Category: Pod Hotels

Dutch Design (20): Amstelveen: Citizen M and the Neighbourhood

Last Saturday the reverent Dutch Daily Newspaper

published a story about one of the future locations of a Citizen M Pod Hotel in Amstelveen, a suburb of, and connected with, Amsterdam. It gives more insight about the format of the Citizen M Pod Hotel concept.

It appears that the neighborhood, a middle to up class residential area, is contending the plans of Citizen M in court, as the building permit has been granted.

  • First there is an office building that has to be demolished to make place for the new hotel. I would say the building is not that disgusting, that it has to be demolished.
Citizen M Amstelveen
The building that will be demolished
Photo Maurice Boyer
  • They don’t like the design of the new building as it is not consistent with the architecture of the neighborhood. This is off course a very difficult discussion about “taste”
Citizen M Amstelveen Plan
  • Then they don’t like that the hotel will be located in a residential area. They fear too much traffic and too much parking problems, as no specific parking space is foreseen for the Hotel. The lawyer representing Citizen M claims that the guests will mainly arrive by international air transport and by taxi. I highly doubt that to be a truthful statement.
  • They fear it to become a by the hour rendez-vous Hotel and fear an influx of cheap backpackers tourism. The last argument is unlikely as the much cheaper hostel concept specifically caters for the backpackers.
  • They fear loss of privacy as guests will be able to look in their homes from the many windows. This is a bit strange argument if one knows the very Dutch habit of not closing the curtains when the sun sets, that many of our foreign guests find a rather peculiar typical Dutch habit.

It seems to take some time before the building permit will be finally granted….

Dutch Design (19): Third Pod Hotel Concept for Amsterdam Revealed: CitizenM

Early 2008 will see a third (the others being the Qbic and the Yotel) Pod Hotel, CitizenM Hotels, opening at the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.

CitizenM Schiphol Airport Amsterdam

The 230 rooms (pods?) counting hotel is presently under construction.

Under the “Affordable Luxury” slogan:

CitizenM has partnered with internationally renowned architects Concrete, and European design giants Philips and Vitra to offer “affordable luxury for the people.” Rooms are friendly and functional and feature: a super king-size bed fitted with luxurious linen and pillows, a wall-to-wall window for plenty of natural light, a flat LCD television, Philips technology and ambient lighting, a rain shower and other luxurious amenities especially developed by a famous ‘nose’ (also responsible for creations of Commes des Garcons and Viktor and Rolf).

Citizen M Room

Inspired by accommodations on luxury yachts and private jets, citizenM built its own factory in order to realize its high quality hotel rooms. In its vision, no detail was left ignored: each room is 14 square meters – each of which has been carefully thought through to offer the height of functional design.

Their website is full of information. It even has a community building module. I would say this an industry example of how to announce your concept and/or hotel opening.

The one Amsterdam Schiphol Airport Hotel will be the first of many CitizenM hotels if they succeed tol roll out the concept as shown on this map of their plans:

CitizenM Map

The founders and executives of CitizenM are innovative visionaries, who have taken their well-rounded experience into realising CitizenM hotels. They are: Rattan Chadha (founder and former CEO of Mexx, director and partner of Oberoi Hotels & Resorts), Jan Wulf van Alkemade (hotel specialist), Tom Bas (former member of the board of directors of NH Hotels and Golden Tulip) and Michael Levie (former Executive and VP of Operations of various international hotel chains: Sonesta and NH Hotels). These are names to reckon with.

Here is the Video:

Blogged in the City is a Dutch language Blog about Hotels and E-commerce by Thomas Dieben who has a hotel background and is an E-commerce consultant who first picked up this news.

In the CitizenM Press release there is more information.

Yotel goes to Amsterdam Airport (Schiphol) and Yotel Gatwick’s First Guest reviews


A You Tube Yotel Preview

Us about Yotel:

Willem, founder and co author of our Dutch language Blog Weekendhotel Weblog wrote about Yotel’s plans already in 2004.

I translated the post for Happy Hotelier in English Answer to sleeping in a wine barrel: Yotel

To Schiphol
According to Zibb it is official: Yotel will open a 56 cubicle hotel in the transfer area of Amsterdam Airport (Schiphol). It will be the second hotel in Schiphol’s transfer zone. It is also mentioned on their website. So it is even more official.

Yotel Gatwick

The first Yotel opened July 1, 2007 in a Gatwick Airport (UK) terminal . The same day as Qbic. Isn’t that a strange coincidence that mrs Smit- Kroes, the EU competition watchdog has to look into? 🙂

Blog Reviews

The first reviews are in. I know it from fellow Blogger, Esme Vos, who wrote about a review on her Blog Rose Cantine and linked to Cyrus Farivar

Basically once you get out of the baggage claim and clear customs, there’s an elevator that goes down one floor — and all of a sudden, it’s like you’re in this serene space that shouldn’t exist in a loud international airport like this one. To the left is a set of computers where you check it — once you’re confirmed (it almost feel like you should get a retinal scan), it prints out your receipt with your WiFi code on it, and gives you the keycard to your room.

