The Daily Diary of a Wandering Restaurateur
February 9 - A Quick Break in Amsterdam
We stayed at the new citizenM hotel at the Amsterdam airport. It is technically a budget hotel based on the rates and room size but it is really the first of a new breed of high tech hotel designed for the mobile traveler ("Citizen M"). The bed is comfortable and spans wall to wall at the end of the room. There is a cool cylindrical shower and another cylindrical toilet enclosure. Everything in the room -- heat, lights, shade, colored mood lighting, LCD TV, etc. -- can be controlled from a keypad. There are extensive public spaces for gathering because the rooms themselves are tiny, readily accessible online access and the foodservice is more like an airport takeaway.
This is not a hotel for everyone. There was not really enough space for two encumbered travelers to spread out and so I doubt if we would stay here again ... but were I traveling alone, it would be perfect. The lesson for me in all this is that citizenM knows exactly who they are appealing to and who they are not. They are not trying to be all things to all people but rather have built a better mousetrap for a well-defined, if narrow, segment of the market. For their target travelers, they are "none of the above" and are offering a truly unique experience. It is something that restaurateurs should at least reflect on.
My Cornell classmate Joe Los lives in a historic house on one of Amsterdam's major canals. It was originally built in 1684 by a wealthy merchant and is in amazing shape. He bought it "for a song" twenty years ago and I hesitate to even guess what it is worth today ... if there was a market to sell it, that is. Their economy is also on the skids although not as severe as ours ... yet ... due mainly to the strength of the European Union. Joe says that if each country still had their own currency, it would be a financial disaster!
Joe is a retired accountant (but one with a personality!) with a quick wit and a real love of life. Can''t you see it in his face? We spent a long afternoon telling tales and solving the problems of the world. Half the time was spent in his magnificent house systematically depleting his wine cellar. We finished up around the corner at his favorite pub drinking beer and Genever gin. I had to learn my way around public transportation in Amsterdam to get here (train from the airport into town, then a tram) but it was another wonderful experience in a trip full of experiences. I truly enjoyed re-connecting with Joe and he has promised to give me a chance to reciprocate his generous hospitality in Gig Harbor sometime in the future. I look forward to it.
© 2009 Restaurant Doctor
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