Happy Monday everyone! citizenM hotels hosted a Blogger’s Sleepover this past Friday to promote the grand opening of their newest hotel in Manhattan. citizenM is an Amsterdam based boutique hotel chain that is not only super trendy and chic, but still (relatively) wallet friendly. Their new Time Square location marks their first hotel in the US, with another one coming in LES in a few months.
citizenM prides themselves in being a bit untraditional and tech-forward. They want to bring “affordable luxury to the people” and to do that, they’re removing some typical hotel operation costs. You won’t find bellhops or check-in desks here. Only a screen to greet you and an easy system for you to use to check in and get your room key. No problem here, those are services I don’t really need.
The hotel lobby is a huge open space that’s furnished more like a fun place to hang out than your typical hotel lobby. I really loved the floor to ceiling bookshelves that were filled with all kinds of knick knacks.
So right after work on Friday, J and I packed a bag and hopped in a cab to Midtown (50th and Broadway). citizenM is really in the middle of all the action and I feel is a great location for a tourist to stay. It’s right by all the essential subway lines (B, C, E, 1, N, Q, R), across the street from a bunch of Broadway Shows and is where all the action is. Not to mention, it’s right by Totto Ramen and Sake Bar Hagi, so that’s already a winner in my book.
I’ve frequented enough tiny hotel rooms in San Francisco and New York to know a good use of space when I see one. The decor of my room at citizenM reminds me of stylish Swedish design at it’s best. Every inch of design has a purpose in function while still being delightful. One of the things they pride themselves in is that they offer King-sized beds in the room – which is definitely a plus.
In true New York City shoe-box fashion, the bed is tucked at the end of the room and basically occupies the room from wall to wall. citizenM manages to make this space feel very welcoming, and I’m not only saying this because they gave me a free room to stay in for the night.
One of the most exciting features of the room is the mood-lighting in the shower and how the shower is sectioned off relative to the rest of the room. As you can see in the awesome GIF above, the shower is shaped in a semi-circle with plastic material that actually acts as a wall partition. This helps maximize the space in the room since there’s no wasted wall space. Oh, the huge shower head made for a fun shower as well.
The room also featured a ton of techy features such as a tablet being the remote control for the room, you can different lighting moods for the room, as well as control your TV, change the digital art in your room and open and close your curtains. Overall, I approve of all the little details citizenM put into the room and would easily recommend any friends looking for a place to stay in Manhattan. At ~$200 a night, it’s definitely well-priced in the affordable luxury category.
Alright, enough of me gushing about the room and more about the sleepover!
Boy, does citizenM know how to throw a party! The entire living room area was filled with food, booze and bloggers. I was lucky enough to spend my night getting to know the lovely ladies of Cutie Patroller, RockShic, Dream Sequins and NY ร la Keiko!
Time just flew as we sipped on Gold Rushes (note to self, must learn recipe!) and laughed the night away. Before I knew it, it was time for an intimate performance by Alex Winston. J thinks she sounds like Lorde, and will be hitting it big in the next few years. Turns out she has been touring with Grouplove and we just missed her. Will have to see if we can catch her again in the city because she was great!
The final stop of the night was getting our portraits drawn by different artists. I was drawn by the talented Jon Burgerman (I wonder if that’s his real name since he’s known for drawings of his hamburger…). Things started looking really crazy, so I asked him to add some “nom nom noms” on the side for fun!
By the end of the night’s festivities, I was ready to knock out. Luckily, I just had to head back up to my lovely hotel room and crash on my king size bed. P.S. the comforter was really fluffy. I had a wonderful night’s sleep and even a better hot shower in funky mood lighting.
Being on the 6th floor, my view as unfortunately of another building, but when you’re in New York City, you should probably just go outside and do all the things!
Since citizenM is the best, they served us breakfast in their usual breakfast buffet. It had a lovely spread of all the breakfast-y foods you’d want, however as I mentioned, Totto Ramen was just around the corner so you knew where my mind was at.
I did manage to eat two of these super adorable mini egg & english muffin sandwiches. Just look at how cute they are!! It’s true, all things that are in mini-bite sizes are going to be an instant hit.
As J and I were on our way for our noon-time ramen, I couldn’t help but see how cool citizenM was. With the daylight shining through the large windows, all of the interesting details of the space was easier to see. I think the interior designers of the hotel hit the nail on the head with organizing the space and setting it up to be a sociable and hip atmosphere for travelers.
The next time a visitor comes to NYC, I would be sure to point them to stay at the citizenM hotel.
Disclosure: citizenM’s Blogger Sleepover was a sponsored event, but all opinions expressed here are my own.