Gatwick’s Yotel currently has 46 rooms, and from what I can tell about one-third of them are the “premium” class rooms, which are slightly bigger, with and extra three inches of television screen (23″ vs. 20″) and are the ones shown in the photos on the website. The premium will run you 82 GBP ($168) vs. the “standard” room, which is what I have, which “only” costs 55 GBP ($110) for 24 hours. The minimum charge for the room is 25 GBP ($50) for four hours.

Equipped with the keycard, you then glide through a transparent plastic arch and into the hallways of rooms. Honestly, the calm of the whole place is a little eerie, but I guess that’s the point. The rooms are supposed to be soundproof (well, mostly), and the ambient noise is a low airy hum that permeates the space.

The room is tiny, but it makes you wonder why you’d ever actually need more space than seven square meters. Basically once you’re through the door, you see that the room is divided into three adjacent rectangles. The middle one, the walkway, is about 4 paces (at most) long, and maybe 1.5 paces wide. There’s a fold out desk and small stool.

To the left is the bed, which the website advertises sleeps a “cozy two” — in other words, think your college dorm bed, but maybe slightly wider. The bed is raised up a good 3-4 feet, so that when you lay down you can watch that 20″ TV. Via the TV there’s Internet access (there’s a remote and a wireless mini keyboard), and you can watch English, Spanish, French, German and Arabic-language channels. Movies can be purchased for 5 GBP ($10), or porn for 8 GBP ($16).

To the right is the shower, sink, and toilet — with that entire wall covered by a mirror, which means every time you turn in bed to look towards the bathroom, you get to stare back at yourself.

The fun part, though, about the TV, is that it acts essentially as your telephone to communicate with the “concierge.” You can order food from “The Galley” (most expensive thing on the menu is 7 GBP), drinks (oddly, the only beer on the menu is Cobra), and they’ll deliver it to your door , 24 hours a day.

Still, there don’t seem to be very many other guests — I talked with one guy from Manchester and a woman from Leeds who both seemed to be very up on the whole experience. Both are on their way to holidays in the Greek Islands and Budapest, respectively.

I’m not sure I’d want to spend more than one night in a place like this (particularly if you were sharing the room with someone else, as there’s not a lot of space). But hey, it’s a really comfortable way to spend an overnight layover.

Thanks Cyrus!

Yotel Photos

Cyrus links to a review taken from a press release by Yotel on Treehugger, so I took the liberty to snatch some of their Fotos as the press page of Yotel itself doesn’t give much away:

Yotel Plan

Yotel Room lay out

Yotel Room

Yotel Room

Yotel premium Room

Yotel Premium Room

Yotel Bathroom

Yotel Bathroom

Guest Reviews on Tripadvisor

  • Very convenient!
    Traveler rating: 5
    Jul 19, 2007 pete1769, BIRMINGHAM , ENGLAND

    Stayed there it was the best hotel i have stayed at overnight for a airport hotel .

    The cost was great £25 for 4 hour or £55 for over night standard room.

    There is no tea & coffee in rooms but the cabin bar is cheap for the airport prices .

    The room has everything u need and small room

    This TripAdvisor Member Liked: The price and the rooms cleanness

  • Lifesaver!
    Traveler rating: 5
    Jul 26, 2007 loriannsparks, Hawaii
    I got stranded in the London Gatwick Airport on 07/18, as I was supposed to be heading onto Madrid but missed my flight there. I tried to get a hotel in London, and it was at least 150 pounds or more to get a hotel last-minute. I was already missing my flights and missing out on money from the flights missed on Easy Jet, so I wanted to spend as little money as possible. I found out about the Yotel from the “Tourist” station at Gatwick Airport. I went down there, and I met this really nice employee working there, Martin (not sure of his name exactly, but he was from Poland originally). He said there weren’t any rooms for that night, and without hesitation, I immediately burst into tears. I couldn’t help it – I was stranded, tired and had few options now! He was so nice and sympathetic to my situation. He said to come back down in 2 hours and he would see what he could do. I thanked him repeatedly, went upstairs to eat, call my husband, etc. and headed back down 2 hours later. I’m not sure what he did to get a room for me, but he had a room ready for me when I came back. He was GREAT! Praises go out to him! I ended up having the room for 7 hours – from 12am to 7pm, and it was 43 pounds. That is so inexpensive compared to my other options at that point! The room was modern and clean and just what I needed. I thought it would just have a bed to sleep in, but there was a toilet, sink and shower. It was perfect! The bed was so comfy too. What a life saver, honestly! I would suggest the Yotel to anyone who wants to get a few extra hours of sleep while waiting for a flight at the Gatwick Airport, or if you get stranded like I did. It was a great experience! Thanks Yotel!

    This TripAdvisor Member
    Liked: I didn’t check any of the things above because it’s in the hotel and caters to people who get stranded, want to get a few hours of sleep, etc. but it was very clean and had great service!

    Disliked: Nothing – it was great!

