functions
No porter service but I have never needed one anyway. Thus I was happy carrying my luggage by myself to the room. The room was spacious compared to other hotel’s rooms in Amsterdam that I had stayed on another travel occasion. One thing that might you find unusual is the location of the bathroom and toilet pods in the middle of the room with transparent closing. Since I was traveling alone, I had no shame to share with other people in the room. It’s just that if you were traveling with someone, you’d better have some levels of comfortability in sharing these personal matters. In any case, there is a curtain to separate the sleeping and bathroom. It’s pretty smart design that makes the room look spacious and modern.
This is my first favorite part: all the room functions is controlled using a mini iPad; such as the room’s temperature, lights, movie and tv channels. There is a ‘funky’ option called “Mood” in which you can choose the room’s moods from party to movie mood. I made a video about it as you can see here: Party Mood in CitizenM Hotel Room.
Huge Living Room(s) to Wander Around
This is my second favorite part, instead of having a lobby, the hotel has “living rooms.” There are numerous living rooms where you can sit, relax, watch television or just read a book. Of course, you can watch television in your room, but it’s the living room where most people watch television or having a social gathering. I took advantage of using their living rooms, which are having better interior design than my own living room.
Meeting Room and Working Station
There are meeting rooms and working station for those who are on the business trip. I thought of using the workstation to write a blog post, but I watched the news in the living room instead. Temptation! Well, holidaymakers who often bring work on vacation (I know one person who did this frequently on our vacation), you get the space in CitizenM Hotel!
Spending Rewards as Eco-Warrior at the ‘Canteen.’
More and more hotels nowadays introducing rewards for their guests who support their eco-friendly service such as reducing the number of housekeeping services like changing the bed sheets etc. Of course, I participate whenever such opportunity offered! As an Eco-warrior, I got a 10 Euro coupon reward to spend at their canteen.
Their canteen looks pretty fancy. I wish my office canteen looks like the CitizenM Hotel! It opens 24 hours, and it has a buffet for warm food (I tried the buffet when they served Indonesian foods, and it was yummy!) and pre-made food like sushi or warm meal package that you can heat up in the microwave. You won’t get hungry at CitizenM!
Friendly Staff
As a person who had been living in the Netherlands for years, I am aware that friendly service is not the strong point of Dutch ‘HORECA‘ sector. However, CitizenM Amsterdam Hotel proofs otherwise. As a solo female traveler, I felt comfortable and welcomed in the hotel by their staff. I had some friendly conversation with the staff and got fantastic help in organizing my travel.
Do I recommend this hotel to you? Yes, of course! Do consider this hotel when you are visiting Amsterdam. The hotel’s location is close by to the tram and subway stop. The Museumplein, where the famous museums and attraction such as The Royal Concertgebouw, Van Gogh Museum, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Museum, Diamond Museum, and Stedelijk Museum just a few tram stops away from the hotel. While with the subway, you can reach the center of Amsterdam in less than 10 minutes. A perfect hotel’s location for holidaymakers with interests to arts, cultural, history and of course: a unique stay experience.
More about the hotel, please visit: CitizenM Hotels
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