I’ve been meaning to write about this place for so long, it’s a wonder the pics haven’t gone stale in my harddrive from the loooong wait since our trip to Amsterdam last May. So here we go…
CitizenM Amsterdam City Hotel is not your average hotel. The hotel’s name itself plus the photo on its facade of a bunch of people pulling their luggage give just the slightest hint that the hotel is extraordinary somehow…
Step inside and you won’t see the usual imposing lobby or ho-hum check-in counter. No sirree, their check-in counter is not ho-hum at all — it’s revolutionary. All you’ll see is this long counter with computer terminals. Yes, you’re expected to check-in and check-out all by yourself. Of course, some of their staff are waiting politely at the sidelines to give assistance to the technologically-challenged or just plain awe-struck travellers.
Just type your surname into the terminal, confirm your identity, review the reservation details, pick which floor you’d like to stay in (a no-brainer — 1st or 2nd?), insert your credit card into the appropriate slot, touch the card to the thingamajig that programs it, and voila! You’ve just checked yourself in.
In lieu of a lobby, you get this cozy lounge:-
And instead of a swanky restaurant, they have this canteen that doubles as a bar and mini souvenir shop:-
Sorry if the pic is a bit blurry. I shot this while walking. As in, I was shooting while holding the camera at waist level. I was trying to be inconspicuous, you know what I’m saying?
As you walk towards the lift, you can’t possibly miss this most awesome little nook filled with huge Macs (yeah, baby!), where you can surf the internet for free:-
(If you prefer to surf the net in the privacy of your room with your laptop, WiFi is free!)
Getting a bit giddy now? I don’t blame you.
The hallway itself is quite bare, furnished with just one eclectic couch, and you start to wonder what kind of hotel you’ve just gotten yourself into.
Note: There’s a huge photo of an artist’s impression of the hotel hanging right in front of the lift that’s bound to raise eyebrows. However, given that this blog is family- and child-friendly, I won’t be posting that photo in here. I guess you just have to see that photo for yourself when you go to that hotel one day. ^-^
So you go into the lift, exhausted from your trip. The lift doors open and you get even more confused. The hallway is white… too white (although the carpet is a glaring red).
The doors are all plain. And what’s even more disconcerting is how close each door is to the other.
Intrigued, you look for your room, then wave your card key in front of the lock. You open the door slowly…and let out a gasp.
The room is so…so…so tiny. And…and..different! The width of the large king-sized bed is the width of the entire room. The length of the room is about three times the length of the bed.
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