  • Very convenient!
    Traveler rating: 5
    Jul 30, 2007 M&E_London, London
    Fantastic for late arrival and early flight in the morning – literally 30 secs from the departure check-in. Rooms are obviously very small but the premium cabin has everything you need for a cosey night (tv, shower etc) and all very, very clean. Couple of things would improve things – two chairs instead of one; and a hook to hang a wash bag. Apart from that no complaints and a fantastic concept. Would always try one of these before any other airport hotel.
  • Very convenient for overnight stay for early flight…
    Traveler rating: 4
    Jul 26, 2007 Artemis-Angel, Chelmsford

    I stayed here before an early flight from Gatwick,

    I was attracted by the price and the convenience for the airport.

    If you are on your own and looking for somewhere to sleep, the standard cabin is ideal.

    As you would expect the room is small, but there is room for luggage storage and the bathroom is adequate, toilet, basin, shower.

    The bed was very comfortable and I had a good nights sleep.

    There is some noise as residents come and go at different times of the day but I did not find this a problem.

    It should be noted that the ceiling above the bed is not full height, but there is room to sit up and move around on the bed.

    This is an ideal place to sleep before an early flight and I have already booked for my next early flight.
    This TripAdvisor Member
    Liked: The location for airport terminal
    Disliked: n/a

Verdict:

It scores a bit lower than Qbic, but not bad, not bad at all.

Up to the Easy Hotel reviews

Qbic Amsterdam: First guest reviews are in!

Qbic Hotelroom
Photo (or artist impression?) thanks to the Trip
Advisor review mentioned below.

I announced the Qbic Hip Hotels concept in a post in November last year.

Since the news of their belated opening I have been looking for guest reviews for Qbic Amsterdam.

Now they are out:

  • One on Tripadvisor:

    Wow!

    I paid €59 per night (all taxes included), and got to stay in a cool design hotel and sleep in a Hästens bed. That’s what I call a good deal.

    The room was really cool. A unit with the bed, and bathroom connected put into the space. And even the wallpaper included information on a local bar and store in the city. Really handy and smart.

    Really for me Qbic offers amazing quality and the best price in the market.

    t is not in the city center but in the World Trade Center. But with public transport it was easy to get into town. Just about 15mins…

    I am hooked. From here on I am at QBic whenever I go to Amsterdam…

    A solo traveler from Barcelona, age 25-34

  • Six on the site of Booking.com. They publish them as soon as they have six reviews to prevent biased outcomes…therefor we had to wait. It also appears from the reviews that for guests they opened July 4.

    1 Guest score: 7 out of 10

    + Very clean and modern rooms, and extremely comfortable bed. Helpful staff aided check-in process and switching of rooms when problems discovered. Soothing and comfortable shower with huge overhead spigot in addition to hand held spigot.

    – Wireless Internet didn’t work in first room tried. No hooks for towels in bathroom. Some rooms have no windows. Televisions mounted on walls at such an angle as to make in-bed viewing impossible due to screen glare. Water from bathroom tap had slight rubbery taste. Travelling between hotel floors uses same elevators as the rest of WTC visitors. Room climate subject to settings of entire building; no per-room control.

    Anonymous (Solo traveler) from Netherlands – July 12, 2007
    2 Guest score: 9 out of 10

    + a very hip and trendy hotel, god value and the beds sleep excellent

    Enid (With friends) from terheijden, Netherlands – July 7, 2007

    3 Guest score: 9.5 out of 10

    + excellent value for the quality

    – since it was opened for only two days there were some unfinished details that need to be polished.

    Heath (Young couple) from Durango, USA – July 6, 2007

    4 Guest score: 8 out of 10
    + Dee Einrichtung und die tollen Lichter (interior and fancy lighting)

    – Es gab Dusche/WC im Zimmer aber ohne Vorhang/Türe oder irgendwas vor dem WC… (Nur kleines Wändchen wegen dem Wasser/Duschen) (No doors or curtains in front of the WC/shower stall only a tiny provision against shower splatter)

    Christine (With friends) from Liestal, Switzerland – July 19, 2007

    5 Guest score: 10 out of 10

    + Dat je midden in de nacht kan inchecken (possible to check in in the midst of the night)

    – Het ontbijt was goed alleen weinig keuze voor op brood (small choice of things for on your bread)

    Henny (With friends) from Heerenveen, Netherlands – July 10, 2007

    6 Guest score: 8 out of 10

    Wico (Young couple) from sambeek, Netherlands – July 9, 2007

This is not bad, not bad at all! I congratulate Qbic with this success, especially as it looks as if Qbic is sold out continuously.

Dream in a drain pipe: Drain Hotel in a park

Drain Hotel

This will prove you wrong if you believed everything has been invented already:

In July 2005, under the motto “Book a Pipe Dream”, Austrian Andreas Strauss has set up Das Parkhotel/ Andi’s Place (the Park Hotel) in a park in Ottensheim, on the Danube river border, near Linz, Austria. It is only open in Summer and operates under the Pay as you wish principle: You are asked to leave as much money as you want to pay for the place. No Bad room, minibar or toilet available: You are asked to make use of publicly available toilets a couple of yards to the left or to the right and of the mini bar of a gas station in the neighborhood. Reservations via the website where you get an access code for the electronic lock.

Source: Times Online

Update: After discovering the term Notel I’ve added this post to the Notel Category.

Last edited by GJE on March 30, 2011