Speaker 1 00:00:05 The Stories This Moment podcast and the SDM blog are brought to you by S STM Daily News and TNC Network. Daily News offers news and articles that inspires, helps heals and educates STM Daily News is the news You can use this moment. Now, here's your host, rod Washington.
Speaker 2 00:00:25 Hello and welcome to the S STM podcast. I'm your host Charles Elliot, and I am filling in for Rod Washington. Today we are going to focus a little on traveling and talk about a unique hotel chain with an interesting name that one of our contributors to our news blog stated recently. Yes, we'll talk about that and more on this episode of the podcast. So let's listen to Josh as he talks about Citizen M.
Speaker 3 00:00:59 In a recent article posted on TM Daily News, rod Washington, the author, talked about a hotel chain out of the Netherlands, citizen m in the article, Joshua Willingham, a contributor to STM Daily News, described this unique and interesting hotel chain he stayed at with his wife Tory, on a trip they took to Seattle back in January of this year.
Speaker 4 00:01:23 Uh, interesting is a way to, uh, a way to put it, um, put it more like a, um, different than what you're usually used to. That's not a bad thing, trying to, you know, not spend a ton of money, uh, on a trip like that. And we weren't gonna be in Seattle very long the first day because we're gonna be taking the train and I need to be, I wanna be in the downtown area so we're not too far from the train station. And I was looking at the usual suspect, so to say that the Hyatts and the Hiltons and the, you know, budget sixes and everything, trying to find something that was just gonna be cheap to stay overnight. And I, I saw, um, a hotel I hadn't heard of called citizenM, and their, their prices were really good. And so I did some checking around on reviews. They had good reviews, so I was like, yeah, let's give it a try. They had a really cool app and I made it really easy to book. So, uh, I figured I'd give something different to try. I'm a Hyatt loyalist, I'm a globalist, so I usually stay at Hyatt all the time. So for me to deviate from my usual Hyatt, it's a big deal.
Speaker 3 00:02:28 Joshua went on to describe what was unique about Citizen m
Speaker 4 00:02:32 Well, let me talk about some of the things that aren't unique because they're important. Every hotel has staff that's not unique. Staff at Citizen M we're really good, uh, very kind, you know, go to Hyatts. Usually it's a little bit more business oriented, especially like a Hyatt Regency. This had a very warm feeling like, uh, they were very welcoming. They know that the concept is different, so they were there to explain things to you. And so that was important. You know, uh, the staff was a, a big deal. And of course they had a food area, a bar. Um, food was very good. I had, um, some free drinks provided by a citizen, uh, for part of, um, a promotion they had. Uh, it was all excellent. Now getting onto the unique, so I, you know, went up to the room and, uh, opened up the door.
Speaker 4 00:03:19 It was just very different than I had ever experienced. Um, it was, it was small, which in a city like Seattle isn't unusual, but the thing about it, it was, well, unique is the best way to put it. They used the space very efficiently, but it was very lean, very modern. I don't wanna say, you know, um, like an Scandinavian feel very, that very simplistic but functional feel. But it wasn't, um, yeah, I don't wanna say sterile, because they had a lot of fun touches. Uh, like I remember there was a like, kind of like a pillow that was like a little guy, you know, it was very unique character. And the, the tvb was up on the wall and it had, you know, welcome citizen Joshua <laugh>, you know, and, but then what really is unique, and I definitely mean this compared to anywhere I've ever been, is the technology.
Speaker 4 00:04:15 The technology is throughout the whole experience. When you're in the room, uh, they provide a iPad. Um, if you don't have the app on your phone, they have an iPad in the room. And, um, it controls lighting. It controls your, your shades, your inner curtain, your light blocking shades. Uh, you can set alarms through it. And when, I mean a controls like lights, the bathroom area is, it's a area that's blocked off by like frosted glass. And in there is full RGB lighting, so you can change it to whatever colors you want, uh, and whatever brightness. And so I was, I had the iPad and I was like going like green, blue, red, purple, you know, I was like this, move my finger across it. It changed all these different colors. Cause it was a lot of fun. I able to, um, dial in a, a different mood. They even had like on there like a, you know, like goodnight type of button if I remember it. You do it, it's like the lights are all gone. Everything turns off doing technology. If anybody's even trying something at home, very simple like a wifi controlled dimming light or something like that. You know, technology doesn't always go the way you hope. They pulled off the technology pretty flawlessly and that was impressive.
