If you’re looking for an Amsterdam Airport spotting hotel, the CitizenM is one of three hotels located in the central area of Schiphol Airport, where the main passenger terminal and train station are located.
I had an invitation to try out the hotel recently from a spotting perspective, so here’s the report I’ve put together based on my stay.
CitizenM is a very modern, trendy hotel brand. The Schiphol hotel (there’s also one in the centre of Amsterdam, so be careful when booking) is only a short distance from the terminal area and public transport, so it’s perfect if you’re travelling from the airport.
I arrived for the 2pm check-in. This is done via screens in the lobby, much like airline self-check-in, and was very swift. I could see my request for a high level room with an airport view listed, and I even got to create my own room key!
The hotel has five floors and I was allocated 542 on the top floor. It was a very smart, clean and modern room with rain shower, mood lighting and free amenities including water bottles, chocolate and on the shelf some popular books to read.
The blinds were drawn beyond the large bed, so I quickly raised them to assess the view and wasn’t disappointed as it revealed a grandstand position overlooking the western portion of the passenger terminal, including the long-haul Pier G and low cost Pier H.
Best Rooms
The best rooms at the CitizenM Amsterdam Airport are on the top floor in the even number range. The higher the number, the better the view. Rooms on the fourth floor may be ok, but any lower will be restricted by Pier H. There are no windows in the corridor of the hotel.
You can request an airport view room upon booking, which should be honoured if available.
CitizenM Amsterdam Airport Views
As I mentioned above, rooms facing the airport have a view of the cul-de-sac and parking areas of piers G and H. Pier H obstructs aircraft parked at its gates, but you’ll see them come and go, and can get pictures as aircraft push back.
All aircraft parked on the western side of Pier G are visible, although light poles get in the way of photographs until the aircraft push back. You can see the tails of some aircraft on the eastern side of Pier G, and part of Pier F.
To the left is the remote parking area used by KLM’s long-haul aircraft during the day.
Runway 09/27 is right in front of you. You can see aircraft at the 09 end easily, but most will have turned off before coming into view if using 27.
Runway 18C/36C is just off to your left and easy to see with binoculars. This runway is not used all day, however.
In the distance off to the left is the newer 18R/36L “Polderbaan” runway. Aircraft using it will be visible taxiing to or from this runway.
Photography
Aircraft passing by on the taxiway are within easy reach of a 300mm lens. Those using the nearby piers are much closer.
The windows are double glazed, but were very clean and easy to photograph through, as seen from the pictures here.
CitizenM Prices and Amenities
Rooms at the CitizenM are generally in the reasonable 79-110 Euros range, depending on room type and demand.
The in-room amenities are great, with an iPad Mini used to control the TV, lighting, temperature and alarm, although no hot drink facilities were provided. Nevertheless, downstairs a cafe/bar area is open 24 hours for food and drink, and there are comfortable areas to relax, or hold meetings.
Rooms also receive complimentary WiFi internet access, so you can carry on using flight tracking websites to monitor aircraft movements, particularly after dark.
Of the spotting hotels at Amsterdam Schiphol, the proximity of the CitizenM to the parking aprons and taxiways is probably the best you’ll get, particularly for photography. You won’t see many of the parking gates and piers B-F of the terminal, but all aircraft using the runways at the western side of the airport will be in view when taxiing.
To book your stay at the CitizenM Hotel Amsterdam Airport, visit this link:Â https://www.citizenm.com/destinations/amsterdam/schiphol-airport-hotel
My thanks go to Alexa Cobbold and CitizenM for arranging this stay which, in the interest of openness was complimentary.
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10 comments
Hi Matt,
Can you see the A380 from Emirates there?
Cheers,
Yuri
Hi Yuri, yes it parks at the end of Pier G right in front of the hotel!
I think this is a poor hotel for the price. Continental Breakfast if you are in the first wave, if not, very little good to eat. shower in middle of room, still never worked out how that worked, ipad controls are not clear enough so it’s trial and error on tv, blinds whatever else it does. Yes, good views but you still have to be on the VERY large bed to get close to the window. have stayed at better cheaper hotels.
My partner, Kirsty, and I stayed at the CitizenM for 2 nights (Friday and Saturday) around a month ago. We had requested an airport facing room but, due to a delayed Friday evening departure out of LHR, we didn’t arrive until nearly midnight. Unfortunately upon arrival the only airport facing rooms were on the first floor which have no views of the apron or taxiways whatsoever due to having the pier in the way (see third photo above but our ‘view’ was from a much lower down position!). However, as with many airport hotels, it would appear that this is a hotel normally used by travellers who are only staying the one night, so next morning I asked one of the very helpful check-in staff whether we could move to a higher floor airport view room. The check-in girl kindly contacted the room cleaning staff and they quickly cleaned and re-stocked a room on the top floor facing the airport which had comparable views to those in Matt’s photos above. I wasn’t too bothered about photos from the room as we spent the day on the viewing terrace at the airport. I do understand the comments made by Mac, above, that the shower is in an unusual location, just a small area halfway down the somewhat small room, the wash basin is actually in the room itself rather than in the shower area, and the bed is large, taking up the entire end of the room by the window. One other thing, if you join their frequent stay programme you get a free drink at the bar!
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I’ve just booked myself three night here in June – all thanks to your review.
I’ll leave a review upon my return.
Great, please do! Enjoy!
Citizen M Hotel – Amsterdam Schipol.
I booked this hotel as a result of Matt’s review & have not regretted it at all.
When I made my booking I requested a high floor overlooking the airport & that is exactly what I have (Room 566/Floor 5). I paid approx. £490 for 3 nights including breakfast.
The windows are spotless thus making photography easy, aircraft on runways 29/07 & 36C/18C can be read off as they pass by. Aircraft using the Polderban runway are way too distant to read off but they usually pass close by on the way to/from landing/departure (I have no bincs as BA have lost my baggage & so have been using my camera zoom as a subsitute).
The wi-fi in the hotel is excellent, thus enabling good use of my laptop.
My room is exactly as Matt has described above so I won’t repeat his words.
After exiting the terminal the hotel is an easy two minute walk away.
I have one more night here before catching my flight home tomorrow morning, I’m sure that I’ll be back again!
Thanks Jez, glad you enjoyed it!
Matt