Trendy and naughty? Must be in Amsterdam

July 11, 2010|Diane Daniel, Globe Correspondent

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And then there’s the matter of the art outside the lobby elevator. A copy of the oversize photography book “Artists and Prostitutes’’ by David LaChapelle lies open on a pedestal, like a dictionary of devilish delights, while on the opposite wall hangs a poster showing the hotel’s exterior at night. You can see into each room window, where people of various shapes, colors, and sizes are doing various naughty things.

While citizenM is over the top with its branding — “citizen’’ icons and too-clever text are all over the place — I found myself enjoying the energy more than groaning over the gimmickry.

Still, the morning after I first fell hard for citizenM, my infatuation started to wane.

I pressed the mood pad to open the shades. Nothing. This time, instead of imagining what kind of fun challenge this might be, I called an ambassador.

“The mood pad is frozen; you just need to reset it,’’ she said, like this was a normal occurrence, which she confirmed that it was.

I followed the reset instructions, and five minutes later the device froze again.

Finally, I saw citizenM for what it was — like a high-stylin’ party girl who would never be a stable friend but sure is fun to visit.

Diane Daniel can be reached at diane@bydianedaniel.com.

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