Speaker 3 00:05:31 How did Josh compare his overnight experience at Citizen M to other hotels he stayed at previously?
Speaker 4 00:05:37 You know, if, if, if I'm going to a Hyatt, I pretty much know what I'm gonna expect. Um, even if you go between the different brands of Hyatt, you know, between like a Hyatt Regency or a um, grand Hyatt or something like that, there's gonna be an experience that kind of runs through it. The, the look and feel kind of changes a little bit and everything and it feels like a hotel. You know, that's not a bad thing. Ha having that. It's kinda like McDonald's, you know. Um, you know, if you go to a place, you're gonna get the same like a McDonald's. You're gonna get the same thing every time. And pr people like that. Um, citizen m I haven't been to their other properties, but for my scenes they, they do a lot of local flavor. So if you're in Seattle, that's gonna be probably a, a bit of a different experience than if you're in New York.
Speaker 4 00:06:25 And, uh, I think that's a lot of fun. I wouldn't call staying at many Hyatts. I, I like as much as I them fun. I'd say they're functional. You know, I had fun at Citizen m we had a good time. Like, uh, when we went down for food, uh, the staff had a good time playing with the room. You know, you usually get to say, I played with the room for a while, you know? Um, and just exploring, exploring the, the, the functionality of the stay. And then, uh, you know, you look at the room and it's, uh, it's a smaller and you wonder, okay, well in the end, you know, usually at a hotel, you're, you're there to stay and sleep and then go about your business the next day to, to go explore whatever. I laid down on the bed and it was by far probably one of the most comfortable beds I've ever had at a hotel. That's a big deal. You know, if you're, you know, going to some place that you're, you're there is your little home base to get some rest, well you want some rest that's comfortable <laugh>. Yeah. So being able to control the room so much to tailor to your preferences and then having a very comfortable space was, it was really nice.
Speaker 3 00:07:33 Would Joshua return to Citizen M in the future? Would he recommend the hotel to family and
Speaker 4 00:07:40 Friends? I would, depending on the circumstances, cuz you could probably imagine from the way I described it, if I had three kids in tow. Yeah. And it's probably not the, it's just not the right concept for that type of thing. If I was gonna be doing, uh, a two week stay, hey, I pro it might not be my choice. Um, simply because of the kind of the space and having a couple people, uh, you know, your clothes and stuff. But for the quick trips like we did, I would definitely look at citizenM, um, as one of my choices now going to a place like Seattle, uh, for the convenience, the pricing, the uniqueness, the food and the staff, uh, really kind of pulled it all together, um, in a way that, uh, I really appreciated. And I really would recommend to my friends, definitely a couple, um, or even by themselves that they should check it out. And in fact, um, I don't think it was open when I was consulting in Seattle that if it had been, I could have seen it being the place I stayed while I was in Seattle. Cause the convenience, the price, um, just me there for, you know, four days would've been no problem as far as space goes. And, um, I would've known that it's a, a great place to stay.
Speaker 2 00:09:01 Thanks Joshua for sharing your adventure with citizenM. You can check out the original article about this unique hotel chain on our news
[email protected]. You can also check out the video version of the interview with Josh on our Ute YouTube page. The link is in the description.
Speaker 5 00:09:20 STM Store is our online shopping experience. STM Store is the place to find our branded merchandise and product from our mini affiliates all in one location. You can also check out the Merchandise from Sleeves, senior Pickleball Report. Um, not only is it a place to find great stuff, it is also a way to help support us so that we can continue to make great content. So hurry to the STM store today. You'll be glad you did.
Speaker 2 00:09:53 Well, thanks for joining us today. And I would also like to thank Josh for sharing his adventure with us. You can always catch us on stm daily news.com where you'll get the latest news and information. Some of it we present on this podcast. Please sign up for our newsletter to get the news you can use right into your inbox.
Speaker 1 00:10:17 You've been listening to the Stories This Moment podcast with your host, rod Washington. The SDM podcast and the TM blog are both brought to you by TM Daily News, N T N C Network. Daily News offers news and articles that inspires, helps heals and educates. S TM Daily News is the news. You can use this moment.
